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.

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.

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.

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.