Category Archives: Portfolio

Conceptualising the “Interspace”

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Within my art, I have realised the importance of “creating alternative spaces” to me. I am very passionate about questioning the way in which we behave in and treat art spaces, whether that is the rave, the gallery or community clubs centred around the arts. I am also interested in merging these differing spaces together, allowing for norms of each “scene” to exist in others where they usually wouldn’t. Conceptualising this idea of the interspace has felt difficult, as my need for it stems from my own personal aversions to certain traits of both the underground music scenes and the art worlds which I traverse in.

My work for Gallery 46 was a short film entitled Circular Intersections, which was my first exploration of this idea of the interspace. Visuals of rave / dance spaces were paired in sequences with visuals of gallery spaces. These were also constrasted with visuals of nature, music making in the private sphere, and dances from South African tribal traditions. I was attempting to contextualise how interwined these differing visuals were, forging connections between my hobbies, education, and heritage.

still from Circular Intersections
Still from Circular Intersections
Still from Circular Intersections
Still from Circular Intersections
Still from Circular Intersections
Still from Circular Intersections

The soundtrack that accompanied Circular Intersections used techniques such as musique concrete, dubbing techniques, live instrumentation and original synthesis to create music that spanned between ambient, minimal / glitch house, and industrial breaks. I believe it is important that, like Circular Intersections demonstrated, we are able to emjoy a multitude of sounds together in the same space, and across the different spaces that we traverse. I therefore want to create spaces that can fascilitate this idea, and art that acts as so- and that is what I will design the interspace to be.

Based on my experience of cultural freehaven spaces such as Het Groene Veld in Amsterdam, I have seen that spaces such as these do exist, and can exist in perfect coexistence with our everyday lives. This will be an important feature of the interspace, as I have found that a lot of art spaces are only accessible at certain times, which may not coincide with the schedules of people wanting to immerse themselves in the environment. This is most clearly seen in the fact that the majority of (London) raves occur in the late hours of the night into the early hours of the morning. People with dayjobs, children, or even those wanting to optimise their sleep health therefore cannot particpate in raves, regardless of wanting to. Many gallery spaces, on the other hand, may only be opened from the hours on 10am to 5pm, again becoming inaccessible to those with dayjobs, amongst a host of other groups. Perhaps this points to why the UK has a large pub culture, as it is the most accessible social hub for most people.

Continuing to define the interspace will be a research process I work alongside my exploration of cultural freehavens. I will immerse myself in such environments, documenting them through photo, video, and most importantly, audio interview. Whilst this will be a basis for my research in documenting the cultural freehaven, it will also be utilised as material to repurpose within my art.

Creating Community in the Interspace: Sonic Experiments with Josie Silverman (MIDBRIB)

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Towards the end of 2023, I became close with Josie Silverman, an artist working in UK dance music scenes under the alias “MIDRIB”. Our first interaction based on sound, outside of our usual practice of DJing, was a women’s only noise and sound making session that she organised at Premise studios.

The entire session was undocumented, as we felt as though it would be invasive to have a camera or audio recording device monitoring us for the few hours that we were there. Josie initiated the session with the intent of using sound as a therapeutic tool, using sound to release and abstractify trapped emotions. Quantum theory states that “observation affects reality”, meaning that when a proton, or particle, is observed, its behaviour is changed. Based on this, we can understand observational devices, such as that of a camera or audio recording device, to affect the quality and authenticity of any sound produced within this session.

Four of us participated in the session; Josie used korg volcas, another person used an accordion, and another person had a few different synthesisers I didn’t recognise. I brought along the loop and granular pedals I had been experiementing with independently. There was a bass guitar and an sm58 microphone that were used by all of us. Everything ran into a mixing desk, and we had a different person opperate the mixing desk in rotation, with the person in that role able to control what sounds could be heard and at what level. We also sat down to meditate together, and discussed relevant litterature to our interests; Josie introduced me to the book Music, Emotion and Trancing- Deep Listeners by Judith Becker.

Having known Josie for a while now within the DJ scenes that I opperate in, it was refreshing to immerse ourselves in an abstract, non-musical sound making process.

