The second option I have decided to go for is the ‘Studio Praxis’ module. Alongside spatialisation, I think I will benefit massively from this because it will allow me to develop my skills in the studio from a more artistic standpoint. I am already deeply involved with mixing, processing, recording and mastering on a day to day basis in my personal practice, but most of this is done using software. I want to get to grips with the hardware in the hope that I will fully understand the characteristics of each mixing tool and develop more of a hands on approach to making sound art. I believe that by immersing myself in the professional standard studio, synthesizers and performance equipment I will strengthen my artistic identity and build the confidence to try and execute some of my ideas that have previously seemed far fetched.
Our tutor, Milo, explained our projects for this term, with the first being an original sound piece that can be presented in any way and can draw from one or both of our specialist options, and the second being an installation that could potentially be exhibited in ‘Gallery 46’, which is located in Whitechapel and run by Sean Mclusky. Sean is a well-respected music promoter, nightclub impresario and film producer, and after briefly reading through his career I am driven to get my work shown in this gallery. The amount of people he has worked with and his innovative approach to club life in London stood out to me straight away, and I am most excited by his affiliations with the UK rave scene. Artists that I regularly listen to and take huge inspiration from such as Goldie, Leftfield, Orbital and A Guy called Gerald have all performed in his venues or worked with him in some capacity, and to have an opportunity to have my work experienced by him and people around him is honestly so exciting for me. With that being said, I am eager to work as hard as possible and trust in my ideas to make sure my work gets chosen.
I will write up another post with my initial brainstorm of ideas for the gallery project, as I will for the separate sound piece project as well. But immediately after learning about Sean, I was struck with the idea to focus on UK rave music but in the context of a sound art installation. At the moment I have so many ideas speeding through my mind that I need to write them down in a more simplified way like a mind map. The general ideas, however, are centred around taking influence from jungle, breakbeat, drum and bass and dubstep and bleeding them into more abstract territory, which I think I would start doing by identifying all of their nuances and trademarks, and then completely turning them on their heads through the composition, manipulation, sound selection and processing and then doing that all again repeatedly. Due to the fact that I make this kind of music on a regular basis anyway, I believe I already have the technique and ability to produce professional standard tracks from these genres, and as a result I feel excited to truly challenge rave music and re-contextualize its aesthetic through breaking rules and pushing boundaries. As is written in my notes above, what hasn’t been done in the area of sound that I am practicing? I think I can use this project to try and bring new ideas to such an interesting area of music and sound.