Music Technology as Ritual Practice (Hope Diamond)
I’m sitting at a coffee shop in Greenpoint working from my computer. My scarlet-lacquered fingertips make a sound, but it’s not the sound of typing. The keys I’m tapping aren’t the ones on my laptop. These keys belong to my MIDI controller. This miniature keyboard device is hooked up to a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) program on my computer. I take a sip of chai tea and stretch out my arms, then it’s back to the afternoon routine of Technological Ritual Practice.
Yes, I said Technological Ritual Practice. It’s taken me a while to view this process of making and recording music on a computer with a DAW in this positive light. My love for electronic music started back in high school with Enya and evolved into an appreciation for artists including Fever Ray, Massive Attack, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, and Carpenter Brut. After attending some invigorating electronic world music dance parties last summer, I decided that I wanted to learn how to integrate electronic music into my own musical skillset and process.
My musical background is more traditionally-based in singing, piano, and guitar. How was I going to make music with an instrument that looked and felt like a robotic machine? Thinking in literal terms about the technology helped adjust my mindset and perception. Musical instruments are crafted by the hands of humans. A computer is a high-energy device infused with electricity and the ability to perform functions. The creation of the artist is passed through the intricacy of the DAW software program into the complicated system of the hardware computer itself — an intense communication of the energy within musical soundwaves.
My initial approach to using this instrument was completely easygoing and intuitive. I sat down at my computer, opened Garageband, plugged in my MIDI controller, and began to play around with making random tracks.
I started off with a melody line, choosing a powerful synthesizer lead called Massive Saws. Staring into the flames of the lava lamp on my desk, I allowed whatever random tune that popped into my head to travel from my fingertips into the keyboard. Deciding not to be perfectionistic, I played what felt right and stopped when I stopped. OK, that was done! I clicked “track”, then clicked “new track.” This time, I added some deep Mixed Choir chords that resonated with the main melody line like a wild mating call. To balance this dramatic energy, I added in two gently-harmonized tracks — the soft chords of Romantic Organ and the resonating ambience of Dynamic Swell. In the background, I added a fifth and final track, a lilting sound called Subtle Shiftscape.
This entire process took the brief time span of 2–3 hours. It felt emotionally rewarding, brimmed with creative energy, and resulted in the completion of the original song entitled “Glitter Cyclone.” The lava lamp on my desk was my muse and inspiration. What would the sparkling swirls of liquid magma sound like? What was the emotional soundtrack to the story of this lava lamp’s life? Was it a tiny mini galaxy trapped inside a conical prison? Did a tiny kingdom of extraterrestrial beings dwell within its world? Imagination and introspection fueled the fires behind the outward action needed to navigate the DAW and record the music.
Using a DAW may sound overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Even the most creative, emotive, and fluidic mind can successfully use this tool. It’s all about your own approach and perspective! The buttons within the system of a DAW are like the notes on a three-dimensional musical instrument. Make love to that computer like you mean it. Imagine that you’re a modern space wizard with your exciting new magickal device in a futuristic universe far, far away. Wait for the Muse to call…then record her. Pretty soon, you’ll be doing your own Technological Ritual Practice inside a coffee shop. See you in Greenpoint?
— Hope Diamond
Hope Diamond’s music brainchild is Cult of Hope, an Avante-Garde Mystic Dream Pop project.
