Category: creative sound projects

I am incredibly excited about the release of “Sketches,” a four-track compilation that stands out due to its unique creation process. The journey of “Sketches” began with an unfortunate event but ended with a surprisingly positive outcome. This project emerged from a situation that initially seemed disastrous: my laptop suddenly stopped working and refused to power up, leaving me devastated. My laptop had been my primary tool for composing music, housing several ideas and projects that I had been meticulously developing. My typical approach involved creating music in the comfort of my home, usually in the evening, hunched over my laptop, carefully crafting and refining each piece. I was constantly tweaking sounds as inspiration struck, aiming to achieve perfection.

However, “Sketches” was born under entirely different circumstances. With my laptop out of commission, I was forced to leave my usual creative space and adapt to a new environment. I had to use different equipment and software at the university campus, which significantly changed my workflow. This abrupt shift pushed me out of my comfort zone and into unfamiliar territory, but it also opened up new possibilities.

The resulting sound of the tracks on “Sketches” is fresh, new, and exciting. This project marks my first few ventures into using Ableton, a software I had not extensively worked with before. I found Ableton to be incredibly intuitive, making it easy to experiment and explore new ideas. This new toolset allowed me to incorporate different techniques into each track, giving “Sketches” a distinctive and innovative sound.

The process of creating “Sketches” taught me invaluable lessons about making the best out of bad situations and being resourceful. Faced with the loss of my usual equipment, I had to adapt quickly and find new ways to bring my musical ideas to life. This experience made me less precious about my projects; I became more comfortable with the idea of letting go and deleting files after recording, focusing instead on the spontaneity and rawness of the creative process.

Overall, “Sketches” is a testament to the power of resilience and adaptability. What began as a frustrating setback turned into an opportunity for growth and exploration. The tracks on this compilation are a reflection of the unexpected journey I undertook, characterised by a willingness to embrace change and experiment with new techniques. Each piece in “Sketches” carries a sense of freshness and innovation, born from the necessity to create under different circumstances.

In essence, “Sketches” represents a turning point in my creative process. It embodies the idea that sometimes, being pushed out of our comfort zones can lead to remarkable outcomes. The challenges I faced while creating this compilation ultimately led to a more dynamic and versatile approach to production. As a result, “Sketches” is not just a collection of tracks but a narrative of resilience, adaptability, and the exciting possibilities that arise from embracing the unknown. I am eager for listeners to experience the unique sound and story behind “Sketches,” a project that has redefined my approach to making music and has resulted in something extra special.

I am JEZMAN, an artist seeking to document my personal experience and state of mind through sound. My musical journey is constantly evolving, starting out making beats on my dad’s computer as a teenager with no guidance. I had to experiment with the equipment to find out how to use it, now after years of making music, experimentation is key to what I do and most enjoy when creating music.

I find that music allows me to freely express my emotions as it can be very difficult for me to articulate and communicate my thoughts. Music has also allowed me to form meaningful relationships with like-minded people and I am one third of BigRobot, that is a fun music project, creating experimental electronic dance music. We soon realised it’s potential and wanted an outlet for our music so Nasterisk was formed, specialising in music events and videos. The aim is to provide a more holistic, sensory experience, incorporating the crowd, and making special memories.

To date I have released a few albums influenced by nature, philosophy as well as the eclectic selection of music that I enjoy listening to. For me, music is very much the expression of mood and emotion, and it connects in a way that transcends mere words.

I find it so helpful to be able to experiment with sounds and communicate musically to surpass my verbal inadequacies. It allows non-verbal communication from deep within me and hopefully the listener can connect and resonate with my journey.

Song writing has always been a weakness for me, I find it hard for express the things that I want to in the same way that I can through instrumental work. This has led me to discover a way to add narrative into my work without words, using ever shifting sounds and subtly evolving synth lines along side sound effects and field recording when I feel necessary.

I would say the song where I create narrative the best would be the titular track from my album Growing Pains. It is the piece that communicates most effectively. I believe this track takes the listener on an epic journey, slowing building in tension until around the seventh minute where walls are ripped down and nothing is held back. Noise and feedback wail and scream as the melody passively continues underneath as if unscathed, puncturing any language barrier and causing a flurry of intense emotions. The melody outlasts the noise in the end, a simple reminder that though we may face hardship and challenge, we must continue to persevere.

Knock Knock has been a very interesting listen. I have come to appreciate sound design in a new way and not only in high budget Science fiction movies like Transformers or Dune, or movies where sound is the obvious focus like in Skinamarink or The sound of metal. This is not uncommon, to quote Ron Geesin ‘Because it is the unknown force, it creeps under doors and it gets into you… It’s used and abused more than any other art form.’ Sound effects undoubtedly change the we perceive media as an audience as investigated in Geesin and Breakwells piece ‘Auditorium’. However, they often go overshadowed by the visual elements of a production.

Since joining sound arts, I have been allowing myself to lean into a very improvisational style. My eyes have been opened to so many strange and wonderful artists, I feel a sense of freedom now when I sit down to record; I no longer worry about every little detail. My practice has become a meditative one and a place for me to express the emotions that I don’t know how to, allowing for a deeper connection to each piece. I find the music now speaks all of the words that I cannot say.

Since the start of the academic year I have been working on my first album. This process along side my studies has lead me to discover, or rediscover a lot of new artists which have all had an impact on my practice in some way or another. In this post, I will be discussing the two most influential.

Alessandro Cortini

I have been listening to Alessandro Cortini for some years at this point. His analogue production style has an emotional poignancy that has definitely affected my practice. In the video linked below, he talks through one of his live performance set ups, which got me think about how I could adapt my production techniques for a similar setting. This process allowed me to focus a lot more on practice rather than results, ultimately leading to the creation of my album, Growing Pains.

Avanti is the album of his that I hold the closest, I believe there is a power in repetition and that is something that I learnt from Cortini on Avanti. Each track lingers on short arpeggios that grow in intensity throughout as other elements are brought into the mix, creating a feeling akin to a damn slowly filling then bursting then the moment is right.

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7038634357, or Neo, is another artist I have been following for a while. Their music tackles a certain melancholic feeling that I have always struggled to put into words. Neo’s productions are totally encapsulating and the sound design is delicate and detailed creating a space where curiosity is warmly welcomed.

Neo Seven is their latest release and it is a project that I instantly fell in love with. This time round the productions have teeth that cut to the bone. Vocals are a more than welcome addition and add another level of emotion to an already crushing listen. Winded and Perfect Night opened my eyes to combining ambience with noise in such a tasteful way that I had not previously thought possible.