Voices is the music and sounds of the voices inside my head. They are voices of thoughts and things I would say but often don't, things I carry with me but don't express. They are voices I hear while waking down the street, teaching, sitting in a bar, going to concerts... They are my reactions to the world around me.
While editing and mixing the music I began thinking of what this music might look like. I started to explore video "collaboration" with each piece. As I worked with video, it became more apparent that the visuals inspired by the music were an absolute necessity. The music started to take a different shape and became enhanced by having a visual focus. Rather than simply making a "music video" I think of the videos as an integral part of the whole. The music needs the visuals and the visuals need the music.
The visual component of Voices are scenes I've shot of artwork I've made, mostly collage pieces and some paintings. I really wasn't concerned with a particular narrative for each piece, rather I wanted to add another dimension to the music. I want the listener to have a visual focus for listening to the music, but not in an attempt to push a particular experience.
A bit about each piece.
Sonarchy X -
vimeo.com/343330803
I felt there was a certain cinematic quality to this piece and love the name Sonarchy. I didn't coin the term, rather, its was a very important radio show high-lighting experimental music of the Seattle scene. It was recorded as part of one of those shows. The piece has an introductory quality to me, something that says "welcome, please enjoy the journey".
he's Calling -
vimeo.com/343773703
This tune is about the knowledge of a familiar voice coming to say hello. Sometimes it's not a welcome voice. More a reservation that you'll need to be dealing with it soon. The piece also has a sub context about a "shadow" headache. I occasionally suffer from cluster headaches and before one comes on I get a "shadow" headache. Something that lets me know that the real deal is coming.
Selves are like Shamans -
vimeo.com/343773757
This piece is about the idea that we can be multiple things, multiple selves each with their own shamanic abilities. In some ways it's about choosing to be who we want. However choosing one "self" doesn't mean we cant be another. It's about all the facets of our personalities.
The Painted Faces -
vimeo.com/343773808
I sometimes draw Tarot cards to name pieces when I'm at a loss for a title. For this piece each card I drew had a painted face on it. As I contemplated their meaning I began to feel that each were trying to say something to me, but I was unable to understand what they were saying. Like Charlie Brown's teacher on Peanuts! The music felt as if I couldn't quite make out the details, but feel an energy and insistence that something is trying to be communicated.
Wraiths -
vimeo.com/343773847
Wraiths is about visions of spirits moving around me as I walk through the world. I have a recurring dream where spirits of people and animals dance around their dead bodies. Some are familiar to me, others are not, but I feel like they are all connected to me in some way. I like to believe they are spirits from past lives coming to visit.