Brief 2 - Connectivity

Brief 2 focused on Connectivity, in which we were given a variety of silent video briefs to choose from in order to compose a song related to the visual themes present in the video. This was also a collaborative brief, in which I worked with my colleagues Daniel Beattie and David Grimason. The video brief in question was from a 90s film focused on a dioramic view of a ship at sea with various passengers and crewmates occupying the various rooms doing a variety of activities.

The Connectivity method made us take our interpretations from our selected brief and tie them in with said brief; I immediately brought up comparisons to my first train 7-hour train journey in 2020 to see my long-distance girlfriend in the South-West of England and how the journey felt nerve-wracking yet inspiring, especially while travelling with a variety of other passengers on similar long journeys for their own personal reasons.

Musically we aimed for a fusion of soul vocals with psychedelic and post-rock elements, inspired by bands such as Deftones, Failure, and Talk Talk; I performed guitar and bass on the track, while David delivered lead and backing vocals and Daniel covered everything else, from digitised MIDI drum parts to ambience that added massively to the track helping to set an atmosphere, and various sound effects in order to add flourishes and enhancements to an already solid composition.

Overall I believe the Connectivity method was the second most effective, specifically for the collaborative aspects that allowed my interpretation of the visual brief to be added upon lyrically by David and sonically by Daniel. This, ultimately, is the track I decided to release as it was the most fully developed between myself, Daniel, and David, and further helped to establish myself as a creative and collaborative practitioner under my artist name of Crybaby.