Myself and long term collaborator Mario @ keepitvisual had the pleasure of collaborating with The Social Partners to direct a series of videos for Wilkinson Sword. WS have recently become the official sponsors of British Fencing and wished to celebrate this new relationship with a a series of small vignette videos introducing the world to the team. The team that will soon be competing in Brazil at the 2016 olympic games.

The aim of the video series was three-fold:

1. To Introduce the team and gain an understanding of their love and passion for the sport
2. To see them in action and capture a display of the fight itself.
3. Finally, to capture their feelings as they readied themselves for the games.

When it came to creating the music, we had to decide how to complement this narrative. I felt that although the tone of each "act" would vary dependent on the subject matter, the rhythm and movement should mirror that of the game itself. Punchy, snappy, quick fire sounds (Like the hits and steps themselves) that swirl around creating a feeling of anticipation for the next strike that'll be made.

Fencing is often referred too as " a physical form of chess" due to it being a considered and strategic mental game as well as much as it being one of physical exertion. It's slick, smart and sophisticated and this needed to be represented within the music. I wanted that elegance to shine through in the first act.

The second act was the fight itself. The tension before the fight itself, the quick moves and fierce attacks and the ultimate defeat had to be weaved into the fabric of the music. The sounds of the fight; the cracks and hits and ringing of the metal as the foils clang together were what I wanted to mimic.

When the edit came together, I noticed the fight as a war dance of sorts - a ritual. It reminded me of the energy and movement that grime, dubstep and trap music inspires on a dancefloor, so we decided this would make for an interesting concept.

The third "act" focused on the build up to the games themselves, so that connection to Brazil was what we wanted to find. We liked the idea of the two worlds (Britain and Brazil) meeting, so, the pounding basslines of london's underground and the erratic energy of latin american percussion was a fitting blend.

"I don't get energy from just sitting around, I get it from working and being thrilled by things. That's where energy comes from for me" - Brian Eno.

A man of intellectual rigour and a creative wellspring of impressive force. A pioneer and a life-long explorer into the power of sound and music. Brian Eno has applied his intellect and thirst for new and interesting ideas to the design of his music and in turn has managed to continuously charter new sonic territory throughout his career. Because of this, the musical landscape of the 21st century is and will forever be, better off because of his work.

The modern world often feels as if it's accelerating at such a pace, that an optimal speed in which we feel in complete comfort is a hard thing to find. Personally, one of the most profound effects of Mr Eno's music is how sound designed and orchestrated in certain ways, can do just that. Experiencing this music can slow the world down to just the right speed. Listening to his work equates to the benefits felt from such activities as yoga or meditation, whereby the experience itself intensifies the present moment, in turn creating an environment where clarity of thought, focus of energy and complete concentration on the task at hand are easily accessible.

In the short interview above, he finds himself looking at the world around him, now aged 67, a little about his past, why he does what he does and why he feels like he'll never quite feel satisfied even after all he has achieved.

Situations, inspired by the Hollow project and In association with BBC Get Creative, set about to create a "digital forest" that would forever encapsulate the memories and experiences of people that wished to contribute.

Situations worked along side Bristol Creative Agency Extra Strong, who kindly approached me to collaborate with them. They wanted a short ambient piece written to complement the experience of navigating this digital woodland.

The Idea:

Whatever the sound palette would be, I decided a blend of organic and electronic elements would make for an interesting concept.

Why?

Because this was a digital impression of a real world environment and it's the real world the idea is paying homage too.

So, I wanted to have the real world woodland ambience; the wind through the leaves, the birds singing and chirping etc. intermingled with a synthetic soundscape that could convey a particular feeling for the experience.

When it came to deciding upon what the mood should be, I thought about what people were thinking once they'd decided to participate. They would be recalling memories.

So, whatever the textures would be, they would have to evoke a feeling of nostalgia and serenity. A pleasing sense of looking backwards and remembering something. But the premise of encapsulating these memories due to the uncertainty that these particular trees would still exist in the future also evokes a slight sense of melancholy. I set out to find a sound that captured these feelings.

The Inspiration:

The final product can be heard on the treebank site here:

http://www.buildtreebank.co.uk