"Concept: Like our bodies and our planet this composition is made up of mostly water. An appreciation of water in all its forms liquid, vapor and solid. An homage to the magic stuff that makes us and makes our imperiled garden planet. Pure form sounds: water only as source material transformed via sampling, granular synthesis and processing eventually becoming less pure, with additional sound sources, in a program that seeks to both transcend & immerse in the moment while bathing in the source material of our being. Additionally it is also more apparent than ever that our mishandling of this beautiful unique planetary mother is responsible for the multiple current examples of the potential destructive power of this essential element. We reap what we sow, and even though one of the things Earth does is "people", we are only along for the bigger ride. All we can do now is FLOAT.

The process: I had been imagining this piece for many years, using my own water recordings exclusively to compose a tribute of sorts to this essential ingredient in life. Something I have had an ongoing personal relationship outside my body since I was very young, always in water, swimming and later scuba diving. Always fascinated by not only the feel of it, moving through it, floating in it, but also the sound of it: wave, flow, bubble, crackle and hiss. Much later I learned to love drinking it.

Once into the process of creating the piece I opened up to using additional sound sources, synthesis, and Instruments to complete and round out the adventure.

Composed during the summer and fall of 2023 specifically for the premier at Elastic Arts Chicago using the CLEAT 16 channel system. I spent 6 months working the sounds in that space and the composition took its time to form organically at the same time as mastering the technical aspects of multichannel sound design while keeping an ear on the narrative. Most of my music composed or spontaneous likes to form some kind of narrative and I like to control it or get out of the way when I become aware that is the best course to take.

The Video: After the composition was completed I spent a few weeks compiling the video to work in sync with the soundtrack. The images are all water or water related, about 40% of the footage is mine and the rest sourced from Creative Commons material from Pexels, NASA, & the Prelinger Archives. A few excerpts are available on our youtube, & I hope to continue performing this piece wherever possible. Watch for it, in the meantime keep floating...."-Dan Burke