Category: Porfolio

After looking towards the sound art pieces that I enjoy I started seeing the resemblance to what I consider minimalism. A lot of sound art can seem simple on the surface but the contextualization is what gives it great depth and at other times it’s just the idea behind it. When it comes to sound artwork I’ve thought a lot about where I set in this field, and I tend to find myself really latching onto listening and field recording. Ideas of being present and understanding our soundscapes. I’ve enjoyed more the philosophy of listening and the power of sound.

It’s got me thinking about what I want to do for my first draft portfolio piece, since I’m currently doing my dissertation draft, it’s influenced me towards what I’m actually into. I want to create something very minimal perhaps and have the research be the weight of the work. My project last year, Listening to the Thames, was very simple on the surface but for me, it was my intentions behind it that were beautiful. So I decided to read into minimalism and attempt to understand exactly what it means within work? I’m not sure if what I’m thinking actually coincides with the definition of minimalism.

I read a few pages/chapters of these two books just as an exploration of the topic.

Sion, P.ap, Gann, K. and Potter, K. (2016) The Ashgate Research Companion to minimalist and postminimalist music. London: Routledge.

Strickland, E. (2000) Minimalism: Origins. Indiana University Press.

Mainly The Ashgate Research Companion to minimalist and postminimalist music. This is what I found interesting, I found this one part that discussed how to define minimalistic music and it described that it was hard but often at least these types of characteristics were present in the pieces. But not all pieces had all the features present sometimes and mainly only one or two.

A few of these key terms, Harmonic stasis. Most minimalists enjoy only one chord or a few sets of notes. Key changes are not present and the same with the change of pitches.

Repetition, the continuous and slow progress within the pieces is key. In minimalistic music, there is rarely a piece that doesn’t progress and change slightly, as usually considered in the general consensus of what is minimalistic music. But in fact, it’s more the repetition and slow change within the pieces that give it this meditative state of listening.

Drones are a very obvious key piece of any minimalist piece as described here. And perhaps the most obvious, although the book makes an argument that there would be two sorts of minimalist music as some have drones predominantly and others don’t.

Gradual Process is the idea that each instrument will add its own splash of colour when needed. That complex polyrhythmic music doesn’t add anything extra sometimes. Each instrument comes in when needed and disappears when not. It’s there for a purpose and not just because.

A steady beat is another highly associated piece of minimalist music. Usually, the quaver note is used in a motoric fashion.

Static instrumentation is another, unlike more modern minimalistic music. Some older ensembles did the opposite of a gradual process and instead, all played together and continuously for extended periods of time.

All of these features are associated with certain works that we think of as classically minimalist, but there may be no works, or at least very few, that contains all of them.

Intuitively, though, one feels that all these techniques tended toward some similar state. First of all, the term: minimalism. Something seems minimal – or less than we expected. Less compared to what? To what we’re accustomed to hearing. We are used to hearing classical music, modernist music, jazz, pop, and when we hear minimalist music, we get less than we expect.

Sion, P.ap, Gann, K. and Potter, K. (2016) The Ashgate Research Companion to minimalist and postminimalist music. London: Routledge.

We all know that some of our happiest moments are when time seems to disappear. When listening to minimalist music, we begin, out of habit (unless minimalism is our accustomed repertoire), to listen for events that cue us in to what’s going on in the music, how long the piece is going to last, what scale its sections are arranged in and so forth. Minimalist music quite often denies us or delays these cues, irritating some listeners and giving others a freeing sensation that the passage of time, the articulated structure of the piece, need not be kept track of. Some of us feel happier.

Sion, P.ap, Gann, K. and Potter, K. (2016) The Ashgate Research Companion to minimalist and postminimalist music. London: Routledge.

I think these quotes really speak to me, perhaps even if it’s not quote-on-quote minimalism I agree with these ideas presented, I want to create a piece that gives me that feeling of extended time. That paying attention and listening isn’t key but letting go and allowing the sounds and the piece to affect you in a certain way.

