DREAMING SOUNDFORMS / Sonores du Reveries

Turning dream data into sound can be pretty complicated. While it is possible to directly associate EEG wavelengths with soundwaves and produce some interesting, ephemeral and “dreamy” sounds (see for example Lisa Park’s Eunoia from 2014), I’m currently more interested in producing compositions using more traditional instrumentation, particularly the humble piano, because I want the listener to have something familiar to hold on to. Soon I will be able to produce the scores for these works and pianists more talented than I am will be able to perform them. 

I am also working on works for tiny music boxes, and, eventually, a full scale Hand-Cranked Mechanical Dream-O-Matic Glockenspiel! Keep an eye on the blog for updates. 

Transformer des données de rêve en son peut s’avérer délicat. Bien qu’il soit possible d’associer directement les longueurs d’onde EEG aux ondes sonores et de produire des sons intéressants, éphémères et «rêveurs» (voir par exemple Eunoia de Lisa Park de 2014), je suis actuellement plus intéressé par la production de compositions utilisant une instrumentation plus traditionnelle, en particulier le piano, parce que je veux que l’auditeur puisse se rattacher à quelque chose de familier. Bientôt, je pourrai produire les partitions de ces œuvres et des pianistes plus talentueux que moi pourront les jouer.

Je travaille également sur des œuvres pour de minuscules boîtes à musique et, éventuellement, sur un Glockenspiel mécanique de rêve à manivelle à grande échelle! Gardez un œil sur le blog pour les mises à jour.

For exhibitions, I have created special listening stations that mount onto walls and allow people to hear the music quietly played through a pillow. 

I like the idea of visitors having a more intimate experience of the music.

Below are some of the initial results of my experimentation (Press the green button to play or pause)

Vous trouverez ci-dessous quelques-uns des premiers résultats de mon expérience (appuyez sur le bouton vert pour lire ou mettre en pause)

Various Instrumental Compositions:

Fragment of a dream of a 33 year old woman for multiple pianos.
Fragment of a dream of a 47 year old man for multiple pianos
Fragment of a dream of an 18 year old woman for harps, glockenspiel and vibraphone
Fragment of a dream of a 21 year old woman for mixed electronic instruments
Fragment of a dream of a 51 year old woman for bass and jazz organ
Fragment of a dream of a 22 year old man – a rock song

Soundscapes with Voices:

Sleepwalkers, Strippers, and Lemon Meringue Pie.

Ambient soundscape created by the brainwaves and other biodata of a 21 Year Old Woman during an 11 minute period of REM sleep in Sept. 1994, mixed with voices narrating several dreams.
Voice performers: Zoe Ferguson, Dan Ferguson, Audrey Mattio, Liz Ainslie and Ben Evans

Vampires, Bananas, Guns, and Naked Profs

Ambient soundscape created from the brainwaves and other bio-data of a 35 year old woman during a nine minute period of REM sleep in Sept. 1994, mixed with voices narrating the dreams of three different people. Voices of Casandra Silva Sibilín, Ken Yip, Elly Moseson, and Ben Evans

A Dark Wedding

Soundscape generated by the brainwaves and other biodata of a 35 year old woman during an 8 minute period of REM sleep, July 1994, mixed with narration of a dream.
Dream read by Ben Evans