These are two conceptual projects from my early production days. While I probably would’ve changed many things if I’d kept the original files, I still hold these compositions very close to my heart. I chose these two deliberately, as they both reflect my ongoing fascination with how sound can shift perception of reality. While each draws inspiration from heavy tension-driven soundtracks, they approach that tension in completely opposite ways.
The first composition is a dark and trippy piece, created during my time at the School of Audio Engineering. It takes a strict less-is-more approach: built from only a handful of tracks in Ableton, yet never feeling empty. The composition relies on subtle automation and continuous movement, allowing sound to evolve on its own.
In contrast to the first piece, this project moves in the opposite direction. Built from over fifty individual tracks, it was created at the University of the Arts Utrecht and marked a turning point in my relationship with sound. This was the first work in which I became deeply obsessed with the power of sonics themselves.
The central question was simple: how much does our perception of reality depend on what we hear, and can sound alter what we see? Participants were asked to wear blindfolds, fully immersing themselves in the composition, and to write down what emerged in the darkness beyond their vision.
Funnily enough, many of the participants found themselves in the middle of scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean, Interstellar, or Inception, all scored by mighty Hans Zimmer (my biggest inspiration for this project).