Steve Reich is heavily discussed as one of the earliest artists in minimalism within this book and I want to do a bit of research on him.

My dissertation project is currently really inspiring my ideas towards my own portfolio. I had originally thought about making an abstract piece of ‘music’ but it doesn’t really connect well with me. This is something I can always do and still do. I have been very much reading into environmental sound arts and the practices and practitioners within this field.

Dawn Scarfe and her project Bivvy Broadcasts really connected well with me and interested me. In the previous hand-in, I had thought about going to the woods and recording sounds with an old tape recorder to think about how a medium can change my way of recording if the manual process changes the listening on location.

I looked into Bivvy Broadcasts and found it really captivating, to be alone in nature with complete exposure, unlike a tent you are completely exposed to the elements. To set up a radio from 11pm to 7am when the dawn chorus begins. While listeners sit at home and tune in and listen to the sounds is something I might try.

This photo speaks volumes to me, the composition, the isolation the fear and the surrendering to nature. It really to me makes sense to reconnect with it. To just be amongst it in a simple way, a bivvy. For Dawn, this was part of a residency she had at Forestry Commission England.

She describes it like this,

Live nocturnal broadcasts from forests

11pm till 7am

Dawn is in a forest somewhere in England, streaming live ambient sound through the night while trying to sleep in a bivvy.

Her guerilla-style broadcasts are set up after dark using a small microphone and tenuous 4G connection.

By listening you can help keep vigil over her situation.

I’m still at an early stage and I really am considering at the first stage of my portfolio ideas to simply research artists and attempt their works, then to consider my own ideas from these themes, researches and practices.

I also found her pocket guide on bivvy broadcasts, and it explained a bit more about it. Almost a manifesto.

I feel that perhaps I can do the same but in a different location, or one in London. I was considering Epping forest or Brighton beach. I am longing to feel a reconnection with nature away from the capital city and explore other soundscapes. The live broadcasting to me seems like an animalistic urge from most humans of listening and having attentive sleeping. I will think about the equipment and if this is even possible seeing as it’s coming up to December.

Since reading Environmental Sound Artists: In Their Own Words (2016) for my dissertation ideas of environmental sound arts as a practice has really been sticking with me. Last year for my hand in I recorded the Thames following in similar footsteps of Peter Cusack and his ideas on sonic journalism. I’ve been busy writing my dissertation and haven’t had much time to start, but I’ve been laying the foundations.

Today I decided to go on a field recording trip to warm up the engine that is my brain and explore my surroundings. I’m living in surrey queys next to the Thames and decided to go and field record around there with my Zoom H1N.

I began by almost conducting a sound walk towards my location of the recording. I simply listened and what stood out for me was the specialisation of the environment, the different sounds that are all fighting or layering on top of each other. I began recording without a goal, I wasn’t sure what these sounds would become or how they would eventually be used if they even do. I recorded the waves crashing against the river bed, the trees and my footsteps walking amongst the leaves.

I then continued further along and began hearing pouring water, I followed the sound and recorded a long take off around 5-10 minutes. I then opened the gate towards the sandy riverbed and began recording amongst the ruined section of the Thames. I found the repetition of water sounds having their own rhythms to interest me in the recordings. As well as the idea of a micro soundscape, especially within cities and the noise pollution. How are these sounds being masked by larger sounds?

I took some recordings of close and far away, water dropping and running, alongside waves crashing. I could hear planes and other sounds that were coming and going. The city had a rhythm. i then walked out to an abandoned dock and recorded the Thames up close, whilst the loud Uber boats passed. I also discovered a lot of rubbish that spoils the environment. I thought perhaps if I could come back and take some rubbish and convert it into an instrument? Now I’m going to experiment with the sounds I’ve recorded.

I had my first meeting with Milo and discussed my ideas so far. Which isn’t set in stone and I do believe the creation process will guide me to something. At the moment for the first hand in I want to do an EP. Sampling music and creating something to do with my Brazilian heritage, and thinking of music or recordings as a more fluid thing and not a defined set-in-stone premise.