Our second non-DJ based sound interaction was at her house in February, where we had planned to make some dance music tracks, but instead, had a 40 minute experimental jam session. I brought my flute and my SP-555, and Josie was using a guitar, pedals, and for a small amount of time, a drum machine. The process felt to be cathartic, with most of the sounds not making sense. We were simply releasing a sense of “detunedness” within ourselves. But although a lot the sounds didn’t make sense, there were some parts of the session that sounded pleasing to the ear, and had a sense of musicality. We decided to extract some of these small ideas, and do what we had originally planned to do- create a dance music track.

It was still experimental in nature, using a sound that wa played on the bass guitar as the “kick drum”, and then not using any other percussive elements.

Overall, this proved to be a much more enjoyable method of creating music. There was an artistic process behind it which involved improvisation, allowing us to immerse ourselves within our instruments that we may not typically use, and to become much more emotionally connected to the project. The outcame gave us a plethora of samplabale material, and a rhyhmic (yet lacking in percussiveness) dance track that could potentially be played in the rave if it were to go through mixing and mastering processes. It was also nice to be able to enjoy a more artistic method of creating music at the same time as one thats more closely tied to my practice as a DJ in rave spaces.

This made me think again of my installation at Gallery 46 last year, where I created a film called Circular Intersections, exploring the idea of the art world and underground music scenes, particuarly the dance music scene, as being interconnected. It is important for me to develop this idea into something more solid, where I can conceptualise this idea. I am going to do this with a new research project entitled “exploring the interspace”, where I will explore, document, and create spaces where the art world and underground music spaces can coexist, building communities surrounding these spaces.

Exploring the Turntable further: Maria Chavez

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Maria Chavez is an artist who I have used as a research point within previous works, as she is a turntablist, like myself. Once discovering Maria’s work, I was opened up to the sonic possibilities availiable to myself if I were to use the turntable in more abstract ways. However, I aleways felt as though her art in itself, whilst interesting and thought evoking, did not speak to me on an emotional or enjoyment level, which is how I usually like to consume art.

This makes one wonder, what is art and must it always be enjoyable? We do not need to be moved by or be entertained by a piece of art for it to be usueful to the trajetory of our lives. This is what I learned in accordance to my own life after an in person lecture and workshop from Maria Chavez. Having this realisation also allows me to understand that I become more invested in art when I am exposed to the artist’s creative vision and process, what they are trying to portray within their works becomes clear.

Maria’s interest in her practice stems from her observation that “when [she] was a kid, if you gave [her] something, it always broke”. By becoming fascinated by her misfortune, her way of looking at art has been fundamentally altered. I resonate with Maria’s experience of things breaking, as I feel that items, particuarly electronic items, often malfunction when in my posession. Perhaps if I took interest and curiosity in this feeling, that way in which I percieve and create art will be re-wired. Maria’s performance practice is a performance of chance, putting restrictions of the depths of her creativity, which in turn can deepen creativity. As I have become more involved with improvisation, I become fascinated with the idea of a “performance of chance”, and is something I’d like to invest time into researching.

Maria Chavez is a part of a trio of abstract turntablists including herself, Victoria Shen and Mariam Rezzai. I found it interesting that Chavez noted the importance of having a network of people that share similar expereinces to oneself, working within the same artistic realm of oneself.

Chavez is of Indigineous Peruvian heritage, which she is inspired and moved by. She tells us of her interest in “archaelogical sound”. From this, she has discovered her interest in working with stone, and would describe herself as a sculptor, not a sound artist. She also uses this frame of thinking to piece where her love of the turntable stems from- the physicality of the turntable reminds her of stone. She is interested in how sound and information were preserved in ancient times, and notes how foley sound in these periods were not made for musical purposes, but rather for the purpose of science and preservation. Maria’s notes on archaeological sound and its relevance as archaic forms of technology are of interest to me.

What defines technology isn’t its relevence to electricity and mechanical development, but rather its relevence in aiding humanity’s progression via methods out of human control. We can see paralells in ancient technology in the technology we use everyday today, most vividly seen in our use of “the scroll”. Before books, we as human would read written information via the form of the scroll, a paper which had to be unravelled from its tubular form to be deciphered. Today, in our turn to the digital age, the scroll has been repurposed in our digital information recieiving methods, whether that is reading an online PDF or the endless scroll of our social media feed.

