1. ‘Reflections’ – Project Overview
“When it comes to documenting significant social and cultural movements, there’s long been a tendency to focus on selected events: moments that marked highs, lows or clear turning points away from what had been considered the norm.” Anniss (2023:327).
In our project, ‘Reflections’ we set out to document our experience of the culture of clubbing. Focusing on the good experiences that we had, whilst highlighting the point when everything started to change. When the places we grew to love started to disappear.
Initially set to be a four-piece exhibition, consisting of a mix of sculptures, paintings, and animations, the project has since transformed into a one piece, four movement animation. An audio-visual tone poem commenting on the closure of grass roots music venues across the UK. The full project is still underway with the goal of being presented at Leeds Light Night 2026 as a multi-media light show/exhibition consisting of animated projected onto a mix of cut-out silhouettes and fabrics, accompanied by one continuous piece of music structured into four distinct movements. As the full project is still underway, I have chosen to present it as a project pitch/commentary, where I discuss the reasoning behind the project, alongside some of the thought processes that have gone into it, also featuring some examples of the animations in progress, and one of the full animations. The project will eventually last between 16 and 20 minutes. Although the project is intended to be presented as a multi-media exhibition, the animation is made with the intention of being suitable for exhibition on its own, allowing for the project to be presented in smaller exhibition spaces if desired.
2. Panopto Video – Final Product (10-12 Minutes)
3. Management and Timelines
Despite the change in the outline of the project we kept to our original project working method quite closely. In the evaluation of the project that was done during the viability study, we discussed that by having a smaller, unclear task list we were using limitations to enhance our creative output; “Limitations and structure are the core of a workflow…” (Turtonen, 2025:131). The project is still well under way, and management has gone well, the time frame and outline of the project has just shifted. As well as this, with the project having been shifted more towards Scarlett’s control, following the submission of the project for this assignment, project management will be in Scarlett’s hands. Our deadline for application to Leeds Light Night 2026 was on the 15th of April 2026, one month after our initial deadline of May 2026. Scarlett still finished the first animation by the intended deadline of February 2026. But as the Project is now intended to be fully animated instead of the initial plan of a series of sculptures and paintings accompanied by an animation, the project will now take longer to be fully completed. However, this is okay as the project now doesn’t need to be completed until Summer 2026, with the deadline for the creation of the extra 4 to 8 minutes of music being in June 2026.
Most of our communication throughout the project has been via message or by phone. This is due to the fact that, as mentioned before, Scarlett is currently based in Budapest, Hungary. There were two times when Scarlett came back to Leeds and we took the time to meet up and discuss the project. This is when most of the planning and communication/continuation of ideas took place. Although we still worked well when communicating ideas online, it is easier to communicate intentions and produce new ideas when face to face; Brucks and Levav (2022) “show [in a study,] that videoconferencing inhibits the production of creative ideas”.
4. Evidence of Planning/Process
One of the more challenging parts of the project has been finding the time to consciously reflect on my own past experiences of nightlife, as well as the experience surrounding a night out. Then figuring out the best way to communicate the emotions that both Scarlett and I associate with these memories. The first step towards capturing our experience was to look to the music we would listen to before and after a night out. So, I spent some time digging through the records we used to listen to. Following a listening session of ‘Dig your own hole’ by The Chemical Brothers, an album that “united many of the dance music trends of the decade” (Cardew, 2022), I was reminded of a particular time that we had come back from ‘The Imaginarium’ in Leeds city centre a few months before its closure and recalled especially enjoying listening to the track final track ‘Private Psychedelic Reel’. This prompted me to look through my collection and find a sitar sample, similar to the one used in the track, to manipulate. The sample I found, a short sitar loop from a remix of ‘Madness Thing’ by Leilani, became the theme of the first and last tracks of our project.
After this, I decided to run more with the inspiration from the Chemical Brothers by working with hardware synths. I have a limited selection of synthesisers; I used only two for this project. However, the two synths I used, the AFX Novation Bass Station 2 and the Behringer TD-3, a knockoff of the iconic Roland TB-303 “one of the most influential electronic instruments to date” (Heermans, 2016). I will talk about the use of synthesisers in more depth later.
