Name: Serge Bandura aka Earthtones
Occupation: Producer
Nationality: American
Recent release: The new Earthtones album We Can Live Together is slated for release 28th June 2024 via Wonderwheel.

If you enjoyed this Earthtones interview and would like to stay up to date with his work, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, and Soundcloud.
 


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 just feel it moving me.

How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?

Depends on the headphone and stereo. But headphones can block all the rest of life out, and let me meditate on the sound.

Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Bill Evans.

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?

Yes. Energy.

Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

Well I’m at the ocean now, and it is very calming and peaceful listening to the flow of the waves.

What are among your favourite spaces to record and play your music?

To play: anywhere the environment has been curated to beauty and the people are receptive to listen and dance.

To record: anywhere that feels aligned and especially surrounded by a natural environment. It clears my mind and lets the sound come through.

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?

I think sound is important for the environment and design and lots of things. Sound and aesthetics in any environment can influence the energy of the people within it, positively or negatively or otherwise.

I’ve thought for a long time it would be interesting to play Bob Marley on buses, and see how that changes the experience.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds?

Listening to them in nature at night.

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?

I have friends who have Tinnitus. It sucks.

I don’t take precautions but maybe I should.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

I listen quite a lot. Silence is golden but my ears are often filled with music.

Some silence is important in order to let go.

Seth S. Horowitz called hearing the “universal sense” and emphasised that it was more precise and faster than any of our other senses, including vision. How would our world be different if we paid less attention to looks and listened more instead?

I have a brother who is blind. I think he picks up on more than I do, sometimes just through the tone of voice and energy in the space.