CLINTON WATKINS: COMPOSITE, 2020

My process consists of going on adventures and collecting sonic material as I encounter it. My recorder is regularly present with me and I capture sounds that interest me on a number of levels. Sounds I have collected then go into an ever growing library that is an organisation of 20+ years of recording work. I use this library as a palette for the production of a wide range of outcomes and projects.

Composite is an 40 minute live mix of my most enjoyed field recordings that I have collected from many reaches of the world. From densely populated industrial terrains to uncharted sections of ocean and vast remote deserts full of life and death bridged by sonic instances through the experience of listening and recording.

Composite was produced in my home studio in Auckland, New Zealand which is base. The studio is where I bring together the recordings I have collected from all around the world through a process of live mixing to arrange selected recordings to form sonic relationships. I choose to work in this way to maintain a performative element to production and be reactive to the material. This method also allows for me to produce outcomes at a good pace to avoid projects becoming stale. There is always room for the unexpected and experimentation which, in many cases, works out better than a more considered idea.

The live mixes are recorded directly to a 2-track digital recorder straight from the main-out of the mixing console. I utilize a small clip launching midi device using Ableton Live to activate and mix recordings in real-time.

My general technical set up is small and portable. This enables me to move round easily whilst on an adventure which allows me to work almost anywhere.

I have many other projects and they all utilize the material within the library. Field recordings can be altered in such a way that the material can used in a multitude of ways thanks to historic and contemporary sound manipulation tools and techniques. In some projects, field recordings are combined with electronically generated sound, in others they are used for sound design in documentary and film, sound art commissions, and sometimes they are utilized in harsh noise performances or recordings, beat orientated music, gallery installations, ambient compositions – Many things!