The main focus now is the forthcoming Burning Man, where my little camp IRONICA is hosting some more of my musical experiments.

I am really looking forward to this one, especially since the last few months have been so full of difficult stuff.
I have been working intensely on FRED CLAUS, a film which kept being recut and reconceived, and I was whipping up new music all the time to keep pace with the new versions of the film. Really an incredible process, and I was very excited by the depth and detail of the music I created. Unfortunately the completed score fell victim to some studio exec, and is to be replaced by someone else. None the less I had a really exciting time working on it, and the manner in which the score evolved still suprises and delights me.

Gerry Kent, RIP.
On 4th July, my father died. I was fortunate to be with him in the UK, having flown over once I realised how seriously ill he was. Given that I immediately went back into the whirl of work I didn't have time to really process what it meant, the loss of a Dad who was distant, but whom I loved from afar. Now I think of him often, with mixed emotions, but mostly a gentle sadness that we never became close. He was 84.

My construction project is nearing its' close.
My new studio is nearly built, and I am very much looking forward to being in an airly and light room, built with film scoring in mind. The process of building has been stressful of course, and I have much to do before I can set up all the gear in there. I hope the next score, starting in Sept, will be composed there. The first new location for me in 11 years!

But as I said, Burning Man is getting my focus now, as I plan the YoSingSU choir workshop, and the Great Singing Buddha Bowls (Chants, Rhythm and Singing). For YoSingSu I am piecing together some amps and mics and delays to create an echoing environment. The idea is that you can enter the space and feel as if you are in a huge canyon or cave with magnificent echoes and reverberations. Then the workshop entails soft guided singing, which will be magnificently enhanced by the virtual acoustics. So at present I am trying to figure out the right kind of miking, and the right kinds of echo devices. I think a mic going to a guitar-pedal style delay, followed by 4 vox amps with built-in delays might work. I'm working on it, and any recommendations are welcome.

So perhaps I shall see you on the Playa. If not, I send you love, Rolfe