Sometimes the music and soundscapes inspire me to create a visual. Sometimes the visuals inspire me to compose the music. I enjoy working in both mediums of sound and visuals.
“Angels Above the Lake” is a video that honors the birds of our earth. One of my favorite things in life is our birds around the world. I am blessed to live in an area rich with these flying angels. This track came about during an afternoon session after a visit to the lake as well as some time spent in my kayak out on the water. I started with a Waldorf Iridium digital synth and some various soft synths to create the foundation of the composition. It felt as though the sound of a strong ambient piano sparingly played one key at a time building towards a piano melody, would feel nice and compliment the slow guide of a bird in flight into a soft landing on the water. Guitars were next featuring full body clean melodic bluesy feel unlocking my Gilmour, transitioning with a vocal choir into a nice flowing lead guitar melody inspired by perhaps both Gilmour and Rothery, completing the melody chain of instruments played over the synth arpeggiated and swirling foundation of the track.
“On Earth for the First Time” the music was first inspired in the middle of the night when I could not sleep. I stood on my back deck looking into the dark forest that was illuminated ever so slightly by the moon above the top of the trees. The music continued to grow as an ambient journey through the forest as I would take long walks through unexplored forests in our North Carolina region imagining what might me around the bend as I walk deeper in the forest. This composition is a long form movement of analog, digital and soft synths, hand played bongos, and heavily treated multi-effect pedal soaked guitars.
“Reckoned” is a track that was built as I was experimenting one evening with some of my analog and semi modular synths and many guitar effects pedals. It started to take shape in the studio at a time I was studying the meaning of memento mori, “remember you must die”, a symbolic reminder of death and the fleeting nature of life. Memento mori is also a subject discussed within my Catholic faith, reminding us of life being a gift of grace and only for a moment in time of eternity, suggesting to us to make the best of it. I had a lot of fun with this video and the music adding bass guitar guitar, piano, synth strings and both acoustic nylon and electric guitar. Oh yes and a vocoder vocal piece simply saying “only time will tell us what to do”.
“The Imposter Clown” as artists and quite honestly as a human being, most everyone with ambition to build anything from nothing has an imposter complex of some kind fueled by insecurity. When you put it out in the world you run the risk of criticism or complete failure. Maybe you wanted to be famous and adored like Bozo the Clown. But in the end you look in the mirror and you see yourself with a reality that might not be the one you imagined it to be. As you wipe away the makeup to see the lines and imperfections, it is a time for reflection, contemplation, and perhaps a reinvention, perhaps a journey towards a true self far from the imposter. Most of this track was created with guitar layers through effects pedals. The main pedal you hear is a eletro-harmonix mel 9 pedal with a PRS custom 24 private stock library wood guitar. Also you will hear a vocal from my library sounds of a male opera singer driving the emotion of the track.
Deeper in the Forest 