field notes

field notes is a ‘project in progress’, composed for Soundstream’s 2019 Emerging Composers Forum in Aldinga (Ngaltingga - Kaurna land), Adelaide with much thanks to the open ears/minds, generosity and curiosity of Gabriella Smart, Cathy Milliken, Vanessa Tomlinson, Erik Griswold, Mark Patterson, Olivia Davies, Luke Cuerel and Christopher Williams.

field notes is a collection of miniatures in playful response to Aldinga Scrub Conservation Park. The miniatures are composed and derived from researched, observed and imagined found material (objects, ephemera, words, images, musical objects and more) from virtual, real and imagined sites. Here you will find a collage of my work and ideas that I have assembled in the interest of sharing with you the joy of sonic play and curiosity that many musicians (myself included) have the pleasure of being possessed by!

note: you can click on images to get a closer look !

In developing this work, I was interested in creating a handbook of sorts consisting of experiments, observations, ideas, investigations, activities, studies, ideas, surveys, mini pieces, games (and more!) to then explore with Gabriella, Cathy, Vanessa and Erik. Prior to visiting the Scrub for myself, I spent time virtually exploring the scrub and created a collage of ideas and material that I was able to collate from various sources including Trip Advisor reviews, Friends of the Aldinga Newsletters, Flickr albums and Youtube videos with 0 views. Additionally, several of the titles of the miniatures were drawn from combinations of words from these sources that instigated my sonic imagination (eg:ant workshop, fungal foray, sandy tracks make for silent travel).

Whether I am going for an afternoon walk near my home or composing in an unfamiliar location, my attention is often captured by the smaller details. Thanks to two volunteers from the Friends of the Aldinga who shared with us their wealth of knowledge of the area…my attention was drawn even more to some of the hidden secrets of the Scrub.

enter the sand pit.
when i compose,
i sketch, collect, make lists, plan, play, map, nap, think, dream, ignore emails, get confused, collage, set limits, send emails, organise, make more lists.

i also fail…

solos
I enjoy the process of composing for a solo instrument - working closely with a musician to understand not only their instrument and its intricacies but also getting to know the musician and their relationship to their instrument and its intricacies.
I compose with the person/s who will be playing my music in mind. for much of my work, this involves constructing an ecosystem of thought that encompasses and considers the musical possibilities and outcomes of my ideas, the ideas of musician/s I’m working with along with other idea sources that feed into the work.

a piece for oboe with no name yet
before composing this piece, I was confused about the oboe and I didn’t really know what it was I should do.
despite having a clear and simple schema I aimed to work towards, I discarded sketch after sketch.

I sat down w/ Cathy and thanks to her generosity of knowledge and sound, things began to make sense.
I woke up at 5 and composed in the suspended light, looking over Aldinga Beach.

the oboe was wrapped in a foil blanket™. beneath the blanket, five keys were given five bespoke foil hats™.
for other composers I know who play with foil, consider the work of lily tait and jasmin wing-yin leung

fungal foray / ant workshop
Friends of the Aldinga Scrub run workshops from time to time.
václav hálek listened to the music mushrooms make and wrote it down for those of us who can't hear their songs.

soil testing
experiments with orange amp + electric kazoo mic soils, surfaces, sand, trees, twigs, branches, bark, etc.
like children playing (with commitment and honesty, play is serious!) in the front yard.

wind music
silent film score for four musicians

also watch here.

sound parcels
three members of the group fill a tiny box with tiny objects.

sandy tracks make for silent travel
start a group call…