Quantisation

This chapter shows a new approach. We move beyond the limitations of literal language and turn to more rigorously defined systems of formal reasoning. They begin as oversimplified toy models only capable of describing the simplest forms, yet they hold the key to eventual transcendence in the story of ‘Unspoken Words’.

I find that abstract structures can be a beautiful place to escape to. That’s why I put a lot of binaural elements in my stereo mixes, and pursue Atmos and full spatial mixes whenever I can, in order to create a surreal space that surrounds you as the listener, and takes you away from everyday experience. This piece uses many layers of sounds constrained to a precise rhymical grid, designed for escapism in dense rigid complexity. Maybe not something for everyone, but it’s something I had a lot of fun making.

I chatted about the idea with Italian artist Donato Sansone, and in collaboration with Marco Holland and Silvia Gariglio, they embarked on a painstaking hand drawn mapping of geometric structures to the elements of the music. I love how the visual interpretation plays on the rigidity and precision of the musical approach, as well as the humanised notation and thought surrounding the structures. For me, it’s a perfect interpretation of the music in the visual realm.

Lawrence Kendrick at String and Tins further enhanced the narrative with spatial audio built around the dynamics of the video. Geometric structures rushing past your head and around the screen, and eventually the full extrusion of the entire sound space around you as the objects take on a new 3D form towards the end with a powerful spatial audio effect.