During April - July 2022 I held a 3 month residency with the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio, wherein I was funded and had full access to M.E.S.S’s extension vintage synthesizer collection.
During this time I developed an Octophonic (8-channel) composition titled Sounds of thin places. Environmental recordings from in-between places and responsive, resonant synthesized sounds were arranged across a composition stretching 23 minutes in a full 360* circular sonic space, with a live improvised noise ending on two VCS3 synthesizer’s the VCS3 Putney and the VCS3 Synthi. The movement of the 24 mono source sounds in space was made possible utilising Reaper and SPAT (ReaVolution) from FLUX Immersive.
Sounds of thin places is an expansive, drone-based work taking the listener on a liminal journey, blending environmental recordings with synthesised response - - resonating, reverberating and echoing a subconscious place between immediate realities and a sense of timeless, slow wanderings in shifting semi-industrial zones. Sounds of thin places explores multiple instruments and the “anomalies and interruptions in old circuits, where the machine appears to break through and speak for itself from the M.E.S.S collection, including the Yamaha CS-80, Steiner Parker, ARP 2600, Roland 100M system, Synthi VC3 mkII and Ondes Musicales to create intense drones, crackling signals, wavering harmonics and emerging melodies. Within the octophonic sound system, tones and textures overlap and intersect, slowly morphing and oscillating to create an immersive, cinematic listening experience, along with a performative element engaging with the wavering, noise-drone characteristics of the EMS VCS3 Putney and Synthi MKII.
