Talking Rain was commissioned by CBC Radio for West Coast Performance. It was realized in my studio, Inside the Soundscape. After completing her music studies, her ears were drawn to the acoustic environment as another cultural context or place for intense listening. As a composer, educator, and radio artist her work centres around environmental sound and acoustic ecology. It occurs on the edge between dream and reality, in the same way in which many visitors, myself included, experience this country.
Nothing ever happens according to pre-determined plans or expectations.
Although travellers usually do reach their destination somehow, the journey itself, full of continuous surprises and unexpected turns, becomes the real place of experience. From the start I had the image of entering a labyrinth of a multitude of sounds and sonic experiences. I had made no plans for the piece other than letting the recorded sounds move me through a compositional journey into an unknown sonic labyrinth. Obviously my experiences of travelling in India and of recording the sounds played a significant role in the formation of this piece. But I could never be sure of where I was going and where I would end up.