Name: Blake Aaron Henderson aka Taughtme
Nationality: American  
Occupation: Composer, producer, sound designer
Current release: Taughtme's Laugh On Me is out now.

If you enjoyed this Taughtme interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.  



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

Open or closed. No matter.

But I like to be moving, walking perhaps.

Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

I like hearing wind pass through leaves. The breezes can play trees like an instrument, creating a variety of timbres and textures and the dynamic range can be quite large. You might hear a gently sustained rustle humming along for some time when all of a sudden the trees alight with eager rattles, masterfully expressing the wind’s pulse.

I used samples of foliage during the intro of my latest album. See if you can hear them. (the track is called “(invitation)”)



Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds?

As a kid I often held my breath underwater in the bathtub. There’s something exciting about experiencing the outside world through that filter.

Sounds become dream-like or slow-motion. It’s as if you’ve passed into another dimension and you’re hearing the world from beyond some veil.

Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please. What makes their approach distinct and how have they influenced your perspective on and way of working with sound?

Björk is probably my deepest influence. In fact, her “Human Behaviour” cassette single was the first music I bought with my own money! I discovered it on the radio and begged me mom to drive me to the mall. :)



Björk seems to paint with sound, inventing new sonic environments and elevating texture as a crucial component tho a song. As a little grunge kid It was very liberating to imagine music beyond guitars and drums.

Do music and sound feel “material” to you? Does working with sound feel like you're sculpting or shaping something?

Yes! Texture in sound is very important to me. I find that I’m quite inspired by
visual art. I also find that it’s often easier to talk about music in visual terms (rather than musical terms).

When building my latest album Laugh on Me, my direct for collaborators was described in visual terms. For example, I asked drummer / percussionist Samuli Kosminen to image internal body landscapes, blood and muscles, when creating the drum sounds for “Your body is yours”.



He nailed it.

How important is sound for our overall well-being and in how far do you feel the "acoustic health" of a society or environment is reflective of its overall health?

I heard a fascinating interview with “soundscape ecologist” Bernie Krausse. Look it up on NPR.

He has recorded natural landscapes all over the world and noticed that most natural environments have an inherent balance in terms of frequency and volume. The natural world seems to sort itself aurally. But cities, he countered, are messy and jumbled and cacophonous. He argues that humans have neglected hearing as an essential sense, that we’re under-utilizing our hearing. So perhaps we’re much more sensitive to ugly sound than we realize.

I for one am very bothered by bars or restaurants with terrible acoustics. I can’t relax in such places and instead start daydreaming about what acoustic panels I’d like to install on the walls and ceiling.

Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?

I bring professional ear plugs to live events. It’s often way too loud!

Though I’ve done that for years, unfortunately I’ve still developed mild tinnitus and hyperacusis. I blame my teenage years and the endless crash cymbals that pounded near me.

Tinnitus sucks. My approach is to try to pretend it doesn’t exist but it’s only partially helpful. Protect your ears, people. please.

Many animals communicate through sound. Based either on experience or intuition, do you feel as though interspecies communication is possible and important? Is there a creative element to it, would you say?

Of course it’s possible! I talk to my cat every single day and we understand one another just fine. :)

Have you ever been in spaces with extreme sonic characteristics, such as anechoic chambers or caves? What was the experience like?

I live in the San Francisco Bay area. Along our coastline there are several abandoned military batteries, large concrete structures that once housed large guns to protect us from a sea invasion. I daydream about recording there. They sounds very strange.