In conjunction with my research for the Contemporary Issues assessment, I have been exploring library music and Muzak, be it 1970s supermarket atmospheres or mall music, the sonically synthetic, processed nature appeals to me. As expressed in a previous blog post, although I come from a gaming background (Ps2-Ps4), virtual reality worries me for a number of reasons.

Also considering the ‘sense of place’ and ‘spirit of place’ in accordance to the essay __________ by continuing the notion of a virtual reality, I wish to divert from the musique concrete and field recording practices I have been working on, in order to capture the ‘sense and sprit’ in augmented reality. Inspired by my distaste for virtual reality, I intend to produce an opening score totally un-organic, digital and fake. By this I mean remaining rigid in terms of production;

One. Rather than using my own recorded sounds I will use ones found on my DAW of choice (Logic).

Two. No use of samples or other sources that may detract or add a specific context to the score.

Three. Keep score relatively simple in structure in keeping with the graphics and aesthetic of the menu screen. The user will be adjusting to the headset and game mechanics therefore the music should operate in the foreground. I n saying this, a moderate rhythm or percussive element should reveal itself hopefully generating a sense of anticipation/progress as the user nears entering the laboratory.

Nostalgia Por Mesozoica-Nikolaienko (Muscut Records)

As reference, Nikolaienko’s latest album explores library music for fictional museum spaces and exhibitions. Imagining soundscapes and library pieces for museum dioramas, I found this concept parallels the intentions of VR in which users can be placed within the fictional realm. Yet with the ever furthering of this technology, the goggle wearing, headphone listening user becomes the object of fascination for surrounding observers. The sealing off of the two most important senses (Eyes and Ears) is un-natural and definitive of ‘the future’ we now live in.

Sonically, this album explores a multitude of textures, rhythms, field recordings and samples, refashioned into quite childish and kitsch soundscape. The sense of place is strong and each track really feels as if it has been dug up from a v natural history library cd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC_q9_b5ksE&list=OLAK5uy_mQg3NgZzqN-BHWdzSNCbVqmzTYm2In6f4&index=2

Ultramarine XY (Feat.PS-H)-Vlad Dobrovolski (Muscut Records)

Playstation 4 Intro Theme

My first impressions of the menu screen/setting was that it reminds me of the Playstation 4 homepage. Both use shades of blue that drift and float around the user as if in a synthetic heaven, hoping to calm and relax the user before the gameplay. There is an endless quality in scope and feel (hence the use of blue associated with the sea and water) which I believe helps remind the user that escape is good but also invites them to play ‘endlessly’ i.e you can return as many times as you like or play for days on end because the technology will never fail.

Loop Finding Jazz Records-Jan Jelinek