Our joint working process was quite detached. With Scarlett living in Budapest for the year, and me busier than previous years being in my final year of university, the only times we found to discuss our work in person was the few times Scarlett came back to Leeds. We sat in my apartment with some friends, had some drinks, and discussed some loose plans. This was when we came up with the plan for the final piece, reflecting the end of a night out. A structure, a time frame, and a tempo. From then on, we worked separately, only fully combining the work once we had individually finished. This way we could keep our emotions separate and see how our individual perceptions of our joint experiences match. The result was that her animation and the music I made for it worked perfectly together.
Following this success, there was an unfortunate failure in our communication. Scarlett had forgotten to tell me that she had decided to change the project content and the goal of the project. Moving it from a multi-media art display, consisting of sculptures, paintings, and an animation to be displayed in a gallery, to a fully animated (as talked about in the screenshot above, which was taken from a conversation in late march) 16 to 20-minute light show/projection with the goal to be displayed at Light Night in Leeds. As a result of this, the project will now not be finalised until a later date. The project will feature a series of silhouettes made of fabrics or solid materials which the animations will be projected onto. As Scarlett describes in the project outline:
“The audience will walk along the back of nine dancing silhouettes, placing them
in the illusion of being at the back of a club night, I want to reference the fluidity
of movement in a club crowd so each silhouette will be different.
The front row of 4 will be wood cut outs with audio visual projectors detailing
art, photographs and videos to the corresponding theme. The projections will
have a corresponding 4 pieces of music with each song ranging between 4/5
minutes long. Behind the line of four black cutouts, will be three stretched fabric
human cutouts, with bright colors and patterns, this will provide a dynamic filter
for moving lights to flow around.
Subsequently two more fabric cut outs follow behind, similarly with bright colors
and patterns. Draped dyed fabric will be hung between the building and the
trees, to offer more of a dynamic scene to the crowd, these will be free flowing
and moveable with the wind.” (Appendix 1).
Following the change in the outline of the project, I decided to take some influence from my classical career when figuring out how to structure and present the music for the project. As our project is working closely with emotions, with the goal of portraying a story and evoking emotions within our viewers, I decided to think of the music as a ‘Tone Poem’. Johnson (2016) describes a tone poem as “a single-movement piece of descriptive orchestral music…” that “suggests a storyline, or at least a mood-sequence, with perhaps a helpful literary or pictorial parallel”. In the case of this project, the storyline is the events surrounding a night out. However, as the name ‘tone poem’ suggests, it is a story told through music, and music alone. When considering this, I was reminded of a 2022 performance of Sibelius’ 1926 tone poem ‘Tapiola’, described as an “evocation of the vast Finnish forests” (Ashley, 2022) at the BBC proms which was accompanied by a simple projection of a forest. So, we decided to build on this example, and think of our project as an Audio-Visual Tone Poem in which the combination of animated projections and accompanying music play an equal role in portraying a story. Although this title did not make it into the submission to Light Night shown the appendix, once the project is presented, this is how it will be described.
5. Use of Technology
Regarding the use of production techniques, I found myself having to take time from the other aspects of my studies to partially re-learn how to produce. As I had been focusing on my major study, classical piano, more so this year than ever, having to prepare for a series of concerts, competitions, and masterclasses, I found that I had regressed in my knowledge of music production. As well as this, I found myself in a creative slump when it came to coming up with musical ideas for the project. This is where I turned to the use of hardware and sampling.
Both of the synthesisers mentioned earlier (the AFX Bass Station more so than the TD-3) have extensive selections of filters, envelopes, and other crazy processes that allowed for me to improvise and create distinct sounds that clearly communicate my emotions, and match the emotions that we are trying to portray and evoke within people. As researched during the viability study for this project, Sajnani (2012) suggests that improvisation is “at the heart of the artistic process and art-based research.” in McNiff (2013:77).
The ability to improvise helped to bring back my creative processes and reminded me of the production styles I used to be fond of. As a pianist, I find that using physical synthesisers feels more natural, been as I am used to creating music on physical instruments. This approach also works well considering the styles of music I took influence from for the project in the initial viability study relied heavily on hardware instruments, for example ‘Aftermath’ from “A Word of Science: The 1st & Final Chapter” by Nightmares on Wax (1991).
