Experiments in Dwelling

Experiments in Dwelling is a short etude for hydrophone, voice, and live electronics that I created in Fall 2023. The work was inspired by Terry Tempest Williams’s essay, Dwelling, in her 2019 book of essays, Erosion, Essays of Undoing. The work dealt with my own feelings on dwelling and how I personally live in space during a time in which I found (and, to be honest, continue to find myself) splitting my time between the east and west coast of the continental United States. I remain curious about my own relationship with dwelling and how we collectively view the concept of dwelling within our current world.

Sonically, Experiments in Dwelling explores hydrophone as a core texture along with extended vocal techniques all run through electronic procesing in Ableton Live. A variety of devices were utilized to generate sounds with the hydrophone including a metallic mixing bowl, wind chimes, carafes, straws, and a fish tank. These are all techniques that I am continuing to develop with other projects.