From the very start I have seen all the potential that the electronic and digital mediums can bring to both to the listener and to the live experience. I remember first pondering the idea when first exposed to the analogue vs digital debate with synthesizers, something that still goes on to this day. Just like the electric guitar took the instrument to whole new heights and ushered in a new era of sonic territory, I can't help but see how electronic music is turning into an 'electrification', if you will, of the composition process as a whole. Musical concepts and ideas never before possible are accessible to performers and the listener's own minds are truly ushering in an entirely new realm of experiences for our collective consciousnesses. It is so much more than some disposable pop artifact, or a seedy sub culture not worth knowing, instead is a transformative tool to propel our tastes, minds, and lives into a great and exciting unknown.
Particullarly, on the note of composition, I have been fascinated with what is possible with live sound and composition in the digital realm. The studio has become an instrument all its own, something that has been true for decades really, and plays ever more an important role in the create of music experiences. In my own experiences as a show goer, I have also had the feeling that there is a massive amount of untapped greatness amongst all the people around me, the artists, production crew, and the audience, all are together creating something that truely is greater than the sum of its parts. So too have a sought to elevate the listener through the musical concepts and complexity found in my own work and the work of so many other artists. We live an exciting time where artistic scenes and genre are growing to a point where they are beginning to become too large to understand fully, and rather than ever having a comprehensive understanding of a particular facet, it instead becomes an experiential never ending journey of sonic landscapes.
My approach has always been to think of electronic music conceptually much how classical or jazz would be. In many respects, this connection is more obvious than not. The rich multi instrumentalism found across genre is something that I always thought the greats of music history would have been envious of. Just like with jazz, the tracks and melodies have such flexibility and fluidity they can be incorporated that there are almost unlimited ways to revisit a song. Yet, there is something totally new about the artform, as it is ruled by equipment that dont rely on the human interface soley for their sounds. You will find that with piano, guitar, or any other instrument, that many of the common music phrases and motifs are ruled by the shape of the hands or the natural inclinations of their movement. We have built instead a world of devices that are only governed by what our brains can imagine, and is very directly the sounds of what our consciousnesses are able to create.
Beyond the studio, I see that there is so much room to grow in the live performances and exploring this is the livetronica component of Mountain Soundsystems is where its fully realized vision lies. Opting not to DJ tracks (and respect to all the DJs out there, it is an art form all to this own, affectionately thought of as meta-music), has instead created something that has no clear cut path. In the live set of Mountain Soundsystems, it strives to be a live and improvisational experience that stays impactful and keeps you engaged on the dancefloor. Rather than tracks, songs are broken down into snippets and melodic phrases or rhythms which are repurposed and arranged in a way that to where songs canot be performed the same way twice. On top of this, there is a live looping component where digital synths, hardware synths, horns, guitars, and live microphone sounds can be used to drive the experience in a hypnotic almgamation. The idea is to build a sonic experience as dense as a mountain, taking the listener through an overwhelming series of shapes and feelings so that by the end there is no question that all parties know that they were taken on a journey. No two performances are the same, nor can they be, just as each out you out there are unique, special indiviudals that deserve the respect and reflection in the art and experiences that you enjoy.
Of course, the music comes first, but it would be nothing without the audience. I hope to be able to use this platform to help develop new experiential artistic experiences in the live form. Electronic music offers a no rules approach and I envision being able to create collaborative and collective opportunities for musitians, visual artists, material artists and performative artists to create a space and community to explore a multi media world to give the audience something entirely new. As Mountain Soundsystems keeps on climbing I am hoping to bring a collective of artists along with me, a new tribe that can grow its roots across the world and the stars.
I have been extremely fortunate and blessed to have had so many unforgettable nights, days, and weeks spent living at these events. There is something that that can only be known through experience, where there is a timeless quality at eventus and festivals, where life outside of there seems so far away. Even though that world is still there, the only thing that has changed is our state of mind. Our mindstate is something that goes unmentioned, and the limitless potential of being able to create uplifitng experiences that can transform lives seems like a goal worth trying for. Creating events free from the mainstreams stranglehold, advertiser dollars, and all the trappings that come along with it, create some freer and larger than anyone things possible. I hope, not to capture this feeling, but to set this feeling wild for all those inclined to experience. The world never has to be just how it is, and the thing that is boundless in its potential is us.
With the launch of this site, it signifies the launch of these endevors, blending music, visuals, analouge, digital, into something entirely new for people to explore and digest. Through this I aim to begin the process of creating those that are a part of this creative journey, starting with this being a space where the music I make is free for all to hear, to create tools for other creatives to use for free in addition to fund this operation. While there is some paid content and merchandise, all of this is in effort to build greater and greater abundance. Beyond the music, with the creation of Mountain Soundsystems token offers additional support for those choosing to be a part of these ecosystems.
So what's next in the journey? With this website, I will be using this platform to release several additional compositions and begin promoting the ideas behind Mountain Soundsystems. In addition to this, I will be taking a journey across the land with other creatives to begin raising our collective awareness through shows and art events. From there the official launch of our label, Slope Productions, will be launched and bring not only audio production services but visial content creation and live event curation to a commercial market. It is going to be an amazing journey, and if you are reading this I am glad that you are already a part of it.
