Sound is about the places we live - about the times when the world of now falls away, leaving in its place an immediate awareness of the sonic tapesty that continually surrounds us. Much of my work with sound explores the context of audio landscapes when presented in a less than familiar surrounding.
Early in the days of nonlinear sound editing I found myself with an amazing tool called SoundEdit16. It was a 16 bit sound editing software that allowed the user to create unlimited tracks of manipulated sound. This was a decade before Protools and its ilk. These composistions reflect my then current taste in harsh electronic soundscapes and insect languages.
Veves + Loas : (2000)
Long before I created the film of the same name these two compositions were developed in the process of 16bit sound editing.
Infrared Conversations : (2001)
"These seven tracks represent the output of a singular event in the development of Harmons work. Using two Palm 105 PDAs and a freeware program modified by Harmon the sonic tapestries in these works were created by the interaction of the two Palmtops. Communicating over their infrared ports the pieces evolved in a call and response style. Harmon would create a seed sound by touching the screen of one Palmtop and then the conversation between the two PDAs would begin."
Signs Without Meaning : (2000)
"Almost beyond the self imposed boundaries of his other works these three compositions reflect the diverse interest in extended micro amplified tones that has left its mark on a handful of Harmon's works. Three pieces of super elongated field recordings cut and pasted over each other to create an abyss of sonic exegesis."
Something from Nothing : (2000)
"Returning from a stay in Warsaw during the Winter/Spring of 2001 Harmon recorded these two pieces from found acoustic noises in his travels. Fields of White stretches out the earlier compositional style of Harmons work into a wall of disjointed and abstract noisescapes. The length of the piece allows the listener room in which to absorb the transient structure of microtonal frequencies and shifting layers of cutup sounds. The shorter piece, Something From Nothing, acts as an appendix to the larger composition. Momentary slices of the larger work distilled into this pointed soundscape."
Trying To Be Alone on a Sunday : (2001)
"These dense electronic compositions outline the early minimal aspects of Harmon's work. Built upon layers of exaggeratedly slowed down environmental recordings each piece becomes a meditation on the mundane aspects of existence. Like soundtracks for the abstract film that is our lives; the three works remain the least improvised and yet most compelling of Harmons early electronic work."
Moses de Leon : (2002)
"Over the course of the past decade Harmons work has become more and more influenced by the writings of Kabalistic and Sufic mystisism. This piece is an extend meditation on the life and work of the author of the Zohar, Moses de Leon. Foremost to the structure of the piece is an outlining representation of the mystical word as hagiographic textbook; An illusion of historic reference like a veil across the contemporary thoughts of the now. This is the center piece of Harmons current electronic works. Mixing Improvisation into the compositional style that has come before."