Here are some statements and concepts from Chavez that I felt resonated with me:

  • “No other device has the stronghold on humanity that the turntable does”
  • The turntable as a macrophone: viewing the turntable as a large contact microphone.
  • “Sound is the most democratic medium to use as an artist”
  • “The body hears, the mind listens” – Pauline Oliveros on listening as being the closest thing to conciousness.

Where Maria is interested in archaeological sound, her work often nods towards this, either through sculpture, re-conceptualising set frameworks for what defines music, and repurposing th eturntable to prove her concepts. Where Maria didn’t like the regularity and normalised experience of creating sound within the music indsutry, she wrote and presented her book Of Technique: Chance Proceedures on the Turntable as a conceptual album. This is a nod to her interest in archaic technologies. Chavez is interested in dissasociating the vinyl record and the turntable from technological sound, using and presenting it in ways that shows how disconnected from technology and / or electrical echanisms the turntable can be.

Chavez’s work , in a way, encourages a “return to nature” through severing our connection with mechanical technology. I myself, however, am interested in deepening our connection with technology in order to embrace a “return to nature”. By familiraising myself with Chavez’s work and concepts, I will be able to construct ways I can present my ideas surrounding technology and nature through art.

Maria Chavez’s practice is not only useful for situating our perspectives on nature, preservation and technology, but also for the development and wiring of our minds. Chavez describes her practice of abstract turntablsim as a way of creating new neural networks within our brains- we should look at her process as a way of adding new methodologies and perspectives to our frameworks when creating art.

When using the turntable, we are physically diaplying and exposing the waveforms which might appear within digitally created sound. When working with abstract turntablism. specifically where one record is being layered atop another, the concept of “chopping” within sampling in loop-based sound making becomes physically depicted.

The Great Feedback Loop: Exploring Remix Culture in Performance and Production.

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Recently, I’ve been reverting back to old practices of making art; entirely for fun, just for myself and my friends with my friends, not to be shared with the rest of the world. Within these sessions, my recent influences of my sound have become apparent in the compositions; Coldcut, J Dilla, Pat Thomas, The Underwolves amongst a range of other trip hop and experimental breaks music artists. In underground music genres, it could be argued that sampling is the single most important factor by which the music’s sound is defined. Some people may take issue with this, as it could be dubbed as “unoriginal”, and a theft of previously generated material.

How can this criticsm be right, though, if our entire world is constructed of a sort of remix culture?

It could be argued that no idea created in modernity is original- we are all inspired by pre-existing concepts. It is important to embrace the practice of sampling and remix culture if we are to be honest and authentic within our art, to be able to pay homage to our inspirations. To go against this would be to be inauthentic as an artist.

(soundcloud link to sp-555 experiments)
(second link)

Here, you can hear the experiments myself and my friends have been playing around with on my latest instrument, the SP-555. We worked with sampling and manipulating CDs we’ve found in the street, and using the delay and looping functions on the SP-555 to create soundscapes far away from the material which we’ve found.

To contribute to my portfolio pieces, I can use these experiements to further develop the soundscapes I may use in my performance by resampling them. With my friends, we experiemnted with this by making a rap song that re-sampled these experiments on the SP-555.

(development of SP-55 experiments into rap music)

This is where the idea of ‘The Great Feedback Loop’ becomes apparent. Pre-existing art being regenerated into new art, and that new art can be re-sampled to create even newer material- this process could go on until the end of time. I would argue that even by recording through a microphone we are sampling the ambience of the environemnt in which we are recording in. We live in a world of sampladelia, to argue against that would be to live in a world of delusion.

Building a Cultural Freehaven: Happiness Starts with Dancing

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After my time in Amsterdam, my involvement in the UK dance music scene (where I have a difficult relationship with the typical environment- I love the music and connectivity but the spaces aren’t built to stimulate that fully) and Kiera Coward Deyell’s lecture, I have decided that it is important for me as an artist to build an environment which celebrates the marriage of art with knowledge, community and comfortability.