I wrote down some quick ideas during the lecture beforehand that inspired my work.

Cinematic 

Field recordings

Sampling performances and jams, 

Drum machine, Alexis, Lin Drum?

Minimalism, 

Anthropocene

Lo-fi

Mixing and recording

4 track tape machine experiments, pitching and making a song on it

Reel to tell Yamaha in the performance lab

Record drums, through the equipment in the performance lab, Audient desk? Percussive sounds, claps, random sounds click pops

SP303 make beats on it, SP404 MK2

Microphone selection is important,

Sonic aesthetic.

I was considering the idea very much of recording to be just as important as the creation. And what recording techniques can offer us in terms of sonic aesthetics and consider that right at the start. I want to record on cassette and digital of course. But to consider the idea of minimalism within my work and to reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed by DAWs and other modern mediums. But rather combine a few. I just want to create and see what happens if I create with samples and rap as the main vessel. Using field recordings to create a cinematic feeling towards the EP and then incorporate that within my ideas.

I also spoke about recording instruments and friends/jams. Recording drums, keys, and saxophone. All in the university as well as using the Audient desk as a tool to escape this digital screen working mode. Milo advised me to start small and then work my way up which is my idea as well. I’m going to start with smaller instruments. I think I should also think about what I want from the recordings and how to best situate myself ready for it. Do I want to prepare drum loops for others to play? Or do I want to do sessions of recording and producing with my friends/musicians?

I think these are ideas I’m going to explore this week and for next week record something in the studio and make sure it’s all booked in.

I’m waiting back for the notes from the meeting as I’m not sure 100% if this is everything we discussed.

I also continued my idea to state that this original EP will lead onto an Album in the final portfolio hand in and the other portfolio would be a piece similar to sonic journalism with field recording practice being the centre of it. A continuation of my last hand in titled “Listening to the Thames”

We had a Mixing and Recording session with Rory which was mainly for the audio paper module but I found more interest in using it for my portfolio work. We went through different microphone types and applications as well as analysed different pieces and considered how they were recorded. What each recording offered and how the technique either enhanced the mood of the recording or clashed with it.

We also discussed polar patterns, frequency response and other aspects of microphones. Which ones require power, and why do they operate as they do. As well as different recording techniques and ways of capturing sound.

We also recorded vocals in the foley room through the control room and set up numerous microphones and listened to what sounded best or perhaps what each microphone offers. Rory also purposely was doing errors in order for us to detect what is wrong with the recording and how to fix it. After the session it made me consider my own microphone uses and application. I’m considering why I use the microphones that I do and why if I have a certain idea for the sound I shouldn’t use perhaps a dynamic microphone instead of a condenser. I love the sound of a dirty, not clean microphone and the AKG D-190 seemed to sound perfect for my portfolio ideas.

It’s from 1971 which is my favourite era of music. I checked online and did research and AKG reported it as a low-handling noise microphone which made it popular for live events and performances and PA/conferences. After hearing Rory use the microphone and setting it up with a pop shield it really interested me to use it. I’m going to use it with my 424 Tascam Tape machine and record straight into the cassette.

I was also curious to learn a bit more about the microphone and study it properly. It says there’s a 4K slight emphasis to give it brilliance which is interesting. As well as this the frequency response is only up to 15Khz. This is probably what makes it sound dark and not as bright as the other microphones I listened to. The interesting part is the Tascam 424 MK1 which is the medium I want to record to only records up to 16KHZ. So they almost are a perfect match.

I’m going to make sure I test or use this microphone for my ideas.

After Dr Mark Peter Wright recommended a few things at the end of the last visiting practitioner series I saw there was an exhibition on ASMR. I’ve always been curious about ASMR and I thought it would be a good exercise to enquire about things especially as it has installations present, something I want to do for my portfolio, so I got a ticket and went along.

They gave us a booklet with some information on ASMR and definitions which I felt was important.

ASMR seems to be this tingly feeling that gives us a sense of euphoria or a deeply calming sensation. Usually triggered by sound visual and touch.

