All my life, I have been interested in sound and music. Whether it was just listening to a favourite song or hearing the noise the tracks made when a train comes, listening to sound has always been a significant part of my life.
My introduction to Sound Arts was definitely through learning the drums around 7 years ago, because it was the first real chance I had to create my own sounds and music rather than just consume or appreciate it. At the start of my practice, I wasn’t familiar with the term Sound Art, and although I definitely would have considered music to be an art form, I never consciously created anything with the intent of making ‘art’.
What really got me immersed in the art world was through meeting artists at my job as a gallery assistant for the past 3 years. To be honest, I spent a lot of the time I should’ve been painting the walls or taking down work talking to various artists about their practice, motivations, and experiences. They gave me a new perspective on art, and through them asking for my opinions on their work / how to curate the exhibitions, I felt like much more of a participant with art rather than an observer.
Essentially, I chose to study sound arts because I am hoping it will allow me to use my technical skills in music to develop my own creative art practice. Films and games are also two of my longest standing and biggest interests, hence why I chose design! Personally, effective and interesting application of sound within media is almost always what most resonates with me for the longest time after consuming. For example, the film that accompanies Daft Punk’s ‘Discovery’: Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, tells a complete and captivating story even with the lack of any dialogue, due to its use of music.
Sound, particularly within a 3D environment such as VR, has the ability to entirely immerse the user in a way that traditional music cannot. Being interested in this aspect of sound design, I am looking forward to experimenting with audio engines such as Wwise and Steam Audio in the coming months.