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Tag: 2025
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Stills from IRO : WAEIM
This project was funded in part by the Nevada Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts Original sketch/idea I had for the album artwork. I still enjoyed it so I made it available in print form. -
SILVER DESERT on Deathbed Tapes Compilation “SHADOW KILLER”
Cover artwork for “SHADOW KILLER”, the soundtrack to an imaginary slasher flick, Fall 2024. “SILVER DESERT” originally served as the backing track I played improvisational guitar over last Summer in Rhyolite, Nevada for the first iteration of my Nevada Arts Council project grant multimedia project, “In Relative Obscurity (2023)”.
The track consists of cello drones in the key of shifting sand dunes, which resonate in the key of C; which I found reflected the remote location it was captured from.
It was ultimately in conversation with the environment I recorded it in; Calico Basin, as part of my artist in residency experience with the Cube Gallery in 2022. The desert landscape had never struck me as something, or somewhere, worth interacting with; let alone using it almost directly as I can as a medium to create new works. I’m thankful I came upon Goldwell Open Air Museum and it’s sculptures/stories. I look forward to creating more works in dialogue with these subjects.
Field recordings always interested me, but capturing this recording of a cello in such a large, open studio was great. It really let the room lend itself to the overall sound of the final result.
The inclusion of “Silver Desert” in a Deathbed Tapes record label release is a huge win for me, and quite the milestone. I look forward to submitting my works to future opportunities and different record labels. -
In Relative Obscurity II : Without An End In Mind (2025)
In Relative Obscurity II: Without An End In Mind is an experimental, site-specific audio-visual project that merges improvisational (loosely) American Primitive Guitar with field recordings and video art sourced from the Mojave Desert; more specifically, Rhyolite, Nevada, USA.
The subtitle, Without An End In Mind, is taken directly from an essay I was commissioned to write for the UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum’s quarterly publication, Dry Heat Vol. 5 (aka “The Goldwell Issue”. I wrote about the first iteration of IRO and how I was inspired by Albert’s spirit of improvisation, in contrast to Executive Director, Suzanne Hackett-Morgan’s opening essay reflecting on the origins of the organization and her vision for it’s future.
The project is conceptually grounded in the legacy of the late Belgian artist Albert Szukalski. It serves as a contemporary dialogue with Szukalski’s methods, while also responding to the desert environment itself, where even the movement of sand produces remarkable ambient sonic textures. He remarked that the landscape of Nevada, specifically Rhyolite, reminded him of the holy lands depicted in the bible; making it the perfect backdrop for his Last Supper sculpture.
Filmed on October 19th, 2024, the morning of Goldwell’s 40th anniversary celebration, the work largely centers on a single static sunrise shot of the valley. The audio consists of an improvised electric guitar performance recorded with an amplifier and field recorder, capturing the violence of the high desert winds and the reverb of my guitar’s sound; both bouncing off of the barn’s metal tin roof.
This project was funded in part by the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
This project was funded in part by the Nevada Arts Council & the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Promotional image for In Relative Obscurity II : Without An End In Mind 
Promotional Image for “Valley of Gusts” single. 
Still image from In Relative Obscurity II. 
Still image from opening sequence of In Relative Obscurity II. 
Still image from opening sequence of In Relative Obscurity II. 
Still image from In Relative Obscurity II : Without An End In Mind.