The TD-3 was especially useful in the process of creating an acid techno style track. I attempted to mimic the sound of early American acid techno, recalling one of the first nights out that we went to: a live acid techno night at the recently closed Freedom Mills. At the night in question, the artists used the same piece of equipment, so it felt especially suitable. When attempting to mimic the sounds of early American acid techno, I took influence from several artists and their work, such as: Kenny Gonzalez’s “House Syndicate” (Gonzalez, 1989), Woody McBride’s “Basketball Heroes” (McBride, 1996), Joey Beltram’s ‘Classics’ (Beltram, 1996), and Frankie Bones’ “Computer Controlled” (Mitchell, 1998). I also took a lot of influence from the album ‘X-101’ by the group X-101.
The AFX Bass Station – a model of the Novation Bass Station 2, reprogramed by the electronic musician and programmer Aphex Twin – was particularly useful for creating big modulating drone sounds, which were used to manipulate the energy of what will be the first and last tracks of the project. With “enough experimental features to keep even the most diehard synthesist happy” (Dow, 2021), it contains a plethora of filters and effects that allow for extensive detuning and corruption of sound and additionally allows for the physical editing of envelopes. This meant that I had full control over the synthesis of the sound, unlike the TD-3 which despite still allowing the user full control, is intended to replicate the iconic sound of the Roland TB-303.
Referring back to the use of sampling in the project, I used at least one sample in each track. The first one I will talk about is the sitar sample taken from ‘Madness Thing’ by Leilani. This sample features in the first and last tracks of the project, which I have used in the video. As I previously mentioned, I was inspired to use this sample after listening to some music by The Chemical Brothers. But to take it one step further, I looked to the artists who influenced The Chemical Brothers: The Beatles. To be specific ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ from “Revolver” (The Beatles, 1966), which features a distinct sitar sample which had been reversed and stretched. This is exactly what I did with the sample, less manipulated and tighter in the first track, and more manipulated, looser, and layered in the last.
Alongside this sample, I also used and chopped up the iconic Amen Break from the track ‘Amen Brother’ (1969) by The Winstons which is “the most important drum break in history” (Sundius, 2014). And additionally, I slowed down and manipulated a vocal sample from the track ‘Soldierz’ by Grand Agent (2001), using it to replicate the underground techno feel associated with early American acid techno.
As for the digital work process when creating the music for the project, I wanted to keep a raw, live feeling. As such, I limited myself to using a minimal number of processes, just simple stock Ableton filters and effects. Enough EQ to make the mix clear, but not so much that it feels clinical. Enough effects to make it interesting, but not so much that it feels exaggerated. As well as this, I limited myself to a maximum of 8 tracks/instruments at any time, to mimic the style of music I was going for. Part of the reason I decided to work with these limitations was also to help boost the production of creative ideas. As Taylor (2014) puts it, “when faced with limitations, designers are forced to narrow their focus and make intentional choices. This not only streamlines the design process but also provides a clear direction for the project“.
For the project pitch and commentary (the video evidence for this submission), I decided to make the music more sparse, so that it was more in the background and took up less space in comparison to the speech within the video. However, as the music was already created with the intention of communicating the same commentary that I am discussing in the pitch video, I didn’t have to change much. The only changes that were made included taking out vocal samples so that they didn’t didn’t clash with the speech in the video, and shortening the tracks so that they fit in time with the video.
6. Reference Material/Inspiration
7. Evaluation
Upon reflection, I am happy with the new direction that the project has taken. Having the music become one continuous piece provided me with new creative limitations. It has allowed for me to explore different ways of making songs successfully fit together and has led me to discover ways of making multiple different tracks using the same sounds and samples. Although the pushed back deadline of the new project has meant that the full project hasn’t been ready for me to submit for the assignment, I believe that the new continuous feel of the project as one full animation will allow for greater communication of our emotions. The shift in style of the project has also allowed for me to take more influence from the knowledge I have gained in my classical career, framing the project now as an Audio-Visual Tone Poem.
I believe that despite the physical distance between us that has been present during the project, we have still been able to work on our previously established understanding of each other’s ‘communication norms’ (Vitasek, 2024), workflow and artistic styles, leading to the creation and continuation of a strong collaboration.
