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Part 2

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece or album that's particularly dear to you, please? Where did the ideas come from, how were they transformed in your mind, what did you start with and how do you refine these beginnings into the finished work of art?

My most recent LP, Adisceda (2019), was a project that I had written to commemorate the life of my late grandmother. It was the first album that I had written freely, in my goal of translating the emotions of grief, remembrance and loss in the most organic way possible. At the time of writing the project, I struggled to comprehend the experience that I had faced as the result of losing a loved one, and in a way, the project became a coping mechanism and an important part of my healing process. It still helps me in that way, and I’d like to thank David August and his 99Chants record label for understanding this throughout.

In Its early stages, the album began as a collection of raw, ambient loops, with some tracks being completely unmixed or mastered. At the time, my friend Tarek, who was on the same course as me at university, had recommended an incredible record label (99Chants) that promoted similar work to my collection of demos. I contacted the label and after numerous phone calls, my demos slowly took shape as the second installment of the label.

To musically break the project down, I wanted to convey the spiritual atmospheres of the Bath Abbey cathedral, where I had spent my earlier years as a chorister. From the distant whispers and shuffling of the congregation, to the harmonic resonance and reverberations between the church walls, my ultimate goal was to process each sound to replicate this delicate experience. I also wanted to ‘realize’ my personal idea of a spiritual ‘afterlife’ and texturally hint at the ancient foundations of my hometown (Bath, Somerset).

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter into this state more easily?

I don't believe there's any particular mind set for being creative, but I have noticed that a handful of musicians are highly introspective and observant. A large portion of creatives have a level of sensitivity; one that allows for them to express themselves truly through their art, which in the greater scope gives a backbone to culturally and morally supporting our society. In my case, creating music was the result of influence, curiosity, and wanting to create my own atmospheres during a heavy hand of experiences throughout my earlier years. Now, I in no way promote the concept of the 'tortured' artist, as creating is something for everyone but I've also seen, and spoken to, some of the most incredible musicians who have been through unfathomably challenging times.

How is playing live and writing music in the studio connected? What do you achieve and draw from each experience personally? How do you see the relationship between improvisation and composition in this regard?

I come from a DJ oriented background, so generally my live performances differ to that of an instrumentalist or singer. Typically I work with a number of pre-programmed loops, channels and effects that allow me to creatively perform and replicate the arrangements of some of my releases in a live format. For my next string of performances (after this COVID lockdown), I am aiming to transition some of my works on the piano, after being heavily inspired by fellow artists Gigi Masin and David August. As a child, I was obsessed with playing on my grandfather's piano, and I think that it would be amazing to introduce my more classical works during my live performances. I wish to move away from the dance/club setting these days.

How do you see the relationship between the 'sound' aspects of music and the 'composition' aspects? How do you work with sound and timbre to meet certain production ideas and in which way can certain sounds already take on compositional qualities?

I tend to categorize ‘sound’ and music as two completely different things. ‘Sound’, for me, is a broader term that I use to describe what I do in its rawest form, whereas ‘music’ is an arrangement, and generally refers to a style or structure. When writing new music, I use their differences to intertwine and at times, counteract each other. A close example of this process is evident in Richard Divines work, as well as Clark or Squarepusher on Warp Records. They’re incredible examples of how you can interlace sound design and audio processing with musical composition.

Our sense of hearing shares intriguing connections to other senses. From your experience, what are some of the most inspiring overlaps between different senses - and what do they tell us about the way our senses work? What happens to sound at its outermost borders?

I have chromesthesia, an off-shoot of ‘Synesthesia’, which is where sound involuntarily overlaps with an experience of color. By no means is this experience hallucinogenic, it is merely mental picturing, but it has certainly allowed for music to be a lot more of a visual experience. Helping the technical process of writing music and spotting minute sonic details and intricacies. For instance, I associate an 808 kick-drum with deep purple, a snare with orange/red and a hi-hat as either yellow or white. I had actually used this mental picturing to program the textures and polyrhythmic drum breaks on the Spirit Image EP (Collective Resonance Records). It’s very strange now I think about it.

Art can be a purpose in its own right, but it can also directly feed back into everyday life, take on a social and political role and lead to more engagement. Can you describe your approach to art and being an artist?


Unlike my earlier work, I no longer write music as a statement. These days, I write music for its beauty, and how it is able to help both myself and others overcome challenges we may face through our time. I treat music and art in a similar way to reading a book, with each sound and picture being a piece to a greater story.

It is remarkable, in a way, that we have arrived in the 21st century with the basic concept of music still intact. Do you have a vision of music, an idea of what music could be beyond its current form?

Like many other genres and styles of music that have come and gone, I feel that the industry will progress with popular culture, and will remain politically driven as we have seen in the past. The concept of music will continue to remain intact as it is a universal language; one that has supported us through the greatest and most challenging of times.



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