Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?
I went into a little detail about my process of creating, editing, and resampling loops so won’t be redundant and go into that again. What I didn’t mention is how I treat those loops, which usually involves using various granular plug ins, delays, reverb, and other effects.
I try to process my sounds in as many ways as I can think of, just doing what comes to me in the moment. I create a library of sounds, once I feel like I have exhausted the options, then I begin the process of subtracting what I do not need. I feel like it is in this space where things can take on the most radical transformation. It is almost as if those earlier loops and treatments acted as a scaffolding of sorts, providing a framework to further develop new sounds.
Once I start removing certain elements, something completely different emerges. Sometimes that is all a track needs, other times I have to add little bits to round out the new direction the track took on. What is so special to me about this process is how something I created took on a life of its own.
It is always so fascinating during the process, wondering to myself, what is this track going to be? Where is it going to take me?
Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?
For the most part, my music creation has been a solitary endeavor, but that is mostly because of convenience. Sometimes it is hard to commit to things because of the demands of my job, and life in general.
Having said that, I have done collaborative tracks with Emmanuel Witzthum and OMRR for the Eilean Records and Dauw collaboration Dialog Tapes II. That was my very first time collaborating with other artists, and it was a wonderful experience.
In fact, it was the true essence of the things I say I enjoy about my own process. Working with someone else really is letting go and letting a piece evolve on its own, and becoming something I never would have done by myself.
How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?
I am not sure I can say how my music relates to the world, but I can say that I aspire to bring beauty into the world. I intend to create experiences and convey emotion in my work and it means so much to me to touch people in the way countless artists have touched me.
How that shows up for each individual depends on where they are at that time, how they relate to sound, and what experiences they bring. The interpretation is up to them. What matters to me is whether or not it moves them in a positive and meaningful way. Even if it soothes someone to sleep.
As far as its role in society, music is a means for expression, communication, and release. It is a vehicle in which stories can be told. It can be a shared experience bringing people together, or a private moment. It is all around us every day, whether it is in the background or the center of attention.
Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?
The most profound thing music has shown me is that we are not alone.
Music has always been a part of my life, there for the good times and the bad. Listening to music that spoke to me about things I was experiencing gave me a sense of connectedness, helped me feel seen and understood. It helped me realize that I am part of something much bigger than myself. The wide range of emotions we feel and the experiences we have in life are universal, somehow that always made whatever problem I was having seem smaller.
I have so many memories tied to music. I remember being a child, fiddling with a small radio listening to classical music. I remember how struck with awe I was when I heard Van Halen’s “Eruption” the first time.
At that time, I raced BMX, so for me, Van Halen was BMX in the same way that Black Flag and the Germs were skateboarding, Tortoise was Design School, and Radiohead's Kid A was my first design job.
Thinking back through my memories, I wouldn’t say that music helped me understand the experiences. Instead, it was my companion, and now it is the key to access those memories.
How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?
I think what music and science reveal about each other is that neither one can be fully understood, despite the fact that we know so much about them.
Science is not a big area of interest for me, so my cursory definition would be a constant search for knowledge to help us understand the world around us. In that study / search, many discoveries will continuously be made. I sorta see music in the same way, at least for myself. To me, music is like this language that will never be fully understood.
What I know of music feels like a tiny fraction of what it actually is, and can be. I feel as if music is so vast, I will continue to learn about it for the rest of my life, or in the least, as long as I pursue it.
Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?
If you look at making a cup of coffee and writing music on the surface, there’s obvious differences. If you look past that, there’s creativity in seeing the beauty and nuance of both tasks.
In the same way that I take care in shaping sounds and giving them a certain character, I put the same intention into making coffee. Paying close attention to the grind, the temp of the water, the water to coffee ratio, etc. I take note of certain things I don’t like about the coffee, and try to improve the next cup.
Making a good cup of coffee is not a passive, or static thing. It takes effort to consistently make a good cup, and that can also change from one batch to the next depending on how the beans were roasted. I put a lot of care into my coffee, and eagerly look forward to sharing it with my wife each morning. It is as much ritual as it is a pleasing beverage. It can be a mundane task with no thought if you don’t look at those details and what the experience means.
I think with ambient music, the same applies. If you don’t pay attention to details, it appears simplistic, and static. It sounds so easy to make, like holding one note on a synth and calling it a day. But if you have patience and allow yourself to dive into the details, a world of experience opens up. A boring drone becomes immersive and emotive.
I use music as a means to express what I cannot articulate. Themes, images and feelings emerge as I lose myself in whatever I am making. I like the idea of things that can only be felt or experienced. Things that words cannot adequately express. While I do love coffee and the experience around it, I can’t say that I go to those abstract places with it like I do with music.
Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?
I suspect that there are numerous reasons why vibration in the air can transmit diverse messages.
First I think culture plays a big part—what kind of music you are exposed to and how you react to and interact with it. Next, I think personal experience plays a large role in this. We bring our own unique experience and perception into the experience of music enjoyment. While there are some things a large portion of people can agree with, for the most part music and how it makes us feel is an individual experience.
An example of this is how I see and feel my own music while I am creating it. There are many times I will see an image or scene, or feel something. That does not mean that anyone that listens to that same piece will experience it in the same way, and why would I expect them to?
Especially with music as abstract as ambient. I have heard from several people that my music makes them feel like they are floating underwater. I have never had that feeling myself, but I don’t think their interpretation is wrong. In fact, I think it is quite amazing, and am always grateful to hear the impression my music makes.
