What’s he doing down there anyway?

The joys of experimentation

Been a minute…

After the release of my last EP, ‘Fata Morgana’ (streaming everywhere, hint hint), I literally went underground and started work on the next thing. Problem is, I had no clue what the next thing would be. Enter my February experimentation phase.

I used to attempt February Album Writing Month (FAWM) every year. Due to day job time constraints, I rarely succeeded in doing more than sketching a few ideas out and feeling like a failure.

January-March around these parts is cold, wet, windy, and generally unpleasant which is a perfect time to hide in the basement and experiment with new sounds and ideas. As I’ve shed the idea of writing an album in 28 days I’ve instead given myself permission to try every dumb-ass, whacky thing that comes to mind.

This year was no different. I set aside the orchestral tools and started experimenting with field recordings, weird audio mangling tools, and most importantly: improvisation.

As a composer, I often get in the mindset of “writing a piece of music”. It’s a mindset that can be more akin to writing a poem or short story: creating a narrative with a structure and a plot.

I’m also a musician. I play instruments and I like to play with no goal in mind. Emphasis on play.

So this year, I decided to emphasize play over composition. Those aren’t mutually exclusive, it’s just a different entry point into creating a piece of music. I’ve made weird noises, found objects that create cool sounds and recorded them. I even have a couple old telephone receivers that I’m turning into microphones. Solder!

So that’s what I’m doing. The next project is going to be a tad different from ‘Fata Morgana’ and I’m excited to find out where it goes!