#55 Feat. New Releases in Drum & Bass

These stories have grown slowly, like moss spreading over bark. Now theyre ready to step out of my imaginary forest and find new connections with other listening bodies. I picture this EP as a wander, each track opening onto its own biotope. It begins in an emerald woodland — Sonian Tales — a forest waking after the rain. Then comes the ascent of an amber slope with Knock Knock. Beyond that ridge lies a rocky valley, where the purple mists of Quartz Symphony swirl. Coming from a background in stage direction, storytelling is central to my composition process, which is also deeply inspired by the living world. I gather sounds and let them meet to create imaginary microcosms. An old stump from the Sonian Forest encounters a ruined piano from a hidden valley in la Drôme. Drum elements become lively characters. The human voice dissolves into the biotope, existing as one element among others. A non-anthropocentric mixing choice where no single species dominates the soundscape. This music grew alongside my residencies at two radios: Kiosk Radio — where joyful experimentation during my Organic Tales show crystallized into Sonian Tales, and GIMIC Radio — where I happened to meet a violinist the same week I began dreaming of collaborating with one for Quartz Symphony. A special thought goes to all the attentive ears along the creative process, and to my non-human studio companions, my indoor ficus, and Bernarde & Chiba the cats. — Bobbi Watson

Bobbi Watson