Happiness Starts with Dancing is a community centred around the love of the dance, in and out of the rave setting. Whilst many and most people enjoy dance music, they may not necessarily feel comfortable engaging with the typical dance music setting, which is usually situated in the nighttime, in a club setting. Whilst these environments provide pure forms of connection and intimacy with the music, self, and surrounding community, they can also limit comfortability wherein they are spaces (arguably) designed to enhance or support an intoxicated experience. Clubs and venues where dance music is typically enjoyed usually require organisers using their spaces to reach a bar spend, which encourages dance attendees to buy drinks. Whilst drugs (including alcohol) can enhance the dance music experience, they are proven to induce anxieties and ill health in some individuals, so Happiness believes in curating environments where this pressure to drink or use substances is alleviated, and at the same time, is comfortable enough to partake in intoxication if one wishes. Clubs and licensed events spaces are also unfortunately prolific for forms of unwanted attention to all peoples, making the typical dance music environment an uncomfortable space, a “no-go” zone for many peoples. Whilst Happiness does not aim to criticise or disparage the club and nightlife space, as we believe in their value of spaces of connection and art as stands, we aim to provide an alternative environment where people who are not comfortable in aforementioned spaces can still enjoy dance music, and connect with those who are accustomed to said spaces. These existing spaces also arguably have a narrow definition of what dance music is: Happiness aims to platform sound that is not restricted to just UK Bass or Western dance music. We believe that if sound brings you joy, and moves you to express yourself through movement, it should be considered as a form of dance music.

Providing this alternative space may look.. odd, from certain perspectives. These alternative spaces, whilst connecting those with a love of music, dance and art, will not be completely wrapped up in themes of dance music. To have a love of dance music is to have a love of the culture that surrounds it. Happiness’ first initiative in creating an alternative space whilst living up to the previous statement is the organisation of a book club, Happiness Starts with Knowledge. This book club will give individuals the opportunity to read articles, books and other written material in a communal setting, alleviating some of the struggles some may have with reading (neurodivergence, time constraints ,etc; any reasoning is valid), and be able to discuss these texts together in order to gain insights and perspectives about the texts one may be unsure of, or hadn’t considered. These texts will include, but will not be limited to, writings around music and the cultures that surround it. 

The book club relates to sound art as it will be a practicing of aural cultures: historically, humans have gained knowledge and skill through aural teaching, which is why so much “common scensical” knowledge is unwritten, undocumented. We as humans process information differently when intaken verbally than visually.

The book club is a premise for what is to come from the Happiness community- eventually I want to build a cultural freehaven similar the the commune in Amsterdam, but obviously on a much smaller scale. Essentially, I want to build an environment where people with a love of the arts can come together and connect at any time, and with any activity.

Sound Art in Practice: Kiera Coward Deyell

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Kiera Coward Deyell is an artist working with sound design, sound systems and the wider community. The later two involvements are key interests in my practice, making Kiera someone useful for me to research. They are the lead sound technician for Black Obsidian Sound System (BOSS), which correlates with their “dayjob” as an electrician; Kiera is someone who is constantly working in the realm of electronics. Much like myself, Kiera’s itroduction to a personal involvement in music and sound stems from learning the violin at a young age (though Kiera’s during primary school and my own throughout secondary). Their interest in sound is stimulated by the soundscape of their home growing up, with Kiera’s mum having an involvement in the UK’s lover’s rocl anf punk scenes. Kiera’s mother, just like Kiera theirself, was involved with sound systems, unloading for Fatman Sound, alongside promotion work. Kiera describes their dad as a “music obsessive”, working with repairing jukeboxes.

Whilst Kiera grew up in the “tail-end” of the grime scene, they were heavily involved in the DIY punk scene, rehearsing and playing gigs in squatted spaces. This is of huge interest to me, as for my second portfolio piece, I would like to curate an event which is hosted in a squatted space. The reasoning for this is that it establishes my community I would host it under (Happiness Starts with Dancing) as anti-establishment, and allow for more creative control of the space in terms of sound and aesthetics.

