BeesWax
May 22, 2020, 02:28 PM
Epping Forest lockdown sound recorded by Jeff Dungfelder.
"When asked to reimagine and remix the sounds of the Covid-19 lockdown, I chose a field recording of bees from the Epping Forest in the United Kingdom. Usually the sounds of the bees are drowned out by nearby motorway traffic, but not any longer. What fascinated me about this project is how everyday sounds can take on new meaning, and how they bring out a new set of perspectives and reflections.
"For my composition BeesWax, I decided to dive deeper into the actual bee sounds and find out what textures and rhythms might exist within them. To do this, I slowed down the original field recording and converted the sounds into Midi notes, which enabled me to assign various synthesized sounds to these patterns.
"Once the composition had taken shape, I started a remote collaboration with Mike Brown (Brooklyn, NY) on contrabass and Joshua Trinidad (Denver, CO) on trumpet. Their incredible contributions brought this piece alive with new perspectives and emotion. Through this collaboration, the underlying magic of the bee sounds has now taken on a life of its own. Isolation does have its rewards."
Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
"When asked to reimagine and remix the sounds of the Covid-19 lockdown, I chose a field recording of bees from the Epping Forest in the United Kingdom. Usually the sounds of the bees are drowned out by nearby motorway traffic, but not any longer. What fascinated me about this project is how everyday sounds can take on new meaning, and how they bring out a new set of perspectives and reflections.
"For my composition BeesWax, I decided to dive deeper into the actual bee sounds and find out what textures and rhythms might exist within them. To do this, I slowed down the original field recording and converted the sounds into Midi notes, which enabled me to assign various synthesized sounds to these patterns.
"Once the composition had taken shape, I started a remote collaboration with Mike Brown (Brooklyn, NY) on contrabass and Joshua Trinidad (Denver, CO) on trumpet. Their incredible contributions brought this piece alive with new perspectives and emotion. Through this collaboration, the underlying magic of the bee sounds has now taken on a life of its own. Isolation does have its rewards."
Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds