Untitled Journey (2015)

https://soundcloud.com/illy1868/untitle

Originally commissioned by saxophonist Pikon Wu, this piece was eventually developed as a tape-only version which I preferred over the saxophone version. The soundscape in this piece, with the exception of the New York subway sound, was recorded by myself between 2012 and 2015 using a Zoom H4N recorder, in places such as Paris, Amsterdam, London, Salzburg, and Berlin. I had initially intended to organize my past recording files, which is why I used these materials in this piece.

The main sections of the piece have a time signature of 7/4, while the intermission uses a mix of 5/4. This is not a typical EDM beat, but as an odd numbers lover, I have experimented with other musicians before. However, this piece was much more friendly since it was the tape part for the performer to follow.

The drum section was inspired by the film "Birdman," which won the Best Picture Oscar in 2015. The music in the film was created by a drummer, which was really interesting to me. As I listened to it, I immediately thought: "Ah! This is the work from 2015!" The opening and closing door sound was an important element in this piece because the journey usually begins after the door is closed.

The piece ends with the closing door sound of the Taipei metro. I remember asking some Taiwanese people in Amsterdam if they recognized the sound, but some of them couldn't, perhaps because it was too far from their home country.

這作品委創是來自一位可愛的薩克斯風演奏家—吳痞康。然而,我最終卻比較喜歡這個純電聲的版本。

裡面的聲景部分,除了紐約地鐵的部分是來自朋友,其他皆是我於2012-15年間,拿著zoom h4n在各處車站錄的聲音。裡面包含巴黎、阿姆斯特丹、倫敦、薩爾茲堡、柏林…等。當時似乎也想藉由這個作品整理一下過去的錄音。

整曲原則上是74拍,只是中間插入聲景的間奏混了54拍,不算是典型的類EDM曲的拍號。不過,我本身就是個奇數拍的愛好者,也搞死過不少演奏家,.這首的變化反倒顯得很規律,畢竟當初設定還是個要好跟的tape。

爵士鼓聲有稍微受了當年奧斯卡最佳影片Birdman影響,當時覺得那部片的配樂太有趣了,竟然是鼓手配樂。所以回頭聽這首曲子,馬上就回憶起:啊!2015年!

開/關門的聲音在這首曲子算很重要的素材,因為關了門,旅途就開始了。

最後的最後,是台北捷運的關門聲。有趣的是,記得當時問了幾個臺灣人,還不盡然猜得出,也許是太久沒聽到了。