Music has been a gateway for my attempts to understand the richness of sound that surrounds us every day. These are some of the artists I try to channel with this extremely grassroots musical project.

William Basinski:

Drink The World is hugely influenced by looping sound. William Basinski loops sounds in a way that makes them hypnotizing and comforting. Each track is a true monolith of overlapping sound and atmosphere. They embody what I feel is the barest essence of music – that being the sound of atmosphere.

Oneohtrix Point Never

Samples are also a key part of how music can be pushed into new areas. Repurposing a sound into something completely different is fascinating to think about. Replica is a fantastic expression of recycled sound. Made entirely by using sampled television commercials, Replica takes the listener through a completely repurposed soundscape. It’s both fascinating and very gratifying to listen to this and understand the sonic base the album uses to communicate.

Matmos:

Sampling and manipulation at its finest. It’s just 38 minutes of a washing machine.

We are surrounded by sound at all times. We cannot escape it. Layers upon layers of it. Think of Drink The World as a look into how sounds interact, loop, and play into the minutia of our every day lives.

Each of the minimalist tracks presented here are made entirely with found sounds representing a different facet of everyday life: walking, traversing, and waiting.

Walking

Walking is clear and logical for me. No unwelcome sounds or feelings. It is therapeutic. This is the idea behind the soothing ambient and loop passages. The taps represent unwelcome intrusions into the calm, but they are quelled by the nature of walking. I keep moving forward until I get where I need to go.

Traversing

The blink of incoming transit is engrained in my mind. Rhythmic. Orderly. And yet still more grating. The blink is always present along with the whoosh of the train. It carries me where I need to go when I need to go there but provides me with less comfort.

Waiting

I may not be moving, but my mind is. A million miles a minute and a million places at once. Thoughts bounce in and out like ping pong balls. There is no order, no peace, and limited understanding.