By: Nicolette Belitsis, Diana Perlov, Adona Pjeterjgoka
The sound transformation we created is a combination of 5 different songs that encompass different phases of sleep. We began with a cover of “Sweet Dreams” that was done by Emily Browning and transitioned into a song from the Great Gatsby soundtrack called “Into the Past” by Nero. The next song used was “Murcof” by Mir, followed by a dubstep remix of Sia’s “Breathe Me”, and ended with “Wake Me Up” by Avicii. This compilation of songs includes both vocals and instrumental music that provide a setting for our concept that captures the variety of moods one experiences during a night of dreams and nightmares. Our sound sculpture tells the story of a girl sleeping, whose ‘sweet dream’ transforms into a nightmare.
The soft and relaxing melody of “Sweet Dreams” along with the lyrics portrays the tranquility someone feels while dreaming. We chose to end the song with the line, “Everybody’s looking for something” because it foreshadows the uncertainty of nightmares.
The fast pace and heavy background breathing of “Into the Past” introduces the anxiety someone feels when stuck in a nightmare, a different phase of sleep. The line, “I’ll follow you” conveys the desperation and longing one feels searching for something they can’t find in a nightmare.
The instrumental music from 0:40 to 0:49 gives off a hopeless vibe and slowly transitions into “Murcof”, which continues the never-ending nightmare. “Murcof” creates a somewhat creepy mood to show the different turns a nightmare can take. The nightmare starts out as a means of longing for something and slowly leads into a scary ending.
The lyrics in the next song, “Breathe Me”, emphasizes the vulnerability a nightmare brings. The line, “Help, I have done it again” also shows that the nightmares are a normal occurrence. Finally, Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” puts the nightmare to an end.
Works Cited:
Browning, Emily. “Sweet Dreams.” Sucker Punch. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2011. MP3.
Furler, Sia. “Breathe Me.” Colour the Small One. Jimmy Hogarth, 2004. MP3.
Murcof. “Mir.” Corona, Fernando. Martes. The Leaf Label, 2002. MP3.
Nero. “Into the Past.” Stephens, Ray. The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann’s Film. Interscope, 2013. MP3.
“Wake Me Up.” Wake Me Up. Avicii, Arash Pournouri, 2013. MP3.
I thought this was very well done and honestly, wished we could have used more than 90 seconds because these were such good songs and a great composition. I think you did a good job with the transitions and it symbolized the sleep cycle. I would have just made a smoother transition between the first and second song but other than that, great job!
I would imagine this sound sculpture in some type of dream sequence, so I feel you did a great job in capturing the sensation of sleep. I understood the transformation from a peaceful dream into a nightmare. The transition between songs emphasizes that well. I really like the line from Avicii used at the end, it was well placed, that is how everyone feels in a nightmare.
The transition from the first song to the second was amazing. It moves so smoothly that you think it was one song, and it completely captures the feeling one has during a dream. A dream just moves from fast to slow and crazy to calm in a matter of seconds which all feel to real and just the two songs encompass that. The last five songs take you past that journey. It brings you out and in realty once those first two songs occur. It’s weird, the first two songs are the dream, but after that the songs are realizations of our place in the dream. At the three songs point we begin to question the realty of the dream, but we seem to be uncertain wether we want to stay or get out. Very COOL