Constellations

“I started making this piece in the summer of 2017. That year marked 15

years since the US invasion of Iraq. From the piece’s conception, my plan

was to create a sonic eulogy commemorating this anniversary; to construct

an audioverse where I could reflect on the hubris of the United States and

its acolytes. Propelled by ruthless arrogance, bolstered by intelligence

that was categorically false, their decision to act preemptively against

the non-threat that was Saddam’s Regime, thrust the region into years of

destabilization and bloodshed the shock waves of which continue to

reverberate to this day.”

“I have been really inspired by Ad Reinhardt's 'Abstract Painting' from

1963 which depicts nine very subtle shades of black. At first glance, the

viewer sees a flat black canvas. Over time, the viewer notices the subtle

tone differences - one is more red, another blue, one slightly green. The

viewer wonders: which is the true black? That concept has resonated with me

when I contemplate the subtleties in silence.”

“This piece expresses the ongoing search for home and meaning in a time of

ecological collapse and the disintegration of old ideas about our place in

the world. It’s an expression of conversations I’m having with friends, and

of things I’m reading. It's an attempt to make something spiritual and

honest in sound! There are no facts or environmental insights in the piece.

It's more about the internal flow of feelings and emotions that come from

the desire to believe that we might be on the verge of something truly

beautiful, despite (and perhaps also owing to) the health of the planet.”

“DESPOJO is a sound work which only uses sounds from an old vinyl record —

clips and claps. I cut the big sound loop into fragments, creating small

samples. Then I limited myself to using few processes — 1 equalizer, 1

reverb, and 1 delay. Anything else I wanted, I had to manually build inside

the digital audio workstation.”

“In October, 2014, Atsumi Yoshikubo, a Japanese tourist, was seen walking

down the highway outside of Yellowknife with a camera and a shoulder bag.

It was the last time she was seen alive. The following summer, a friend of

mine, Ryan Silke, discovered her belongings in the bush, not far from town.

Rather than delving into how Atsumi died — her death was assumed to be

intentional — I began thinking about how we engage in certain processes to

slow down time."

“Vein of Sky is a collection of pieces made from environmental elements

such as air temperature, humidity, light, and the movements of wind. These

phenomena were recorded using micro-sensors and translated into sound. The

project explores a sonic space or ecology not entirely representational yet

not entirely fictional. I think the sonic space of the piece is kind of

like a sculptural cast; it is imprinted and formed by real space but it has

become something other. Space, air...is so full of material. I wanted to

collect some of it.”

“Being a mother is a huge change for me. Fán is 9 months old at the moment

and sometimes we put her in her high chair and put her up to the piano, and

she really enjoys playing and sometimes singing along. I had a recording of

Fán playing the piano and singing. I also rediscovered a field recording of

a lawn mower in the Botanical Gardens in Dublin that I took a couple years

ago which had this compelling drone-like sound.”

“The uterus is a spatial experience that all human beings share but do not

remember. Within it, we experience the rhythm of our mother’s heart and

that of her breathing alongside the rhythm of our own heart. This first

rhythm, so close in those 9 months of gestation, will shape how we will

perceive the outside world and how our own sense of rhythm in life will

develop.”

“I wanted to make a non-linear narrative of a ride ending in a crash. I

mean, this is the story, but the "events" are presented differently, going

back and forth and connected through acoustic and gestural similarities -

composition. I was influenced by literature and films based on this kind of

structure. I decided to create a work using car sounds to protest the abuse

of the automobile in Mexican cities, and as a criticism of its status as a

cult object. “

“As the title suggests, my aim was to compose a lyrical tribute to the

unique beauty of this coastal region by capturing and recomposing the

sounds and languages of the Salish Sea. I also wanted to explore the

complexity of the relationship between the indigenous and non-indigenous

cultures that call the Salish Sea home.”