ESME WRIGHT
Sounder Artist | Drummer | Session Musician
BIO
Education, Artwork and Music.
Qualifications:
University of Brighton - Digital Music and Sound Art - Graduating Summer 2022
Abingdon and Witney College/ Oxford Brookes University - CertHE Computing - Distinction
Matthew Arnold School - A levels - A - C grades
Experience:
Accelerator Studios - Volunteered from 2017-2019, first introduction to sound engineering and session musicianship.
Drum Teacher - Freelance, 2019 - Present. Experience teaching ages 13+.
Exhibition art and musicianship detailed below.
VivaSonar - Summer 2022
During second and third year, I started to specialise in Sound Art, and Acoustic Ecology. My current personal project is titled VivaSonar and the focus is bringing an environment to life with sound, and inviting nature into the home to create safe and imaginative spaces.
Sounder (March 2022)
In March 2022, I am partaking in Brighton Digital Festival with Sounder.
In this project we are presenting Sound Postcards, snapshots of our environments in the form of field recordings composed in a diaristic manner, and a 'Flash Mob' skater event on the 6th March in which skaters will ride around with speakers playing natural sounds composed in interesting ways.
See photos below.
Other Exhibitions:
In the Work tab, I have listed some other solo and collaborative projects I have been involved in and included links to archive works.
Music...
Meanwhile, I am expanding into session musicianship and teaching as a drummer.
In May 2022 Gene Pool will be playing a set of performances on the Witness Stand at Brighton Festival.
Gene Pool have played a variety of shows in Brighton since rekindling with new members including myself in 2021. We played our first London headline show at The Amersham Arms in December, and released our first single under the new line up in February 2022, titled 'These Days.'
See photos below.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My practice is mostly concerned with creating interesting textures. As a drummer I am inclined more towards rhythm and so inject it into all areas of my practice, but I am interested in the way sound works in space and how the landscapes evolve their own symphony arrangements over time, which is a concept that also inspires my contribution to the work Gene Pool will create for the Witness Stand exhibition.
I like to create safe spaces with sound and Nature, which I feel Robin Minard is a big inspiration for with his Still Life exhibitions. There is a lot we can learn from the sounds that make up our landscape and I’m interested in how this also shapes urban settings, what we get used to hearing and eventually stop acknowledging. I am also interested in how this is shaping our psychology as we develop as a species, and how sound can be of therapeutic benefit, especially as an encouragement to spend more time in nature. I spend a lot of time field recording and then listening back to what I’ve caught from the moment, then manipulating the recordings in ways that give them life in other environments. It can be peaceful, even meditative.
Current piece concepts that all draw on my interests:
VivaSonar is designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia for nature and a crossover between science and art.
The Sounder exhibition pieces draw on capturing a snapshot of nature, and manipulating natural sounds with corporeal movement, through skating.
Working collaboratively is my preference, I enjoy solo projects but I think multiple minds can hugely expand a project past its creative potential. I've been fortunate in my involvement with very talented artists in the last three years.
Mostly, I work in Max MSP, use Ableton for composing and will expand into using Sound Particles for further sound design. I also like to use my phone to record as it's often what I have on me, and I enjoy the challenge of unpacking busy recordings into usable textures. I look for fine details of sound, and intricacies of rhythm, as these can be built into worlds which is very useful for foley work.
My music functions like a diary and outlet for me emotionally, I am exploring further how sound facilitates expression. Everything is stored on my personal SoundCloud for now, and I will be releasing more music post graduation.
With Hal Kelly, I am part of an ongoing electronic dance music duo titled We Come In Peace. This is in addition to playing drums for Gene Pool.
Live shows incoming! - Full of energy and encouraging movement.
- Esme Wright, 2022 -
