(co) Axial

Co (Axial)

Medium: Audio-visual (electroacoustic audio with accompanying visuals)

Technical Specifications: .wav 48kHz stereo audio, HD 1080p video

Year: 2021

(co)Axial began out of some guitar sampling sessions I did over the summer of 2020. Due to the global pandemic, I was examining new ways to generate material for pieces that did not involve other human beings. My acoustic guitar, which I had yet to learn beyond a basic understanding of major/minor chords became a source of inspiration, as I found that my lack of skill on the instrument did not preclude me from generating interesting textural and harmonic material.

As I began working with the material, I grew attached to the resonant sounds produced by the guitar strings. On a technical level, this led to using EQ, pitch-bending, time-stretching, and other techniques to shape the string resonances, and blend them with more textural elements. The idea was to create the sense of being inside the guitar itself.

On a more conceptual level, the increasing fascination I had with the sounds of the time-stretched strings led to a broader examination of vibrations themselves, as my brain drew parallels to electrical flow, electromagnetic waves, and even the tiny vibrating strings identified in String Theory.

I wanted to unravel these parallel thoughts while composing the auditory part of the composition, though the use of visuals. The visuals would tie the sense of the tangible guitar, to the intangible nature of sonic vibrations.