This phase was about resolving some of the challenges raised during earlier composition, primarily around the dialogue between the senses.
I investigated the ways perceptual focus can shift, depending on the way sound and sensation are presented. This included furthering my working process for sound and sensation composition. I also expanded the sonic palette I was working with from vibrating materials.
This period was characterised by pushing out from the compositional comfort zone established in earlier work.
The ‘march project’ composition, made during this phase, was an excellent research process. I pushed my comfort zone in how to structure work around sound and sensation and tested self-imposed “boundaries” in how I approached composition for sensory interaction. I approached the compositional narrative in a new way, and learnt much about selecting, micing and arranging materials.
It was most useful in understanding limitations which guided later work – on limiting complexity of sounds given their (in)harmonic makeup, on not needing to reach full discordant vibration from materials, on the advantages in drones, modulations, on not becoming lost in tweaking recordings. There were also significant gains in my understanding of mic technique and eqing.
However, the end result felt overlaboured and not successful artistically. Nonetheless, the learnings during this phase were essential in my understanding of the dialogue between the senses and the placement of vibrating materials within a composition.
I had the opportunity to present the auditory component of this work and the other earlier work to Berlin based sound curator Elke Moltrecht, in July 2008. Feedback from her and others at this time was really useful in terms of me reflecting on the success and limitations of the composition/research components. I also talked with Elke about my ideas and concerns on presenting the vibration component in installation.
This period explored the following principal research aims:
The main developments during this period were around appreciating how perception shifts focus depending on the makeup of the sound and sensation elements in a composition.
While the work started by focusing on engaging sensation components/phrases, the introduction of sound into the composition had the curious effect of almost sidelining the amount of engagement or focus on the sensation experience. The audible sense took primacy, even where the content developed was meant to support the sensation experience.
This had important bearings on my approach to structuring composition, and was challenging when moving back and forward from sensation generation to audible vibration generation (as these both couldn’t always be experienced at once).
I thought about the narrative arc that I wanted to employ. In the case of gutterglass, I had found a comfortable area based on drones and closely aligned, simple passages of sound and sensation. In the ‘march project’, I was aiming for smaller phrases of sound/sensation, and more complex interactions. I was trying to avoid falling into the comfort zone of the earlier work, and establish for myself the range of inter-sensory experiences that could work.
Research detail subpage: 5.1 - The dialogue between hearing and sensation - felt and audible aspects affecting awareness and perception of each other