Written for the RWCMD's Autumn Sunflower Project as a response to the Ukrainian War, Distant Sun was inspired by the growth of sunflowers and the symbolism of hope from the Ukrainian people. The 3 words this work was inspired by was "Germination, Dispersion and Regeneration" This represents both the stages of life that the sunflowers undergo but also the hopefulness of the future,

Distant Sun

Producer: Nicole Din 
Intercom Announcement: Nicole Din 
Additional Audio: Carne Foyer (RWMCD) 

On The Intercom (2022) explores the idea of Liminal Spaces in the real world. I first had the inspiration for this track after walking around the Capitol Shopping Centre in Cardiff and reflected on the nature of the space. Furthermore, I also took inspiration from the 2019 Internet Urban Legend "The Backrooms" which centres around the ideas of Liminal Spaces and pocket dimensions. The track itself is meant to be set in a shopping mall in a Dystopian Pocket Dimension where everything seems normal on the surface but becomes as more details becomes unravelled,  the world begins to expose it's true nature before reverting back to it's "realistic" facade. Even though I intended this track to be a commentary on Escapism, I wanted to leave the meaning up for individual interpretation.

On The Intercom

Performed by: Quantum Brass (RWCMD)
Image courtesy of Joanne Din
Audio from RWCMD's Brass Department Classical Cafe (Monday 13th February 2023)

"The Clock Ticks" serves as the perspective of a musician that is preparing for an upcoming deadline. The piece explores the different emotions that musicians experience in three sections: the initial excitement of the project, the burnout from the excessive workload, and the eventual perseverance to complete the task before the deadline. The piece ends with a short reflective coda, symbolising the relief of the project being completed. Regardless of the challenges that everyone faces, this piece serves as a reminder that all will be resolved in the end.

The Clock Ticks

Producer: Nicole Din
Additional Vocals: Nicole Din
Additional String Synthesisers courtesy of Spitfire Labs
Picture: Capital Quarter, Cardiff

Outlines is a track which deals with the ideas of loneliness and isolation. The track focuses on the idea of feeling powerless and helpless in a larger world. Outlines is ethereal in nature to represent our galaxy and the wider universe. The track was made of string library patches, a MIDI keyboard and additional vocals. The track also features sound recordings of tapping on a desk and bubbling noises produced by a boiler in my parent's house in Northamptonshire.

Outlines

Producer: Nicole Din

Grandfather Clock was originally conceptualised for a musical contexts module at RWCMD. The track is comprised of various sound recordings of clocks that were collected from an antique shop in Northamptonshire. The track focuses on time and how time can viewed by different people. in particular, the overlapping of different clock recordings reflects individual timelines crossing over with each other. Additionally, the piece also focuses on the speed of time and how the speed can vary depending on the situation that an individual is in.

Grandfather Clock

Producer: Nicole Din
Additional Vocals: Nicole Din

A New World is a psychedelic track that focuses on the larger scale of the universe and the desire to explore the unknown. The track is comprised of an ambient background that was produced on a moulder synthesiser as well as various sound recordings. In particular, recordings of bird noises and water sounds can heard throughout the piece to help represent the unknown. Halfway through the track, speech can be heard which is the phrase "I don't know what's happening" reversed to add to the elements of mystery and curiosity.

A New World

Composer: Nicole Din
Violinist: Issy Lazarova
Cellist: Anna Leary
Additional Engraving: Zoë Leona Goreham
Recorded by: Sharif Din

I: As the Sun Rises
II: Between Two Nations
III: Rain upon the River Severn
IV:  The Blending of Colours

Inspired by artist Garry Fabian Miller's work "The Sea Horizon", Across The Shoreline is a collection of 4 short pieces which depict different aspects of the works. The first piece "As the Sun Rises" depicts the sunrise which is present throughout some of the works. The second piece "Between Two Nations" depicts the distant view of Wales in the background of some of pictures as well as acting as a love letter between my home in the English Midlands and my current home in Cardiff. The third piece "Rain upon the River Severn" depicts the mist and rain prominent throughout a significant number of the pictures. Finally, the fourth and final piece "The Blending of Colours" refers to the blending of different light intensities and colours prominent throughout the whole work.

I would like to thank Issy and Anna for performing this piece as well as Zoë with her help with the additional engraving of the score and her knowledge on string techniques. I would also like to thank the National Museum of Cardiff for giving me the opportunity to work with them and write a piece for one of their exhibitions.

Across The Shoreline

Producer: Nicole Din
Cover Art: Zoe Goreham

Inspired by the ideals of Spectromorphology and analogue Horrors such as Local58 and Number Stations, Sound of The Chimes was created by the manipulation and editing of the frequency spectrum of wind chimes. The track also delves into the deep underlying mysteries of the world and the structures of different sounds. The track contains all of the frequencies of the recording and produces an analogue horror effect with an eerie jingle and morse-code sounds underneath.

A big thank you to Zoe for spending an hour of her time creating and editing the cover art.

Sound Of The Chimes

Producer: Nicole Din

Open Insight (2024) is a musical continuation of 'Sound of The Chimes' (2023). Similarly to 'Sound of The Chimes', the track consists of recordings being spliced and edited. This track is made up of sounds such as bird calls; a keyboard tapping; whistling and humming. These recordings were then manipulated by MIDI mapping on Ableton to create spacious and echoing atmospheres. Open Insight is quite abstract in meaning and the meaning can be up to the listener's interpretation.

Open Insight

British Composer, Producer and Sound Engineer
Former Orchestral Tuba/Eb Bass performer
ISM Member 2021-2024
Admirer of all things obscure

Nicole Din

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