Themes VI by Rashad Becker

Themes VI by Rashad Becker is a composition created by using modular synthesis. The track is a texturally rich amalgamation of synthesisers, forming an arrangement that feels like it’s only held together by a string. The track is largely comprised of sawtooth waves that sweep and glide in pitch and a boomy sub that emerges a little while into the track. The synths are constantly modulating and evolving in timbre, likely through use of LFOs and envelopes mapped to parameters such as filter cutoff and tuning. Initially I didn’t really enjoy this track or the rest of the record because I found it musically dull and it didn’t make me feel much emotionally. After some time of relistening, I began to interpret it as more of a sonic art piece rather than music, which helped me explore it a lot more. I also paid some more attention to the title of the album, “Traditional Music of a Notional Species”, which suggests this is music of a hypothetical lifeform. As I recognised these factors, I could begin to hear elements of what felt like an alien ecosystem. Rashad Becker engages with the idea of signification by shaping his synthesisers to sound almost like real things, to imply both meaning and imagination in his work. A key example in Themes VI for me was how the sweeping pitch of the synths often sounds like crying or wailing from an almost human source. The way that Becker’s music naturally evolves is very akin to nature itself, constant growth then destruction which then creates both the exact same thing and something unique each time. I believe he made this track and the rest of the album with sonic signification in mind, for focus to be on timbres so you imagine what would physically be making that sound.