There a lot of different music styles and directions appeared recently. And the number of musicians is constantly appearing. And it is not a surprise. People try to express their feelings and emotions through their music, and different styles and directions only prove it. It is not a secret that people are different, they have different points of view in different questions and they want to look different from others when they compose some new pieces of music.
Benny Jonas Nilsen was born in 1975 in Sweden. His other names are BJ Nilsen, BJNilsen, and Hazard. He is a Swedish sound artist who spends his life and creates his music in Stockholm, Sweden, the place where he was born (BJ Nilsen: Biography). Nilsen began to work with experimental music at the very beginning of his professional career as musician. “He was influenced by the early tape movements with the pioneers of sonic assault and released his first recordings at the age of 15” (Icon Group International 2008). Now he specializes on the sounds of nature, he is interested on the effect which nature music creates on people.
Chris Watson was the pioneer of electronic outfit. He specializes in established wildlife records. He has his three albums for Touch. Chris Watson worked for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He used his experience in recording nature for different programs on wildlife topics for the BBC. Several years he did not take part into music scene. But in 1996 he returned with his first solo album for Touch “Stepping into the Dark”. This album was created with the help of recordings which he had made all around the world during the years of his traveling. (Themilkfactory 1999)
Their music album “Storm” had a real success. The music critiques began to quarrel whether it is music, what its aim is, what people listen and many others. Some critiques said that “mixing, editing and collaging his material into soundscapes that are more akin to music than anything else” (Marsh 2007).
“Storm” combines in itself three extended tracks. The Watson’s track “No Man’s Land” opens the album. Nilsen’s “Austrveg” closes it. These two solo tracks of Watson and Nilsen give the sound for more than fifteen minutes each. And the third, the middle track, give sound for more than nineteen minutes. Every track is based on a series of different nature recordings from wildlife to sea conditions, wind and storms.
Watson and Nilsen created their music differently; they recorded and collected it for some years and only then decided to compose a common project, the album, which can combine the nature sounds.
The materials, which were presented in the album, were collected in different parts of the world. Watson’s recordings were gathered on the North East coast of England and Scotland, during October and November, between 2000 and 2005. His material presents the active and dynamic series of soundscapes, “with vast colonies of sea birds drowned in an increasing cacophony as they get more agitated, rough seas and animal noises” (Themilkfactory 1999). The second part of the track was recorded in a cave.
Nilsen collected his music in Gotland and Öland. These are two neighboring islands, which are situated in the South East of Sweden. He focuses mostly on the weather. We hear the sounds of “waves breaking on the shores, strong winds and rain” (Themilkfactory 1999)
The “Storm” is a very unusual and fantastic creation. The nature music makes us relax and enjoy the wildlife even the closed room.
Works Cited
“BJ Nilsen: Biography”. Web.
Icon Group International,Inc. Banding:Webster’s Quotations,Facts and Phrases.ICON Group International,Inc., 2008
Marsh, Peter. “At the finish I was expecting to open my eyes and find the living room overrun with…” 2007.
Themilkfactory. 1999.