Kiera’s involvement with making music stems from their exposure to grime music, having made beats in Reaper and FL Studio as a teenager. Whilst Kiera’s sound making in music is ongoing, it is not of public listenability, and is more of a therapeutic process for them. Kiera posed the question “what is sacred in sound?”, which alludes to the idea that we are living through an era where young people are pressured into capitilising our art- why must everything be shared with those who are not connected with us? If everything is to be publically shared or released, what do we make that is solely for ourselves and our loved ones? Since the lecture with Kiera, I have pondered on this thout and have been reinspired to create art the way I used to, just for fun as a social activity with my friends, not to be shared outside of the session. This leads to pure expression, as there is not the fear of perception or acceptance. Like myself, Kiera is also a DJ, and uses their sets to push more “experiemental” forms of dance music.

Although I am studying sound art, I am deeply interested in, and would like my life’s work and research to contribute to the wider questions our wordly network are struggling to answer. These are questions relating to the origin of conciousness and humanity, the myseteries behind opinion, emotion and sentience. Being an artist, one may, however, feel very far removed from the possibility of attaining knowledge around these themes. Kiera has shown me that art, may in fact, draw us even closer to these ideas than mainstream science, having studied and Arts and Science degree. Science is very theoretical, and may strip concepts of a humanly perspective. If studied alongside the arts, however, scientific concepts become more in tune with human thought. I have now discovered that at masters level, I am able to study an Arts and Neuroscience degree without having to have an academic background in science.

Kiera became involved in working with sound systems when an opportunity arose in Glascow to teach young people how to build sound systems, where a bicycle powered sound system was communally built. It was during this time that they were introduced to Amelia Beatrice, who later Kiera has collaborated on audio-visual projects with. Upon their return to London, Kiera was comissioned by Evan Ifekoya to build a sound system for an installation. This is the sound system that came to be Black Obsidian Sound System, solely managed by queer people of colour. It is beautiful to see a sound system in such hands, as sound system culture is notoriously stangnant; it is very male dominated, and usually only hosts a short range of music includng dub, reggae, and free party music (trance, acid house). Kiera’s practice within sound systems has been of the benefit to their wider community.

Broken devices, broken art?

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I was very excited to get stuck into using the loop and granular pedals over the winter holiday. I was really wanting to develop my creative practice, using these pedals to divert my practice as a DJ to a more artistic direction.

However, once everything was set up and the power switched on, nothing was working. No signal of light from any devices being used, no amount of troubleshooting could bring power to the pedals.

This is the type of barrier that is most prominent to me when attempting to create art. I have always found myself to be in posession of instruments that are malfunctioning in some way. Perhaps it is my own carelessness, and I am not handling the instruments and devices I use with enough care. But I highly doubt this- I am always careful to make sure the instruments I use stay unscathed. I atrribute this malfunctioning of devices, particuarly technology, to a sort of energetic incompability between myself and the device; ever since I was young, even a brand new iPhone would malfunction and freeze, not work as it should, when it was in my hands. I experience this to this day, and have become acustomed to the fact that technology may not work as well in my presence.

I would love to reseach into this potential “phenomena”, however, I am unable to find any claims, evidence, or even anyone who agrees with my experience with technology. Perhaps this means I can use my art to pioneer a new field of knowledge.

However, rather than be disheartned by the constant malfunctioning of equiptment, it would be useful to become acquainted with the ways in which I can solve these malfunctions. Not only would I be able to troubleshoot the problems which I come across by repairing equipment, I would be able to find innovative ways of utilising any malfunctions to my advantage, which is where a basic understanding of DIY electronics becomes useful.

In the second year, we were given an introduction into DIY electronics, being taught the roles of capacitors and resistors, and how to utilise these within experimental sound creations. In the first year, we built contact microphones, utilising the skill of souldering. In the repairs I have had to have administered on instruments detailed later in this blog, the skill of souldering has been a key element.

My saxophone broke around two years ago, where the octave key had become removed from the neck of the saxophone. This meant that the instrument was disused for two years, hindering and even regressing my skills on the instrunment. I finally took it to repair in December, which cost me 300 Great British Pounds. I was informed that to re-attach the broken piece, all that was needed was a simple soulder job. Had I known this, I could have used my souldering skills I learnt in year one to fix the saxophone myself.

