Voices #7
◦ “voices” is the place where we ask, artists reply and you read.
here we got:
ellipses
answering some questions. We have already observed his ambient / electronic / drone work here.
[1. IDEA]
■ The A. O.: The track from “painting the sky” that we prefer is “a bridge above, a river below”. Can you tell us how it came to light?
► ellipses: “a bridge above…” came to me while on one of my daily walks. there is a great walking bridge near me with a small park at the end of it. While standing on the bridge overlooking the park, i heard some great bird sounds, wind through the trees, and the sound of water below me. I quickly pulled out my phone to start recording the sounds i was hearing. I had started getting into field recordings before this, having quite a few sitting on my phone for a while. Once i started working on this track, I realized i was really into field recordings and it drove me to buy an actual field recorder. This track and one other (a far pavillion, which was the first track i recorded for the album) are the only once to include the original phone recordings i had done, as a reminder of where i started in my journey.
[2. CREATION]
■ The A. O.: How do you usually approach composition? Do you start with a concept, a sound, a state of mind or what else? How do you generally proceed from the initial seed to the complete work?
► ellipses: I typically start with a sound. I take my field recorder with me as much as I can, in case i hear something really interesting i want to capture. From there, I listen to what i have, closing my eyes and remembering what it was like in that moment. I then try to capture that feeling by playing around with some virtual synths to get a general idea of what I am going for. Then I will hit record and see what happens. I tend to do stream of consciousness playing with my eyes closed, flowing through the notes I am playing. Then comes effects, tweaking of notes here and there, possibly rerecording something that didn’t come out how I liked it. Some songs are quick to come to fruition, others I work on for days to get sounding right. For this album I typically used a midi controller through FL Studio, though i most recently picked up a microKORG which has been lots of fun experimenting with.
[3. FEEDBACK]
■ The A. O.: What do you hope listeners feel or experience when engaging with your music?
► ellipses: I wanted to create an album that people could use as a soundtrack to their daily lives. I wanted people to slow down and appreciate the world around us. I constantly find myself unable to sit still and be, feeling like I have to be doing something “productive”. I wanted to create a space to allow people to set those feelings aside, to simply lay underneath a tree, and watch the clouds go by.
[4. IDENTITY]
■ The A. O.: In a world saturated with digital music content, how do you try to keep your sound distinct and personally meaningful?
► ellipses: I love how much music there is out there, and how easy it is to discover something new. Of course, with the wealth of content, it is difficult to set yourself apart from others. I try to above all else make music for me. music that i would want to listen to. I try to make music that captures the feeling I had in the places i have journeyed, to allow others to visit them as well from wherever they are. I want to create music that tries to bring people together, even for a little while.
[5. INFLUENCES]
■ The A. O.: Name three albums that you consider relevant to your musical path and why.
► ellipses: ○ Brian Eno – Ambient 1: Music for Airports
During the lockdown, I felt more introspective than ever before. I wanted to find something to listen to that would allow me to relax and really just be with myself for a while. I had heard about this album from various sites online but never gave it a chance before as I typically listened to music in the car, wanting something loud with a beat. But since I wasn’t leaving the house, it felt like the perfect time. Since then I haven’t been able to get enough of ambient music. I still don’t listen to it in the car but almost everywhere else!
○ zakè – Remembrance
When i discovered zakè and the Past Inside The Present Label i was floored by the music. So many amazing artist on that label, but the first album that really spoke to me was Rememberance. The beautiful drones and lush sounds were easy to get lost in. The album also showed me how lovely of a community ambient music was, that artists would collaborate with each other a lot. Because of this album and the label, it really opened my eyes to what this lovely music is able to do. To bring people together.
○ SUSS – High Line
Wow this album is a mood. it made me want to try my hand at adding guitars and other physical instruments to my music. it showed me that there is more to ambient music than just synthesizers. this album helped me to sit down and think about what kind of sounds i wanted to capture, to really elicit feelings from my music. it made me want to take music lessons again.
[6. REGARDS]
■ The A. O.: Leave us with a quote you love.
► ellipses: “A story must be told or there’ll be no story, yet it is the untold stories that are most moving.” (J. R. R. Tolkien)