In addition to my relatively uncustomary initial use of noise/distortion
modules
(see the
original web page
about this),
I also used a different approach to the overall construction of
these pieces. I usually have a sketch-like concept of how a composition
might unfold, and then I go about realizing the sounds, usually
sequentially, with each one leading or layering onto the next.
It often feels like a very slow improvisation.
For landforms, I started by constructing blocks of
sound, each one relatively independent of the others (although often
the features of one would suggest another). Then I moved them
around in time, putting them together after-the-fact of their creation.
It was like I had a set of Lego pieces that I arranged
into the final shape. I suspect this is why I started thinking of
the sounds as being the forms of the land, and not the environmental
sounds I had originally intended to produce. I was playing god,
molding the topology and moving the sonic masses around.
As I said in that
original web page,
I wasn't sure I liked them at first.
They've really grown on me, though, and they seem to have caught the ears
of a number of my friends. Maybe because the sounds were audibly linked
through the 'after-the-fact' approach used to constuct them. I'm also
imagining that these might give me an entry back into doing more
VR/music work. I saw/heard some pieces by Mara Helmuth recently that
suggested a path forward for me with the landforms.
Piece website:
Brad Garton
July, 2026