Underwater (~1:10-4:00)
Signalled back with the breath sound variations in different pitches and times, a new pulse is introduced in the beginning, later accompanied with a timbrally variated rhythmic pattern from the first section. This section’s melodic layer is created from the sound of the second recording, as a reference to an underwater life form. Using sample manipulation and transformation techniques, this layer improvised on a sampler software on iPad, recorded to DAW for editing and composing. Improvisation approach is chosen as an exploration of a natural evolving process. In its own structure, influenced from electronic dance music production principles, composition of this section is variated with a small break in the rhythm section, followed by a drop where the melodic layer evolves into its own melodic pattern. By the end of this section, small fragments from the third recording is introduced to signal the new section, where it also represents ‘from water to land’ phase.
Introduction of the Work
Derailed is a collective audio-visual work of KompozitArt Collective, conceptualized on life’s evolutionary course which is transformed to an industrial stage with humanity. Perceiving the existence and evolutionary process of life in a very general perspective is the initial inspiration. It is aimed to question the life process that starts in the water and comes to the land and is systematized itself in the results of its own process with a creative approach.
In this article I will analyze the musical / sonic composition of the Derailed, which is made by me. I will also relate the visual cues for further explanation. The visual part of the work is done by two painters, sculptor and digital artists; Yiğit Türüdü & Saye Dice Özçelik, therefore, further explanation for the visual expression and composition should be done by them.
Conceptual Design Plan and Sonic Material
To express the artistic idea, we designed the work consisting of the sections below :
-
Prelude : Overview of Water & Land
-
Underwater : Life started in and evolved
-
Pier : Connection of water and land
-
Train : Life becoming industrialized in human form at land
-
I chose to use four different field recordings as sonic material to represent and express each section. These recordings are edited and transformed.
-
Recording taken in a diving at Gökçeada, sound of the waves hitting the rocks
-
Recording of a wind bell which consisted of sea shells, as a reference for a underwater life form
-
Field recording from Karaköy Pier, a metallic squeak of the port's movement with waves
-
Field recording of Marmaray, near to the Ayrılıkçeşme / Kadıköy, sound of train’s movement and an interesting metallic vibration of the rails while the train is approaching
-
Compositional Structure and Analysis
Below are the Ableton Live and Izotope RX 7 screenshots to visualize the whole sonic composition. Focused screenshots are also given for the each analysis of each section.
Pier (~4:00-5:15)
In this section the third recording is used, the metallic squeak from Karaköy Pier is used as a main theme. I heard and recorded this squeak while waiting for a ferry. It was happening because the waves are making the pier move in their own fashion. In its own form, it sounded very musical to me. For the sake of the pier’s music, I used it as is, in means of form.
I aurally enriched the squeak in means of its harmony, texture and panorama, influenced from an orchestral aesthetic. Here we are listening to three layers of the squeak, with a slight difference in starting point. Summing channel of these three layers is also enriched by delay effects. Each layer is transposed into a different pitch:
-
-12 semitone : An octave down
-
-17 semitone : An octave and a perfect 4th below
-
-31 semitone : Three octave down and A perfect 4th up
-
Rhythmic layer in this section is also a transformation of the third recording, via processes of granularization and arpeggiation used for percussive function.
Prelude (Until 1:10)
Piece starts by introducing the sonic gesture. I created this gesture from the first recording where we hear the sound of sea waves hitting the rocks. Recording also contained the diver’s breath sound, which I used as a signalling sound for specific transitions. In the first minute, we listen to the interaction between the water and land. Here are two sonic layers composed from the same recording. A blurry rhythmic pattern is created by the locked groove approach and the stochastic top layer of the waves hitting the rocks. Compositional approach is inspired from Musique Concrete. This section finished with a breath sound, again used for signalling purposes, continued with some silence.
Train (After 5:15)
From the Pier’s music, fragments of train sounds from the fourth recording take over the theme in an evolving progression. Rhythm layer is transformed and enriched another rhythm layer to create an aggressive yet systematized rhythmic foundation. Fragments of train recordings are used to build up the last melodic theme. This melodic theme is also composed from improvisation, as in the Underwater section. Sample manipulation techniques applied together with 3 layers of delay processors. First layer has a very small delay time for taking the advantage of the processors’ glitch in a timbral manipulation. Other two layers are used for time and spatial modulation. In artistic means, this last theme aims to express the psychedelic feeling of perceiving the industrialized and systematized continuum of life’s evolution, with an influence of psy-trance genre. The piece ends with the original recording of the train entering the station, as a metaphor of returning back to the daily perceived reality.
