Name: David Castellani
Occupation: Producer, live performer
Nationality: American
Recent release: David Castelani's ienemy EP, featuring Brittney Vandal, is out via Noetic.

If you enjoyed this conversation with David Castellani and would like to stay up to date with his work, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud. For a deeper dive, check out our earlier David Castellani interview.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I don’t always have the luxury of listening to music with my eyes shut, but closing your eyes is a powerful tool to enhance your auditory sense and I try to do it as much as possible.

When I’m in the studio and I’ve been working on something for a bit, I tend to take small breaks, turning off the computer screen and listening with minimal light interference. This allows me to instantly get a clearer picture of what I am listening to. And to this point, one of the things that I love most about modular synthesizers is getting rid of the screen.

I’ve always thought about how our brains are pattern machines. They are always running in the background, analyzing, figuring out all the patterns around us. And this process is vital to our survival.

When you walk into a room that you’ve never been in before, you may not look at every single object in that room, maybe there’s a painting on the wall, maybe there’s a rug on the floor - and even though you haven’t intentionally and actively focused on these objects, your brain has already scanned the room, identified these objects are there and that they are objects which resemble things familiar to you, such as rugs and paintings.

This is an important process, because if, instead of a rug, there would’ve been a bear in the corner, your brain would’ve had to be able to react properly for your survival. So therefore, when we have any sort of optical information coming into our brains, even if we’re not focusing on it, it still takes up brain power. And I would argue that the majority of the limited space that we have allocated for perception is taken by our eyesight.

And since our perception of boundaries are limited, computer screens in this perspective, are one of the most intrusive and invasive objects that there are in our everyday lives. Since it is all about patterns, you can quickly imagine how many patterns live inside of a computer. Even though you may not be looking directly at the screen but it's somewhere in your line of sight, your subconscious is still doing its thing.

Therefore, removing any light pollution from my brain when trying to focus on sound is immensely powerful.
 
Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

I have recently noticed myself saying that Frédéric Chopin is the best musician to have lived and his music is the best ever made. I say “notice myself” because it’s generally odd and not like me to pick favorites. I generally find it difficult to do. Yet, all of a sudden I started hearing these words come out of my mouth, which made me start to think deeper on why I felt this way.

I’ve come to understand that the minimalist approach of just one signal piano, the dark emotional charge behind his music, and his ability to change directions on every note, are the main characteristics that draw me to his music so much.

This brought me down a richer path of understanding about why sad music is so powerful. My conclusion is that our emotional brains hold on tighter to negative emotional responses than positive ones. To me this makes sense since our brains always want to remember why these experiences happened, so it can refrain from them happening again.

That isn’t to say, after you burn yourself once, your brain will never allow you to forget that fire hurts, because it needs to make sure you don’t burn yourself again, and so the memory and emotional impact of a negative experience is held “close to the heart.” I think this has a large impact on why sad music is so powerful.

Also, the minimalist structure of his music is very impactful to me. If I am listening to one sound and you now throw another sound in the mix, I am no longer able to listen as attentively to the first sound as before, because I need to also consider the new sound introduced. So as music gets busier, I feel that it also can begin to lose its ability to be fully perceived and appreciated.

Having said that, there is of course a whole range of benefits and wonder about the relationships between sounds, but at the core I find myself to be a minimalist.  

Do you experience strong emotional responses towards certain sounds? If so, what kind of sounds are these and do you have an explanation about the reasons for these responses?

I’d have to say that the most emotionally charged sound for me is my mother’s voice. Especially when she’s mad at me, haha. It’s almost like she has a hardwired line directly to the emotional sensors in my brain.

I believe as my brain developed when I was a child, the specific tone of her vocal chords, and inflection of her voice was one of the first, and most influential sounds on my developing brain which allowed me to experience the world. And I believe her specific voice molded and architected the physical systems in how I now perceive sound and experience emotion.

Another important sound for me is the purring of my cat, Sienna. It’s extremely soothing, and a sign of direct emotional communication between us.

I’ve also recently learned, thanks to my friend Jack, that a cat's purr can increase bone density in humans, as well as having all sorts of biological and health benefits. That was wild to learn.
 
Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

Haha that's an easy one … modular synthesizers :) Maybe not “everyday” for everyone, but definitely for me.
 
What are among your favourite spaces to record and play your music?

My current music studio in Los Angeles is my favorite place to make, record and listen to music. It’s a safe haven for me which I have built over many years and is a space where I can indulge in sound and creativity.

Maybe my favorite part about it is the clarity in sonic response which I have in my studio, and flat representation which I can experience while creating. This is very helpful to me when bringing my music outside of that space. Not to mention, all my favorite synths and tools to make music with are there.
 
How important is sound for our overall well-being and in how far do you feel the "acoustic health" of a society or environment is reflective of its overall health?

This is a great question, and there’s so many different ways to approach the answer.

The first thing that comes to mind is that the physiological structure of how we interpret sound is directly connected to a chemical released system in our bloodstream, which allows us to react emotionally. This was developed in us to have a better sense of our surroundings, and a better chance of survival.

To me this points out that our relationship with sound is not only an important part of a healthy life, but also a fundamental part of being able to experience the world.

One of the most fascinating things about sound to me is that it only exists inside of our own brains. Many people don’t really think about how sound doesn’t come out of a speaker, yet the speaker moves the air, which travels to your ear, through your auditory system, after which your brain interprets the speed of the air pressure and translates it into tones which we then hear in our heads.

The wildest part about this whole process is that every song that you’ve ever heard was created by a little orchestra which lives inside your brain. All the best records, all your favorite music, it was all performed by your own brain. And though this system was developed for us to understand whether we were in danger, or at peace, and delivering an immediate emotional response to enhance that reaction, we’ve found a way to organize all the different air speeds, so we could hack that emotional response.

We are like lab rats slamming on the button to try to get the cheese. I’m wildly fascinated by this concept and super happy it's a thing!
 
Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?

Yes absolutely, I am very mindful in preserving my hearing, and after so many years of making music, I have a clear sensibility to the pressure limitations of the cilia in my inner ears. And though I’m not a huge fan of traditional ear plugs, I never get in front of excessively loud speakers without ear protection.

My preference is actually to roll up a small ball of tissue. I find that the porous texture allows for a more balanced dampening of unwanted intensity as opposed to a stiffer material like plastic or rubber.