My good friend and practicing engineer, Ricarnaye, repairing my housemate’s bass guitar.

My housemate’s bass guitar, which I was using as part of my experiements with the loop pedals, had stopped working. We were unsure of the problem, and the bass guitar was out of use for over a month. Upon mentioning this to my engineer friend, Ricarnaye, he offered to fix it for us, and allow me to sit in on the process. What I thought was going to be at least half an hours work turned out to be a five minute job. Ricarnaye simply removed the strings and pick guard, and the problem with the bass was immediately in view; the souldering at the jack insert had come undone, and all that was needed was for Ricarnaye to re-soulder this connection, and the bass was back in full functionality.

When making art, especially using technological and / or fragile equipment, it is important to understand that complications will happen, and as an artist it is important to be able to know how to combat these complications. Whilst I have still not been able to troubleshoot the problem with the loop and granular pedals, this learning experience has taught me to familiarise myself with the technicalities of any instrument I decide to incorporate into my art. It is also not so bad that I have been unable to use the pedals, as I have purchased an SP-555, a sampler with a built in loop function.

SP-555 and a dynamic microphone

Much to my advantage, the SP-555 works like a condensed version of the set up with the pedals, but all in one machine. I could also use the sampler aspect of the instrument to incorporate my own samples and soundscapes into the performance. I am very excited to develop my experiments using the SP-555.

Bridging Practices: The Power of the Pedal Board

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Taking my experiments in improvisation further, I have come to incorporate a loop pedal as an instrument in my set up.

As seen in the image above, there has been more of a focus on using the turntable as an instrument as opposed to my classical instruments, although I am still incorporating them within my experiments. The turntable is the instrument I am most confident in, and therefore is easier to manipulate in a setting where the loop pedal is involved, as the loop pedal requires a presicion of timing.

It is important to incorporate the turntable for conceptual reasoning: this is an instrument that signifies the world and humanity’s relationship with technology, which is where my interest in writing lies at the moment. The turntable is an analogue instrument, relying on electricity, power to be utilised. In this sense it is highly technological, and its invention in the nineteenth century was a key point in the development of humanity’s understanding of technology. Being analogue, it howevever is also very easy to humanly manipulate.

The loop pedal is an intersting device, as not only does it allow the user to record, store, and build on ideas, it fascillitates tempo manipulation, as seen in the video above. This meant that I was able to record at much lower tempos to have more control when playing in basslines and creating the loop of the breaks.

The loop pedal is a great way for me to build a live set where I can build on sounds to create a whole piece of music, as opposed to improvising on one instrument, where I cannot build and creat a whole piece of music.

The granular pedal was an addition to the set up that allowed for variation and more experimental qualities to be added to my performance experiments.

Click image for full video of experiment using BOSS loop station, turntable and live instrumentation.

As seen in the video, the performance piece I am planning uses existing drum and bass records to build on breaks to create my own sounds. However, as I am still experimenting, it trakes a while for the track to build; this could be boresome to an audience and may not translate well in a live setting. There was also complications in incorporating the double bass- in the clip, you can see it fall over. In a live setting, not only would a double bass be impractical to transport to venues, but it may fall over as did in the above practice session. In addition, due to the nature of the double bass being an accoustic instrument, when recording a bassline to add o the piece, it picks up on the sound of the room. This could be combatted by using a contact microphone. In later experiements, I used my housemate’s bass guitar instead, as it could be connected directly to the loop pedal to construct clear basslines undisrupted by the sound of the room. The bass guitar is also smaller, and strapped around my body so as to avoid any damage to the instrument.

Although I heavily enjoyed the process layed out in the above video, the performance so far is still very situated in the realm of UK dance music, and not the art world. To make the performance more experimental, I would like to deviate from the drum and bass DJ style set that the performance currently feels it has. To do this, I am going to start the performance with elements other than percussion, and sample records which aren’t drum and bass. I would love to sample my own soundscapes and percussion textures, however the costs involved with pressing vinyl can be high, and the time to get the pressings back may not coincide with the deadlines of the unit. Nevertheless, it is something I will research to expand the scope of this piece.

