Now that you’ve had a chance to listen to the sounds of Moving Art Season Three, we’re taking you deeper into the music by interviewing the composers behind each piece.
Here, we sat down with Conrad Wedde, member of the New Zealander trio known as “Moniker,” who created the piece “Ray Of Lights” with its beautiful orchestral synth and driving rhythms.
We discussed the composing process and drawing inspiration from nature.
How did the visual imagery of Moving Art inspire you to create music? How does nature influence your musical work?
Nature is a very inspirational force, it’s obviously very broad in scope, so in that way it can inspire very big, wide and majestic sounds and in turn can be very intimate and delicate. This Huge dynamism is really inspiring to play with in musical terms.
What was the process of creating the music for Moving Art like for you? How long did it take? How did you keep the visuals in mind while composing?
I can’t quite recall how long it took, a month or two…We were always working with the visual elements literally front and center, watching as we play and compose. After a while working with a particular scene and it’s range and scope, like mountains or something…you tune into the character of that scene, the weight or lightness, the sense of gentleness or force. These elemental things become what makes up the character of a scene.
Do you believe that the combination of music and natural imagery can have a calming or healing effect?
Yes, when approached in the right way.
Nature is an extremely healing force in itself, as is music. The art is to have these two elements conversing in an elegant way together, perhaps finding ways that the music can breathe in accordance with the natural imagery.
Nature is the star of the show, so anything musical needs to be in support of this and honoring this as much as possible.
What are your favorite pieces of music or artists that you turn to for inspiration?
Brian Eno is always pretty amazing, especially how his music often seems to complement and be able to breathe with life going in around you.
