research VIA RECORDING
Allegheny NATIONAL FORREST RECORDING PROJECT.
This project began as a logistical challenge and became something much larger than I anticipated. I organized a 72-hour field recording expedition into the Allegheny National Forest with four collaborators, hauling a full studio infrastructure (interfaces, cables, computers, a drum kit, guitars, analog synthesizers, ,pedals, & area microphones) deep into a remote patch of wilderness powered by a gas generator and protected by a canopy of tents and loads of tarps. The goal was to record improvisations alongside the forest itself, treating the biophony not as background texture but as active compositional elements. What emerged from those three days was ten original tracks, a 17-minute documentary short, and a written analysis that I hadn't fully anticipated writing when we packed the van. The deeper I got into the project, the clearer it became that what we were doing was working within economic, political, & enviromental borders. I developed the concept of sonic sovereignty to describe what I think location-based, unreproducible recording actually is: a form of cultural self-determination, a direct challenge to the algorithmic homogenization and AI-generated music that is rapidly erasing the relationship between artists and the communities they come from.
My collaborators on this project include Ben Hyman, Zach Hyman, Joe Newera & Jon Lightfoot.
You can find the short film and research paper below—album out on July 17th, 2026
The Sound of Independence: How Location-Based Recording Redefines Authenticity in the Digital Music Economy
EVENT CURATION
The Gumbo Sound series was built around a single curatorial mission to bridge the Rust Belt and the East Coast’s DIY music output into a showcase, or better yet, a conference. I organized every element of each concert: booking and sequencing the lineups, coordinating staffing, and sourcing local vendors who authentically represented the tri-state community spanning Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo. The goal was to create a network, a room where artists from geographically overlooked scenes could find each other and build something beyond the night itself. The events subsequently grew with each installation, and I proved to myself that I am capable of constructing cohesive events with a clear intention that are fun, safe, and forward-thinking in an effective manner.
Gumbo Sound 1 (2020 ), Gumbo Sound || (2022), Gumbo ||| (2024)
All posters designed by yours truly.