Audio Analysis of 'Subconscious Dive'

This is the first audio piece I have ever created. I had a lot of fun recording found audio clips whether it was breaking plates on the ground or making my roommate scream throughout Decker Hall. When I first began musing over the concept of 'sound & memory' my mind led me to the abstract subconscious memory - the part of the mind in which one is not fully aware of but still has influence on a person's feelings and actions. Over the time it takes to grow old, a human experiences a repetition of daily events and obstacles. Some instances may feel new, yet we react accordingly to our upbringing and uniquely shaped life story. The subconscious can be tapped into through forms of meditation, dream cycles or psychoanalysis.

For my piece, I constructed the atmosphere of a therapist's office in where a psychologist instructs the patient to take a 'Subconscious Dive' in order to help reminisce and heal a traumatizing memory. The spoken word and fast paced breathing in the audio is my recorded voice and I enjoyed manipulating the therapist's voice to resemble a lagging, eery male's tone. A lot of the sounds recorded use small objects such as window blinds, a stapler, a head

massager, drawers, coins and the sound of water falling in the shower. A ticking clock represents the passing of time throughout most of the composition. Some effects I utilized to help the frightening and tense theme of this piece are: expander, clip distortion, exciter, flanger, ensemble, pitch shifter and reverb as well as creating distance with varying the l/r sound outputs.

I really focused on the internal mind of the patient. You're listening to the audio as the patient experiences it, similar to having a front seat in the back of their eyes. The best part of the project were the critiques that I received from my classmates'. I made the audio with full intention of putting the audience in an uncomfortable state. I was slightly nervous to see reactions but the darting eyes, and tensed sitting positions of the listeners affirmed my motives. If I did not receive these reactions I would have viewed my project as a total failure.