We walked around the exhibition and went through every section taking time and going at a slow pace. I did find myself relaxed. The room had huge pillows everywhere and was white, everyone was whispering. It gave me a calming sense of peace. The first section had visuals of animations of 3D art. One of them gave me a warm feeling on my back and made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

It had a small clicking sound effect going on behind it. Even as I watch it now it makes my back feel weird and warm. I’m unsure why but it reminds me of other feelings I get sometimes.

Then we went into the next section which had two TVs and a projector all playing different episodes of Boss Ross. A famous painter who has a very calm presence and speaks very quietly while he paints on television. I have watched his show as well and when I saw it there I was excited to watch it. I sat and listened through headphones to one of his episodes being played for over 20 minutes and got completely lost in it. They also had his paintings on the episode behind the TV. I was totally captured by the attention of the TV. I think the audio helps a ton, you can really hear the texture of the paint and him scratching his paintbrush into the painting. As well as his voice being and feeling very close to the ear.

After this section, there was a set of TVs playing a short documentary on why ASMR is important to them and how they use it. Alongside this, there was an installation. A tongue dripping water into a big bowl of water. It confused me but the texture of the tongue with water really made me feel weird and uncomfortable.

So this last section was really interesting a wall and floor of pillows and numerous TVs with multiple accidental and intentional ASMR audiovisuals. I found myself really enjoying this one with the slow-mo videos being the most enjoyable. This entire thing had me thinking about more importantly my own practice and my sensitivities to ASMR. I thought I didn’t feel it but I do. I love the sounds of vinyl crackle, tape compression and wobble. I love the texture of certain sonic effects and I think I really want to capture this within my portfolio. How can I create something that has similar outcomes to ASMR by subtly including things that give me a warm feeling? Things like the sound of rain on a window, wind and cycling on gravel. I want to field record sounds that I can use within my portfolio work to include this enhanced feeling of relaxation perhaps.

I decided to clean my computer files and organise an old hard drive that I’ve had for a few years. Since I was 19 actually. I spent around 3-4 hours cleaning my folders into samples, drums, beats, recordings etc. It felt pointless at times but during this process, it leads me into discovering old songs, a ton of them. From my earliest period of production around 18-21 years of age. Being 25 now and not hearing these for years surprised me.

A lot of the work was with my good friend James Thorpe who is also on the course. We had tons of music and vocal takes lyrics ideas that we never finished. It reminded me of progress and also how far I’ve come as a creative. As well as finding new samples, and new drum folders. Specifically, one that a UK hip hop legend Farma G gave me years ago and I was so sad that I lost. I now have tons of new content and ideas and organised them with the Mise-en-Place exercise. It’s helped me a lot.

It’s made me consider what I read in the Problems with Beginning book. The idea of using old songs/projects as an idea rather than as a thing to finish. I have so many old beats, samples, lyrics and songs that are from when I was 19. A lot of these ideas are really good and I could see the vision but I couldn’t finish it because I didn’t have the same skills as I do now. Perhaps I can remake an old song or tweak and use it for a new piece? A foundation for a new idea from an old project.

Nostalgia is real!

I read through the 38-page PDF on moodle page around issues of beginning work. I found it really interesting how to break the curse of certain mindsets and workflows. I noted down a few things I found important and noticeable. I also thought perhaps I could create a few ideas for sessions and follow the guide that the book gives. Again just an idea to spark creative ideas.

An interesting point the book makes is that.

“Electronic musicians used to be able to hide behind clunky, emerging technology as an excuse for inaction. But musicians today live in a golden age of tools and technology. “

I’ve been thinking about this a lot and how I can relate minimalism to my prototype to prepare for the major portfolio hand-in. I do believe work that every section is important. Not needing the most update to equipment or having everything at your disposal can be creative heaven. I love the sound of dusty tapes and white noise and analogue hardware and sounds on a physical medium. This line made me think about what I could do to rid myself of this. I have a 4 track tape recorder and I’m yet to create something on it or a whole track. At the moment I use it for processing but I think it’s an interesting thing to do. Make a floor studio in the performance lab. The 4 track as the DAW and play some instruments and a turntable. Sampler. And instruments.

