Return Journey

Interview of the self

What did you find most captivating about the Sound Building project?

I found the material presented during the brief astonishingly prolific and this fascinated me that sound devices whether instrumentally musical or purely investigative have been the labours of many people, even over the course of centuries!

Why did you choose marbles as a means of sounding your instrument?

It was immediately clear to me that striking an object would allow relatively obvious percussive potential. I deliberately wanted to use a more unorthodox means for emitting sound waves from my instrument, and so was intrigued by the challenge of creating identifiably sustained tones.

Are there any observations you'd care to share about your project ?

My experience of the instrument was that I felt quite a personal connection develop to it. Specifically for example, during the practice and the actual performance - where i found myself immersed within its physical/aural space almost oblivious to others. I've never surfed, but I imagine it would be like entering the funnel tube of an intense wave.

What part of the process did you find most difficult?

I think for myself, that having very little exposure or experience in fabrication or knowledge of tools and materials did not for make for informed structural design or construction but I have to say that I felt a little more comfortable in the 3d lab environment. The technicians are amazingly helpful!

What advice would you give, if any, to anyone considering instrument making - given your recent experience?

I would definitely recommend trying to literally sound out actual materials while certainly sourcing them as well as post acquisition. What I mean is - I think it's important not be afraid to engage the items - that is, try and use all your available senses to investigate the sonic or acoustic properties of source materials. Amplification can be generally applied as a secondary measure, so if you can manifest something intriguing literally through playing around, I think there's a good chance that this can be infused into the overall dynamic of the instrument.

How do you think sound could help artists in in other creative mediums?

I think there is an inextricably but subtlely interwoven relationship between sound and other perhaps more immediately tangible mediums in that, we seem to detect sound on a far more subconscious level than say visual stimuli; yet the impact of aural experience can often be remarkably unaccounted for. My personal opinion is that investigation of 'perceivably visible' space can be accompanied by exploration of the same with aural spatial relationships in mind. I feel this this cultivates an interdisciplinary and augmentative approach; for multidimensional output.