Graham Reid | | 2 min read
Most readers of Elsewhere will have encountered the name Eden Mulholland who was part of the band Motorcade and has written for dance and theatre companies, and the World of Wearable Arts.
He has won a number of awards for composition and was nominated for a Silver Scroll in 2009.
More than a decade ago he – who has no formal musical training – told us, “I take things on at an instinctual level and my music is all about making people feel something. The bottom line is there has to be some sort of visceral response, so however I can achieve that I don't really care -- which forces me to challenge myself about how to make it.”
And over the years he has made a lot of music, so much that as an experiment he decided to design a website where scores of his instrumental pieces could reside and be available to others to buy and use.
“It's a side project I've been tinkering on for a couple of years, an alternative production music library - a vast collection of tracks that never found a home in the projects they were sketched for, dark drones and hypnotic stuff for the most part.
“I wanted to give the music a home rather than be lost and forgotten so I came up with four collections based on the music's vibes - 'somnambulism', 'subterranea', 'phenomena' & 'momentum'.
“Originally I thought it would just be a passion side project, teaching myself how to make a website etc, but it kinda turned into this strange library of sounds that I hope can be inspiration for other creatives or used in productions.
“I still kinda don't know what it is really but it's a thing!”
Just taking the Subterranea section, the site offers 14 pieces he banners as abyssal, unnerving, dark and haunting. He provides information about the instrumentation (drones, warped samples, electric guitar etc) and a brief description of each piece: “dark, strange”, “atonal, dark”, “gentle, haunting” etc.
Of the Somnambulant section he says it is “a vast collection of somnolent musical textures and unique sonic artifacts created as an alternative to commercial production music.
and kept himself busy
“Nothing here is polished to a high commercial sheen, it remains rough hewn, a functional resource for film makers and content creators from any arts discipline.
“The styles range dramatically from deep rumbling drones to haunting bells and everything in between – always with a darkly hypnotic edge.”
The description of the pieces under Phenomena are described as “beautiful, gentle, melancholic”, “hypnotic, strange and “dark, strange”.
Many of these pieces use electric or acoustic guitar, piano, drums and samples.
even in his thought
The more vigorous Momentum section should attract DJ, samplers and those with en eye on the dancefloor. The pieces -- and there are 30 under each section and arrows so you can navigate to more -- rarely break three minutes and are able to be downloaded for just a couple of dollars.
“Then if someone wants to license them they can get in touch.”
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You can explore this archive of sound (with interesting visuals and poetry) at the website here.
Take your time, it's a very interesting collection of sounds ready to be repurposed.
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