Sound Travels

‘Sound Travels’ is a particularly salient and apt theme for me at this time, as through my music I have recently received invitations to travel to three different latitudes and longitudes spread far and wide; Korea, England and extraordinarily, Antarctica. From another perspective, I embed sound from my travels into my music through audio field recordings of both physical geographical locations and organic nature with native wildlife and human culture. So my music is both an expression and a representation, containing as it does both my environment and my response to it!  Rather than being gender-oriented, my compositions draw from a broad human gamut. I do see the need to provide a space for expression and encouragement, where women can contribute an equal and diverse voice to these fields.  My main performance instrument, the Sitar has a special quality as it has sympathetic strings under the main strings that resonate at the natural frequencies of the notes being played. This sound travels through the instrument, my body and the air, acting as a natural amplification system. I’m very interested in the different media through which sound can travel and current projects including composing music that people can hear through bone conduction!

I live in a country where I wasn’t born. I perform in countries where I am not living. I operate art music practice in a rock context. I bring improvisation into composition. I am a commuter and an outsider. I am a medium of sound. As I travel, sound travels.

I am revisiting my compositions that span thirty years and thanks to technology, I am hearing pieces for the first time. It’s exciting to re-engage with my musical past. Listening to them now is evocative, and looking back, I realise I have always had a strong compositional voice. It’s magical.

It is important to see a human's face when communicating. Even though this is not always possible, we as humans need facial expressions to communicate. Subtle facial signals are part of a larger communication process but a simple smile can indicate our approval of a message, while a scowl might signal displeasure or disagreement. Understanding facial expressions and their meaning is an important part of communication. When the face cannot be seen it is harder to communicate.

 I love living near the sea.

Undulating waves, resonating above turbulent seas.

The sound of seagulls, perching on rooftops.

It all sounds romantic, but it hasn’t been without challenges.

Sound Travel. The uncovering of new frequencies. I initially breath the sounds and let them absorb into my being. I then transpose the sound into an instrument I play or a composition. Sound travel has no form. It is like ether it passes through one's body and like dust it settles into subconscious psyche, conscious and sub-conscious.