This is a collection of earlier electroacoustic and more experimental works.

Bebe au Pot:

I am endlessly fascinated by the voice. From the internal rhythms inherent in speech and the meta-music created therein, to the way a human voice can (with manipulated spectra) closely imitate woodwind or brass. Bebe au Pot is an acousmatic stereo work which explores some of the ways the voice can be manipulated and used as a compositional tool.

All materials are taken from a 40 second conversation recorded between my sister-in-law, her 2 year old daughter and her 4 year old son. It is roughly divided into 3 sections.

The first part introduces the materials, the second develops them. The third part introduces drones created from my nephew's voice; sound objects from the first two parts are arranged against the backdrop of these drones, creating an abstract dialogue between brother and sister.

This is an electroacoustic work with strong glitch/noise elements, which utilizes various spectral processing techniques to create an eerie, otherworldly soundscape. By manipulating the audio of the conversation to such a huge extent, the recording's initial purpose (to accurately capture and reproduce a particular moment) is forgotten. All
that remains are disembodied fragments of speech, cut off from their context and original meaning.

The contrast of the closeness of this family unit, and their easy conversations, with the coldness of the disembodied noise and glitch that the recording has become, is what gives this work its conceptual basis.

Turn, turn, little windmill:

An electroacoustic stereo piece which explores granular synthesis and
spectral delay techniques. All the sound materials are taken from a recording of my wife singing a French nursery rhyme -

Tourne, tourne, petit moulin
Frappent, frappent, petites mains,
Vole, vole, petit oiseau,
Nage, nage, poisson dans l'eau.
Petit moulin a bien tourné,
Petites mains ont bien frappé,
Petit oiseau a bien volé,
Petit poisson a bien nagé.

More specifically, it is the lines “Tourne, tourne, petit moulin” and “Petit moulin a bien tourné” that are used. It is divided into 3 sections, each separated by a small bridging section of 15 to 30 seconds.

Section 1: Introduction of voice elements, spectral delay, granular parts.

00:00 – 01:35

_bridgingONE_: Voice with partials timestretched to signify beginning of
section 2.

01:35 - 02:04

Section 2: Development of voice elements and granular techniques.

02:05 - 04:00

_bridgingTWO_: Voice with partials timestretched to signify beginning of section 3.

04:00 - 04:12

Section 3: All elements combine to create unsettling droning texture.
04:13 - 06:40

I got the idea for the piece by listening to my wife sing this nursery rhyme to our 2 year old niece. I wanted to see what degree of transformation I could accomplish with relatively few (and simple) sound materials.

The tune of the nursery rhyme struck me as pleasant, and innocent - by taking snippets of it and processing it through the means of granular synthesis (using Max/MSP) I was able to create a slightly evil and off-putting overall work, contrasting greatly with the initial innocence and childish playfulness of the melody. The tiny grains of sound signify the little snippets of memory that we take from our childhood.

I believe many people look back on our childhood in one of two ways - either we gloss over any bad occurrences, and focus on happy experiences, or we concentrate on any pain or suffering we may have experienced. By taking this little innocuous melody, and
creating something altogether more sinister and malevolent, I have attempted to illustrate this tension.

Nostalgia for Infinity:

Lighthugger.

Made from reversed and manipulated guitar recordings.

Coalition for Neural Purity (extended):

The Coalition for Neural Purity was a faction that existed around the year 2190.

As its name implies, the Coalition For Neural Purity regarded artificial brain implants as abominations. It also vehemently opposed genetic enhancement of intelligence in animals.

This piece, while not strictly electroacoustic, represents an important milestone in my journey as a composer and, accordingly, deserves a spot in this compilation. It is the first example of a piece done to accompany a short piece of modern dance, of transferring my music onto another medium, so to speak.