Claire Rousay - it was always worth it (2020)

I've recently been exclusively working with field recordings and text to voice programs. This piece was a weird detour for me. The inclusion of synthesizer sounds completely caught me off guard. I guess I was missing harmony. D major, as usual.

“it was always worth it” documents a romantic parting of ways. the voice to text is sourced from various love letters over the last six years. domestic “field recordings” from the last week of the relationship fade in and out while synthesizers hold everything together. the synthesizer sounds are a detour from my recent work. i only recently started to incorporate harmonic elements into my music and this felt like a good chance to try and dive deeper into that world. harmony is emotional right? idk, other thoughts/phrases that come to mind when i think of this 20 minutes of sound include “emo ambient”, “breakup album”, “uncomfortably revealing”, etc.

I love the domestic sounds, sounds where the microphone is involved in the environment, sounds where things change, sounds where things stay the same. Water recording sounds are overdone and I don't mind. I love the sound of voices, especially the voices of my loved ones. Those are the sounds I listen to.

Pauline’s Deep Listening: A Composer's Sound Practice is what anyone should read.