Hi, I’m Dave… creating music has been my life’s flow for as long as I can remember. I am forever learning a new instrument, trying a new way to merge the acoustic and digital worlds.
My journey to producing for film and theatre has been organic and interpersonal. One thing leads to the next, and openness, creativity and integrity will move life in interesting ways.
I find myself, aside from my acoustic songwriter career, having composed for live theatre, for an international “best-original-score” winning short film, for an art exhibition, for 5 seasons of Takalane Sesame (South Africa’s foremost children’s program), for live responsive stages, and now for a dance production of Yasuke, the African Samurai.
I’ve performed live acoustic, looped and electronic shows for the better part of 15 years and somehow ended up with all the skills required to compose for theatre, film and TV. Don’t stop, and get bored quickly, I think, may be the formula. But the effect has been that I’ve learned to collaborate with and write for a diverse range of experiences and artistic perspectives.
As such, my experience has led me to believe that I am genuinely well skilled at realising YOUR vision.
At trying to interpret what it is that you’re hearing in the distance.
At what will conjure, with sound, the emotions you paint on screen.
In a world where Ai seeks to devalue our skills, something you cannot replace is the joy of creative interaction between humans. Knowing that someone is excited about your project, and invested in bringing your story to life.
If you’re looking for someone who is more “enthusiastic creative director of the music department”, than “a score I bought online”… then please get in touch.
Yes.
Dave
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Yasuke, the new dance production by Cape Town company, Baba Yaya, explores the journey of Yasuke, famously known as the African Samurai. A powerful and iconic story of cultural hybridity, transformation, identity and resilience, the subject matter offers a rich palate for exploration, and unique compositional challenges.
Using Ableton Live, the sondtrack was developed from sampled sounds and instruments, crafted into generative and responsive musical architecture. The aim was to create a fluid shifting between African and Japanese worlds, between modern and ancient, while leaving space for tension and release, intensity and respite. Every sound is specifically chosen and conceptually or culturally relevant to the score.
Chapter 1 explores Yasuke’s tribal African origins and his capture by slave traders.
Chapter 2 sees his transition by ship through Asia and to Japan.
The final production is 8 chapters long.
“Functional language” is that which allows the most basic communication of one’s inner world. At The Chaeli Campaign, many of the children lack the most basic ability to communicate their very real experiences.
No Functional Language was an experimental performance, commissioned by The Chaeli Campagin, exploring what happens when language fails. Blending physical theatre, sign language, and movement, No Functional Language unpacks communication in all its fragmented, poetic forms.
In developing this piece, I was intimately involved in the process, developing my musical language alongside the dancers and participating in their creative exercises.
Trailer for No Functional Language:
Publication: https://iol.co.za/entertainment/whats-on/2016-03-01-dance-when-words-fail/
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