Another was:

Start with what you hear. Many musicians never (or rarely) get spontaneous musical ideas-all of their music comes from active work. lf you happen to be lucky enough to hear original musical ideas in your head, then you should absolutely use them as the basis for your own work. For example, maybe you have a melodic idea that you’ve been humming, or a rhythm that you’ve tapped out on the table. Just because these ideas came to you outside of your active music-making context doesn’t mean you should discard them. On the contrary, these accidental ideas are sometimes the most interesting ones you can have.

I constantly do this, have ideas in my head and sometimes I don’t follow them. I guess I have a fear of not trusting my own ideas sometimes and using samples to cover this. My production due to not knowing musical theory breaks the norms of what is expected and sounds “good”. I’m going to give this a shot.

This was an interesting quote that I wholeheartedly agree with and can relate to. My influences have a large impact on me but don’t define me.

Taking too much is theft. Taking too little fails to acknowledge our influences.

I found this task interesting to attempt, I have already done the attribute task and this deep listening task is similar but a bit more in-depth. I love deep listening and truly focusing on the piece of audio instead of as a background task.

Active listening simply means listening as the primary activity, and it’s an important skill to develop. Rather than using music as the background for another activity, try listening without doing anything else

Listen in Layers

A great way to actively listen is to listen to the same piece multiple times and force yourself to focus on a different specific parameter each time. For example, spend one pass listening only for: 

Sound; What are the timbral characteristics of this music? What instruments are used? What is the texture (dense vs. sparse)? Are there some specific production techniques that you recognize (either from your own or other music)? What kind of acoustic “space” is suggested by the music (dry vs. reverberant, near vs. far, etc’)? 

Harmony; What key (if any) is the song in? What chords are used? ls there a chord progression that happens throughout, or does it change from section to section? lf there are no overt chords (as in some minimal or experimental music), is harmony implied in another way?

 Melody: What’s happening in the melody? Does it have a wide or narrow range? What is its general contour: Angular, with lots of leaps? Stopwise, with motion mostly by one or two somitonos? What

Limiting the fietd of possibilities isn’t iust about making it easier to work. lt’s also about making it possible to begin at all’ lf every possible starting direction is equally appealing, how could you ever choose one?

> Make every sound from one sample. An extreme restriction on available sound sources forces you to really think about the character and possibilities of the sounds you choose’ Can you make a kick drum sample into a lush pad? How about a hi-hat? What kinds of processing could you use for these transformations?

I will be doing this after this blog post, I will be organising my schedule as the first few weeks of this course was me being homeless and searching for a room. I still am but because I am going on tour I need to step up and be more resilient. This scheduling is what helped me a lot last year and I’ll be making a plan.

Schedule tasks as if they were appointments with yourself. Try using a calendar to restrict specific types of work to specific times. For example: Sound design: 7-8Pm Form/song structure: 8-9Pm Mixing:9-1Opm Timeboxing (page 82) specific tasks serves two purposes: lt forces you to narrow your focus while simultaneously eliminating the risk of non-musical distractions (Facebook, etc.)’ You wouldn’t check your email in the middle of a business meeting, so treat these “appointments” with the same kind of care.

Press record, then play and tweak knobs, capturing everything you do as a kind of free-form jam. While jamming, try to forget that you’re recording. Don’t try to make something perfect. Simply indulge in the uninhibited freedom of exploring sound. Follow your instincts-if something is working, let that lead you in a direction. If something isn’t working, abandon it, but do so without stopping the recording’ The trick is to stay out of judgment mode as much as possible. Simply capture as much as you can, following your instinctive sense of what’s right. Don’t worry about hard drive space. If you really need to reclaim the space, you can do that later during the editing phase.