It will be interesting to see if our workflow changes once we are back to living in the same city. We may be more efficient than we have been so far in our work. But I don’t think this change will make much difference.
8. Bibliography
Anniss, M. (2023). Join the Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music. 2nd edition. London: Velocity Press.
Ashley, T. (2022). Prom 35: Oslo Philharmonic/Mäkelä review – breathtaking Yuja Wang reveals new depths to Liszt. Available online: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/14/prom-35-review-oslo-philharmonic-klaus-makela-yuja-wang-liszt [Accessed 21/04/2026].
Black, K. & Coleman, J. (2024). ‘If Downturn Continues it’ll be RIP for Nightclubs’. Available online: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdn6g4zj0xo [Accessed 25/04/2026].
Brucks, M. & Levav, J. (2022). Virtual communication curbs creative idea generation. Available online: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35477754/ [Accessed 21/04/2026].
Cardew, B. (2022). How The Chemical Brothers’ ‘Dig Your Own Hole’ predicted the post-genre pop future. Available online: https://djmag.com/content/solid-gold-how-dig-your-own-hole-redefined-chemical-brothers-sound [Accessed 17/04/2026].
Dow, R. (2021). Novation AFX Station. Available online: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/novation-afx-station [Accessed 20/04/2026].
Gonzalez, K. (1989). House Syndicate, Kicking Ass – IDS [Vinyl]. Breaking Bones Records.
Grand Agent (2001). Skillz Philly / Soldierz [Vinyl]. Millenia Music.
Guttridge-Hewitt, M. (2024). 65 UK nightclubs shut in 2024 in “unprecedented crisis” for nightlife. Available online: https://djmag.com/news/65-uk-nightclubs-shut-2024-unprecedented-crisis-nightlife [Accessed 20/04/2026].
Heermans, A. (2016). Rhetorical Synthesis: The Story of the Roland TB-303. Available online: https://www.dwrl.utexas.edu/2016/11/22/rhetorical-synthesis-the-story-of-the-roland-tb-303/ [Accessed 20/04/2026].
Johnson, S. (2016). What is a tone poem in music? Available online: https://www.classical-music.com/features/musical-terms/tone-poem [Accessed 21/04/2026].
Leilani (1998). Madness Thing [Vinyl]. ZTT.
McBride, M. (1996). Basketball Heroes [Vinyl]. Communique Records.
McNiff, S. (ed) (2013). Art as Research: Opportunities and Challenges. Bristol: Intellect Ltd.
Mitchell, F. (1998). Computer Controlled (Live in California) [Audio CD]. X-Sight Records.
Nightmares on Wax (1991). A Word of Science: The 1st & Final Chapter [Vinyl]. Warp Records.
Philharmonia Orchestra & Ashkenazy, V. (1983). Sibelius: Symphony No.7. Tapiola [Vinyl]. Decca.
Sajnani, N. (2012). Journal of Applied Arts & Health. In McNiff, S. (ed) Art as Research: Opportunities and Challenges. Bristol: Intellect Ltd.
Sundius, M. (2014). A History of the Amen Break. From The Winstons to Futurama and Om Unit. Available online: https://splice.com/blog/amen-break/ [Accessed 17/04/2026].
Taylor, S. (2014). The Power of Creative Limitations. Available online: https://medium.com/brave-people/the-power-of-creative-limitations-854e62d9f004 [Accessed 26/04/2026].
The Beatles (1966). Revolver [Vinyl]. Parlophone.
The Chemical Brothers (1997). Dig Your Own Hole [Vinyl]. Freestyle Dust & Virgin.
The Winstons (1969). Color Him Father / Amen Brother [Vinyl]. Metromedia Records.
Turtonen, L. (2025). Creative Confidence and Music Production: Overcome your Insecurities. Abingdon: Routledge.
Vitasek, K. (2024). 5 Ways To Make Your Business’ Overseas Collaborations Stronger. Available online: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevitasek/2024/07/19/5-ways-to-make-your-business-overseas-collaborations-stronger/ [Accessed 26/04/2026].
X-101 (1991). X-101 [Vinyl]. Tresor.
Appendices
1.
