From extensive thinking into mood and the affect sound has on us, as a DJ my primary concern with DJing, is that the songs I select to play blend almost seemingly together with the imminent surroundings of me and the listener. The sound should imitate as much as it creates. LaBelle and Storr have been points of influence for me recently, helping me move away from mindset of dancer(active, contact) /listener but instead to the gamer(active,non-contact)/listener, something that is totally alien to me. The above soundtrack has been designed for The Oin Forest loading screen, in which the gamer/listener is situated in-between the game world and the real. By taking the headset off they return to the real but if they continue, the world of the Oin Forest opens up to them.

Acknowledging this limbo state sonically, plays an important role in readying the player for the VR experience. Therefore I began to draw inspiration from a range of sources that exist within these in-between environments such as; Airports, Elevators, Museums. These forms of mood music or muzak are often characterised by their airy and light tones that drift in the background. Therefore I decided to explore synths with lots of delay and reverb and muffled piano keys, a common place to begin for ambient music. Being a video game, I also had to bear in mind that the music had to be inviting, rather than experimental for the sake of ‘showing off’, which might hinder the gamers beginning experience where they adjust to the VR headset. Taking note from my own experience with VR, I initially felt quite claustrophobic and concerned due to the entire covering of my eyes and ears. If the music was harsh and unsettling, bass heavy and sinister; for one, the Masters laboratory theme would be undermined and two it simply wouldn’t match the menu environment.