Short timeboxes work because they break apart intimidating’ open-ended tasks into easily manageable chunks; no matter how painful creative work is, anyone can do it for 20 minutes

For me, these two sort of go hand in hand, last year during studio praxis I enjoyed thoroughly the process of improvisation alongside others which is something I want to explore further within my portfolio work and I think doing 20 minutes of improvisation helps that. I want to then perhaps sample what happens during these improvisations.

Last year I followed a guide on Github to create a Lom Preizor DIY electromagnetic microphone. Turned out really great. I soldered the microphone cable to the XLR connector and got the acrylic case laser cut in the 3D workshop. Then assembled the frame with the correct bolts and washers and then wrapped the copper wire around the antenna. Finally finishing with the solder of the copper wire into the microphone cable. This experience leads me to be curious about circuit bending and building further microphones or instruments/circuit bending equipment.

I was commissioned by Professor Angus Carlyle to make him one after he heard about my DIY creation so I’ll be attempting to make it better and sleeker than my previous version. I’ve already got the acrylic base cut and have ordered the parts to build it. Through making this microphone again I’ve been curious about other things I could create as a potential portfolio submission. Again I’m just letting things flow and following what I’m curious/interested in. I found this other DIY electromagnetic microphone that is a little more advanced than the Preizor and its stereo.

It’s called the Elektrosluch. There is a schematic and guide online and I think I might attempt to build it from scratch. I’ll first speak to Rory and see what he thinks. I’m unsure if it’s too complicated but I want to give it a go.

It looks rather simple but does seem to require some sort of knowledge. The guide goes step by step on how to do it so it seems pretty fool proof. I might also contact the creative tech lab downstairs and see what they think and if they have the components. I’ll also update my blog with the Preizor build I’m currently doing. I’m just waiting on parts to arrive at the moment.

The piece I’m choosing for this exercise is called Meatgrinder. A song from Madvillainy. I’m choosing this piece as this was one of the first pieces of music that opened my eyes to abstract vanguard styles of hip hop music. The album stretches between tasteful cuts of varied styles of music, looped up, chopped, and flipped into a completely new piece that pays homage to the original. Listening to this album sounds like an amalgamation of old cartoons and old music. The song Meatgrinder specifically shows this sort of aesthetic I’m speaking about.

Catalogue of attributes:

The introduction sounds like an old destroyed record playing a tv show.

It feels attractive because of the loop, feels like you’re ready to enter and tune in. It alerts the listener. The drum break Madlib has chosen alongside the sample “The jar is under the bed” Captures our attention and makes you want to nod along. It’s a crazy drum break where the player goes wild, alongside a horn instrument screaming which gives a chaotic vibe.

This goes perfectly into the first verse section, it’s very basic in comparison to the intro. Just a really attractive baseline and a shaker to give rhythm alongside bells and a nasty drum break. The drums are weaker allowing the bass line to really shine through. The rhythm section has a great swing, the balance between being on the beat and off the beat. Gives the beat a pushing sense that you fall into the pocket of the snare. As well as the mix and the sounds are chosen all sound noisy and dirty. Something I really enjoy, it sounds very DIY and authentic and creative. Non-conformitive. As well as the sample is tasteful. A ghostly slide guitar comes into the song, with sounds of mouths chewing and spitting throughout giving a textural sense to the beat. Something Madlib really does well is texture in his work. Something I want to try and use with field recordings.

In terms of the lyrics, it’s so unorthodox and intelligent, witty and complex. Alongside throwing the common hip hop/rap listeners off what they are used to. MF DOOM raps with complex rhyme schemes and a sense of uniqueness to his flow and lyrics. MF DOOM is a character and raps like one, he isn’t himself Daniel Dumile but MF DOOM the supervillain against the rap industry. The mask he wears represents being against the image and more about the music. I find the idea of making music from a different standpoint to be really interesting to me. I usually rap about how I’m feeling or my ideas and views but it might be interesting to put myself in a different point of view.

Key attributes are:

Uniqueness

Rustic

Original

LO-FI

Rough Mix

Tasteful

Breaks that knock

Passionate

Complex

Simple on the surface

Depth