In Practice: Instrument jams and breaking musciality

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My interest in the sonic is rooted in my love for music, which began with playing instruments. I feel as though my instruments are my tools in which I can create, and through my instruments I am able to sonically translate my thoughts and feelings. Through studying sound art, I have become familiar with common tools used in the realm for creating sound, such as tape manipulation and creation of sound sculpture through DIY electronic methods. It is clear that my instrument prcatices are more rooted in musicality than the methods aforemorementioned.

Whilst music is a part of the sound art realm, musical performance and the creation of “genred” music is not concerned with the notion off “sound” specifically, wherein it does not “harness, describe, analyze, perform, and interrogate the condition of sound and the process by which it operates” (LaBelle, 2006). I would argue that Western musical performance (such as classical music, pop and other musics inended for commercialised entertainment) is concerned instead with aesthetics and capitalism. Music made under this branch is intended to please the brain rather than challenge it.

Although I come from a musical background, I am interested in creating art that challenges the brain and society. I want to use sound as a research tool to understand the topics I am interested in: the impacts of technology on the human mind and evolution, the upholding of a community opposed to the neoliberal society we are forced to be a part of, and how we can better our lives and society.

When we look at music from the perspective of the creation and manipulation of sound rather than for its aesthetic qualities, these areas of my interest do not seem so far unrelated from sound. Studying music from a scientific point of view points to it as a key tool for human development in evolution. It also points to music as a communication tool in historic contexts, aswell as displaying its therapuetic and unionising effects.

So how do I incorporate my practices on my instruments into my development of knowledge in these topic areas?

My first mode of inquiry is my initial research into the connection between sound, music and the brain. Through my intrigue in sound system culture, I have learned of notions such as “mind-body dualism”, allowing me to understand the mind and the body as the same entity, with external factors that effect one of these things (the mind or body) inevitably effecting the other. With this knowledge, I have come to analyse dance music through its effects of sound on us as humans as opposed to its musicality.

What would it be, then, to make or perform music that is concerned withs its effects on our minds and bodies rather than musicality?

My first mode of inquiry for this question was to make and perform music that is not reliant on musicality. I achieved this through the technique of improvisation.

Self improvisation on the harp.

In this video above, I am improvising on a harp, which is an instrument I have no prior experience in. Interestingly, I felt that this improvisation felt very musically pleasing, particuarly in comparisson to the later examples of improvisation I provide in this piece of writing. Perhaps my lack of knowledge on the instrument eliminates any boundaries in how I think it should sound pr be played. When playing the eharp, I noted that I felt joyous- I was focussed on the texture of the strings on my hand, and how the physical act of playing the harp made me feel. Through this piece of improvisation, I now understand improvisation to be a big tool when in need of cathartic release or some form of physical stimulation.

Keyboard, loop pedal and SP-404 MK2 improvisation with Wilf Merson, multi-disciplenary artist working with sound, music and words.

In the video above, I am taking part in an improvisation with my good friend and music collabrator, Wilf Merson. Although the whole set up isn’t in camera view, Wilf is using an SP-404 to manipulate sounds that are being played out of the keyboard I am using. There is also a loop pedal in use, allowing me to create layers and textures with the keyboard. Although Wilf and I both come from musical backgrounds, this improvisation session didn’t feel like it was completely wrapped up in musicality.

Saxophone and double bass improvisation with Louie Stickland, someone who is not involved within sound making.

In the video above, I am seen playing saxophone alongside my friend Louie, who is playing double bass. This was an interesting jam, as Louie is someone who doesn’t actually play any instruments. Because of this, the improvisation session was very free flowing, and relied on constant eye contact to ensure we were playing cohesively. It was also interesting as at the time, my saxophone was broken, so I was limited in what I could play. Louie is an animator who sometimes works with sound design in his work, so perhaps this background have him an advanatge in creating sound here.

In these experiments, I have had an advantage of being minimally skilled on my instruments, making it easier for me to break away from musicality than someone who is confident or very skilled on thei instrument. However, this may also hinder me from being able to “read the room” of a group improvisation setting, meaning that performance or creation of sound may not be cohesive.

