This was my very first attempt at creating some ambient* soundscapes** using a generative music application. The Bloom application is very straightforward to use, but like all instruments the 'player' needs to tell it what to do, after about 3 weeks using the Bloom application, I decided to record some tracks using the mood and settings available within the application to create a soundscape which I think fits nicely together on this album.
I tried to maintain the same pace and ambience throughout the 5 tracks and tired to ensure the tracks maintained a similar feel throughout the suite, this I feel was achieved and as the tracks develop from the Intro through to the 15 minute closer 'Hypoxia' - I feel this was maintained exactly the way I wanted.
The feeling I wanted to convey in this album is the lifting and sinking feeling we get through the day, from the openers 'Early 64' and 'The Rising' to the depths of the closing track, the oxygen starved 'Hypoxia' which slowly drifts into closure.
Heres a description of the tracks:
1. Early 84 - Title named after the time of the track but also the time it was recorded, this track was recorded before 6am and lasts 84 seconds, this intro track is there to set the mood and allow the listener to slowly slip into the mood and vein of the EP.
2. The Rising - This track I aimed to follow on from track 1 with slightly more activity and continuing on as if explaining the opening of the flower in the morning, a lot of mid range notes slowly wakes us up again drifting to a crashing stop (notice no fade).
3. Submersion - This track I wanted to convey the almost enveloping feeling we get throughout our day, think about the day as it passes you by, daily things will pass you by as if they are normal - this is submersion.
4. Zazen - Zazen is at the heart of Zen Buddhist practice and means 'opening the hand of thought'. This track glides slowly into life with similar patterns for you to focus on and then allows the building of further focus points as the track progresses, this is the track where you think about your day, week etc and where you have done well or left things behind - a focal track, which drifts in and out of focus. This is the focal point of the album as the previous tracks of over just 11 minutes have set the scene.
5. Hypoxia - The final track and the come down track of the EP, the title of this a term used in Biology to convey the aquatic ecosystem being 'starved of oxygen'. There is not much activity in this track and it should convey a sinking feeling as if you were drifting down to the sea bed looking up at the surface spotting the twinkling stars through the water above. This is where the journey ends and we end up drifting away ourselves.
The album title Airborne Layers is to try and convey the rising up and descent through the day and aims to focus on our much layered lives in a very simplistic manner.
*-adjective 1. Of the surrounding area or environment: The tape recorder picked up too many ambient noises. The temperature in the display case was 20 degrees lower than the ambient temperature. 2. Completely surrounding; encompassing: the ambient air.
**-noun 1. The component sounds of an environment 2. The component sounds of a piece of music.
![[vbr036] Paul Robson - Airborne Layers](/img/work/nomencl/m_264.jpg "[vbr036] Paul Robson - Airborne Layers")
