I had a conversation recently about synesthesia as it relates to music. Synesthesia, according to Wikipedia, is "a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway." People who experience synesthesia with music often associate or "see" certain colors with certain sounds, pitches or keys.
I imagine that, at some level, people associate stimulation of one sense with another. I'm not certain where this comes from--could it be from associations we make from our everyday experiences? For example, parsley always smells green to me, but is that because I know that parsley is the color green and my mind creates an association? Does this happen for you? Do just-baked chocolate chip cookies smell light brown to you?
I'm not sure if I am officially a synesthete, but I have always associated musical textures with hues of color and shapes, and this is part of the language I use when working with other musicians to describe ideas or direction. When I make ambient soundscapes, working with pure sound and texture is the main focus. Light and shade, bright and dark, hot and cold, sharp and dull.
For this piece, I wanted to play up the rich, glowing hues and saturation I love in the work of Mark Rothko. I deliberately dialed back the detail and played on the "colors" of the tones and, particularly, how the frequencies blended and created new colors when stacked together. I hope you enjoy.
