>> MY PROCESS IS ALWAYS ROOTED IN SOUND.

AND, IN ADDITION TO THAT, OVER THE YEARS I HAVE BECOME VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN ARCHIVES.

SO, THE ARCHIVE WORK I DO IS ALMOST ALWAYS IN SOUND ARCHIVES AND I BECAME FASCINATED WITH WORKING WITH PEOPLE.

AND NOT JUST ARCHIVAL I WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LIVING COMMUNITIES THAT THE MATERIALS MIGHT REFERENCE AND SO I SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN SHAWNEE AND OTHER SMALL COAL MINING TOWNS JUST TALKING TO PEOPLE AND HANGING OUT WITH THEM OVER, WELL, IT'S BEEN 15 YEARS NOW.

AND I CONTINUE TO HANG OUT WITH THEM TODAY.

SO NOW MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE MY FRIENDS.

AND I JUST LOVE THE SOCIAL ASPECT OF IT.

IT IS BRINGING TOGETHER THIS HISTORICAL ARCHIVAL PIECE ALONG WITH THE CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITIES CONNECTED TO THOSE RECORDINGS.

I'M NOT ALWAYS RECORDING.

I'M MOST OF THE TIME NOT RECORDING AND INSTEAD, I SPEND A LOT OF TIME BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.

THEN ONLY AFTER THE CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TRUST IS BUILT UP, THAT CAN TAKE A LONG TIME, WILL I ASK IF I CAN MAKE A RECORDING.

USE ARE PREEXISTING RECORDINGS.

SO ORAL HISTORIES, OLD FOLK SONGS, THAT KIND OF STUFF.

TAPE PHONE MESSAGES.

THAT IS REALLY INFORMATIVE.

AND THE SOCIAL PART OF IT IS THAT I OFTEN BRING THE RECORDINGS BACK TO THE RELATIVES OR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THOSE SAME PLACES AND LET THEM LISTEN TO THE RECORDINGS AND PERHAPS WHAT I MADE FROM IT.

THE FIRST TIME I EVER SHARED A NEW PIECE OF MUSIC I MADE FROM THE ARCHIVAL RECORDING, SOMEONE SAID IT SOUNDED LIKE THE GHOST OF MY ANCESTORS.

THAT STRUCK A LIGHTBULB IN MY MIND AND RAISED A LOT OF ETHICAL QUESTIONS THAT I WANTED TO USE THE MATERIALS IN A WAY THAT HAD A KIND OF ARCHIVAL STEWARDSHIP INSTEAD OF JUST TAKING WHAT I WANTED AND USING IT.

IF I THINK BACK TO THE EARLIEST PIECES I MADE, I WAS USING SAMPLES OF MUSIC.

AND, I WAS MAYBE CHOPPING THEM UP MORE.

I WAS USING PIECES OF MATERIAL THAT I DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND.

OR UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT AROUND.

IT WAS ONLY LATER WHEN I STARTED TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITIES CONNECTED TO THEM THAT I REALIZED MAYBE A FAMILY DIDN'T WANT THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE OR JUST BY GETTING THE PERMISSION OF A FAMILY MEMBER OR REACHING OUT TO THEM, IT JUST INFLUENCED EVEN THE MUSIC I MADE MIGHT NOT BE AS DISSONANT OR HARSH.

I WAS THINKING OF THOSE FAMILY MEMBERS AS MY MAIN AUDIENCE INSTEAD OF A FAR OFF ABSTRACT AUDIENCE.

INSTEAD IT IS A CLOSE AND PERSONAL THING I STARTED TO MAKE.

I LOVE THE IDEA OF STORY TELLING THE.

WHAT I CAN CONTRIBUTE TO IT IS ADDING THE MUSIC AS WELL AND LETTING THE MUSIC TELL THAT STORY AS WELL.

AND THEN, BECAUSE I TAKE SO MUCH TIME, OFTENTIMES, YOU KNOW, FOLKS AREN'T ABLE TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH THE MATERIAL.

, I CAN GO INTO THAT CONTEXTUAL DEPTH.

ALL THAT INFORMATION AROUND IT.

WHEN I WAS A KID, ONE OF MY FAVORITE ACTIVITIES WAS TO SIT NEXT TO MY DAD WHEN HE WAS WORKING ON SOMETHING.

HE WAS A TINKERER AND A BIT OF AN INVENTER.

AND HIS CAREER WAS AS A TYPEWRITER REPAIRMAN.

AND SO, THOSE EARLIEST MEMORIES OF FIDDLING AROUND NEXT TO HIM WERE LODGED IN MY MIND AS AN ADULT AS WELL.

AND SO, WHEN HE PASSED AWAY A FEW YEARS AGO I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A NEW PIECE OF MUSIC.

A COMMISSION.

AND I HAD INHERITED HIS WORKBENCH.

I TOOK IT APART PIECE BY PIECE AND ASSEMBLED IT IN MY OWN GARAGE AND MADE MUSIC TO GO ALONG WITH IT.

I ASKED MYSELF WHAT IS THE SOUND OF THAT WORKBENCH?

WHAT IS THE SOUND OF MY FATHER'S LIFE THERE?

CAN A WORKBENCH CONTAIN ALL KINDS OF MEMORIES IN IT ALMOST LIKE A PERSONAL ARCHIVE?

BEFORE I WAS WORKING WITH FORMAL ARCHIVES AND NOW, IT IS THE MOST PERSONAL KIND OF ARCHIVE I CAN THINK OF.

AND I THINK THE OBJECTS MIGHT BE CONSIDERED AS JUNK BY OTHER PEOPLE.

BUT BECAUSE I HAVE THIS CONNECTION THROUGH MY FATHER, THESE THINGS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

THEY ARE LIKE RELICS OF A KIND, YOU KNOW.

AND SO, I BEGAN TO MAKE THAT PIECE AND WE FILMED THE LOT OF DETAIL.

ALMOST LIKE DOING LIKE A VISUAL MEDITATION ON THE WORKBENCH.

AND THE MUSIC IS SLOW AT FIRST AND BUILT UP.

AND IN BETWEEN, INTERSPERSED IS THE VOICE MAILS OF MY FATHER THE PAST YEAR OF HIS LIFE OR SO.

AND YOU SORT OF GET THE RECOGNIZED SOUND QUALITY OF HIS VOICE WHICH OF COURSE I LOVE.

BUT AS IT CHANGED, AS HE MOVED TO THE STAGES OF LIFE INTO DEATH OR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, IT WAS WEIRDLY CAPTURING THAT JUST IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY CONVERSATIONS.

>> HAVE A GOOD DAY BRIAN, TALK TO YOU LATER.

>> THIS IS A SURVEYOR'S COMPASS THAT BELONGED TO MY GREAT, GREAT, GREAT GRANDFATHER WHO WAS THE COUNTY SURVEYOR IN PERRY COUNTY.

AND HERE'S HIS NOTEBOOKS.

AND, I'M MAKING A NEW PIECE FROM THESE FAMILY ARCHIVAL MATERIALS.

AND IT HAS REALLY MADE ME THINK A LOT ABOUT THE LAND AND THE HISTORY OF THAT LAND.

AND WHAT IT MEANS TO SURVEY THE LAND AND FINDING DIFFERENT WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT THAT AS WELL.

SO THAT'S THIS PIECE.

>> IT'S YOUR DAD, GIVE ME A CALL WHEN YOU CAN.

BYE BYE.