air & tide by Kieran Mahon

Recorded in St Ives, Cornwall in August 2016 the fundamental components of this work were captured using the Impaktor iPhone app. This synth is triggered by external sound sources via the device microphone.
Having set up a suitable synth sound I experimented with various positions on the seafront, eventually settling for a location right at the edge of the waves, beneath the cliffs to the south of Porthminster beach.
It was a delightful calm & sunny morning and I captured several soundscapes triggered by the waves and the wind.
The best soundscape was approximately 2 minutes long.
Whilst I was happy with the synth sounds, on reflection the mood sounded somewhat frenetic compared to the beautiful, peaceful location.
I experimented with time-stretching the track until I was happy with the overall mood.
The result was a 25 minute long piece.

I very much like this work, but do not want to release it - I feel it is more like an installation piece than something to listen to (perhaps that will happen one day).

Instead I then chose to create a narrative by splitting the piece into sections and post-producing each in different ways.

I hope this work evokes a feeling of restless serenity - the contradiction of the seashore.

Tracklist