latest entries

DJ Pocketknife

March 30 2012, 14:00

Hello, this is Skooby from WAAVES Studio and Wilde Calm Records. When Twenty8Twelve approached me to work on the music for their Autumn/Winter collection I got really excited for the collaboration. I appreciate when fashion brands have the vision to want original music for their campaigns. This allows the collection to have a very specific mood that I think benefits its overall sensibility.

Using the inspiration behind a collection (cinematic, historical, musical, artistic, etc.) is a nice challenge for me as a composer/sound designer. I take these same references and use them to generate musical ideas. Of course, factoring in what the collection looks like adds another consideration as well. I've always been interested in form, texture and material since my art school days, so working on a fashion campaign keeps both my eyes and ears wide open.

The collection for Twenty8Twelve had strong references to the youth subcultures of 60s London, but the music that I ended up composing didn't rest on the hallmark sounds of that era. Instead, I focused on one's shift to an internal darker mood when the days get shorter and colder as autumn sets in. I ended up using a lot of synths since as an instrument they are inherently "internal" versus being acoustic and "external." I normally don't record my own voice since I can't sing at all, but the breathy scatting I did added a natural physical element to the piece. It almost sounds like seeing your breath on a cold night. I was very happy with how the Fashion Week film came out and I thought the visuals paired nicely with the music that I created.

Now that Fashion Month is over, my studio is beginning work on some new film projects. We were extremely excited that our last film project, the documentary "Bill Cunningham New York," was so well received by a general audience beyond the fashion community. Our current film score involves a documentary about the Catskill Mountain region outside of New York City and how people interact with the natural surroundings there. The film follows everyone from seasoned hikers, cliff jumpers, and forest rangers to hippie DIY farmers. It's a great mix of people who all have various relationships with nature. I think the film is scheduled to be released later this year.

When not in the woods recording waterfalls, I run a boutique label called Wilde Calm Records. I started the label last year as a way to put out releases of my own and of others whose music fits into the Wilde Calm ethos. The next release will be a project of mine under my new Boonlorm moniker called "String Figures." It's a ten track album of house music created solely with prepared piano and raw drum programming with references to early Chicago house and 20th century avant-garde music. The album was started about three years ago, but I got busy with projects for WAAVES Studio, so I just now have had time to mix down everything properly. I'm very excited about this album and it's a great time to release it since this year is the centennial for John Cage. "String Figures" definitely clatters, buzzes and jacks all at the same time.

http://waavesstudio.com
http://www.wildecalm.com
http://www.pocketknifemusic.com