ーpanta rhei.

<aside> 🌊 “everything flows and nothing stays.” ーHeraclitus

</aside>

https://soundcloud.com/rainpaths?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

panta rhei. is a curated collection of pieces i’ve made. these pieces follow production practices that are more conventional, as compared to the more avant-garde pieces under rain paths.

despite having a penchant for more abstract art forms, as a virgo, i still enjoy more methodological methods of creating music that have been used widely. these methods work for a reason, and i enjoy contextualising these practices within my personal creative means.

as a neurodivergent creative, my biggest wish is to create music for an audience that may not be able to enjoy the high levels of stimulation mainstream music strives to achieve. if you enjoy music that takes you far, far away from here, join me on my sonic escape!

track spotlight ー insomnia train. (2023)

what was the concept of this piece?

This piece was initially inspired by a memory, but as the production process went on the piece started to take its own form, and it now follows a story about a train service for people who can’t fall asleep at night.
The train brings commuters to see the stars and northern lights strewn across the endless night sky.
This sonic journey aims to makes the anxiety of not being able to fall asleep feel magical and comforting, which is the exact opposite of what insomnia actually feels like.
I struggled to find a genre that best describes this piece, but I personally like to call it progressive ambient dreamwave!
My main influences for this piece were American producer Porter Robinson, Australian producer Yoste, Japanese producer Sasanomaly and Japanese alternative-rock band Sekai no Owari.

more about the composition process

The main four-note motif in this piece was heavily inspired by a piece that was composed my coursemate, Ashlyn for one of her module submissions last semester, titled Kill Your Darlings.
- The piece featured a similar motif and was also composed in 6/8. This time signature gives the piece a characteristic drive, while creating the illusion that the piece could be in 4/4 in its phrasing structure.
- It felt like a full circle moment asking her if she would be open to recording a guitar part for the piece, and she was excited for it too! I’m eternally grateful for her help!
In there being an absence of a main melody and the piece having repeating motifs, I hoped for the listening focus to be more on the momentum being created by the repeating melodic phrases and percussive rhythms.
- The drive that the percussion creates in pushes the piece forward, especially with the 16th-note subdivisions also parallels that of a train engine.
- Writing motifs and deciding when sounds or themes occur is a nod to my arrangement background as well.

more about the production process

Various sound samples were also used, such as the train service announcement, the rumbling sound of the train in motion, wind chimes, bicycle bells, finger snaps, etc.
- This mirrors my theme of reflecting elements of lived environments in aesthetic sonic contexts.
The beginning and end of the piece features a sample of the traditional japanese percussion instrument the Kagura Suzu. The bright timbre of the bells presents a contrast to the sound of the tambourine, though the Kagura Suzu is more culturally significant in its use being traditionally associated with the Kagura dance, a traditional form of Japanese movement art that was intended to entertain the gods.
The heavy use of soundscapes is reminiscent of my earliest production works, with emphasis on creating sonic environments with evolving characteristics.

🎸 it’s my bestie ashlyn absolutely shredding it what a legend

guitar recording!

Electric Guitar harmonics present a new timbre to the main motif, and much of the production of the piece was centered around its sound, even in sections it was not present.
Ashlyn was absolutely amazing as a sessionist, her ideas took the acoustic guitar arrangement to a whole new level!
Find her on instagram here!