To develop my research into my inquiry, I feel that I need to understand my instuments more. This is not to say I need to develop my musical knowlege on them, but I would like to understand how best to manipulate the textures of sound to best translate how I would like the sound to be heard.

Improvisation can be thought of as an interaction of our pre-existing knowledge with our cognitive and emotional processes (Williamson, 2015). With this in mind, participating in improvisation as an artist can help us to understand our subconcious mind more cohesively, which in turn will contribute to further understanding of the human brain and conciousness.

Sound Art in Practice: Farah Mulla

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Farah Mulla is a multi media artist based in Goa. Having studied geology at university, Farah became interested in the relationship between science and sound, not seeing them as different from one another. Using her background in science, Farah investigates the effects of sound on the psyche.

“From birth to death we are always immersed in sound”

Whilst studying at Cambridge, Farah began recording herself, and listening back to these recordings. These came to cultivate her installation piece, “Oral Mirror”.
“Oral Mirror” was situated in the space of a dark room, playing sounds on a loop until the overall sound becomes a drone. Simultaneously, Farah has started to develop tumours on her face, which I interpreted to be a factor in pushing her engagement with research around sound healing.

Whilst in the Himalayas, Farah built an installation in the mountains featuring a plethora of plastic water bottles which creates a large dome (pictured above). The bottles were intentionallt tuned, so that sonic feedback was created, which depended on the wind. This installation was therefore also a performance of chance, with the sound being produced inestimatable. Farah’s intentions behind the piece was to raise awareness around waste, making this piece an environmental statement or a piece that is situated in ecology, again linking her work back to science.

Whilst in the Himalayan mountains, Farah also became immersed in research surrounding sound baths and sound therapy. There are claims to be made about sound baths, such as that they “can cure cancer”- but this is a statement that stands with no quantative proof. Practices in sound therapy are based around the idea that every organ in the human body vibrates at a different frequency, and that disease is stemmed from our organs becoming out of tune with the frequency it is meant to vibrate at. Farah’s research surrounding these ideas led her to create a short film due to the involvement of a film director working with ASMR.

It is interesting to see how Farah’s practice as both a scientist and a sound artist allows for her interests to feed into her art, and her art to feed into her interests.

Whilst Farah has created many beautiful art installations, she became disengaged with art due to her comfortablity of gaining “results” or “finding” within her scientific background. She figured out a way to use sound and science together for the benefit of people with disabilities. Working with the concept of neauroplasticity, Mulla refurbished circuits from her installations to create materials to help develop disabled people’s, particuarly children’s, cognitivie abilities. Within this, Farah uses her work with frequencies of sound emulating touch. Farah now works in accessibility within the arts, working with organisations to alter modes of therapy.

How can I insoproprate or reinterpret Farah’s work within my own?

Like Farah, I am interested in creating installations, so I was very drawn to her dome of bottles in the Himalayas. However, what drew me more into the concept was the idea of chance that has been incorporated, rather than the ecological reasoning for the artwork.

Aside from the creation of art and installations, I am very interested in looking further into the research Farah took part in involving the sound baths.

The use of gongs historically have been of music and therapy in the East of the world. The same thinkinng behind the therapuetic use of gongs and sound has been adapted to provide cancer threatments, in high-intensity focused ultrasound (Caner Wellness, 2023). Whilst this form of treatment is not exactly the same as music therapy for healing, it is clear that sound waves are “capable of rapidly and efficiently separating circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood” (Cancer Wellness, 2023).

Whilst gongs may not be scientifically proven to cure cancer, they are shown to be a tool of relief and mental therapy, providing “a sense of peace and calming and release” (Cancer Wellness, 2023 for cancer patients. And if this form of therapy can be beneficial to canceer patients, it is definitely benefical to all people.

I am lucky enough to have been gifted a bonang by my brother in law, an Indonesian instrument used as part of the Gamelan. The bonang is a group of gongs, all tuned at different pitches.

I am going to make it my aim to learn and understand the cultural and historical significance of the bonang, and later adopt it as a tool in my sound practice. How that will transpire, I am not sure yet, but I am excited to see where this journey goes.