My Composing Process: When Are You Going to Cut the Grass?

Dear Readers,

Can you make an entire musical score out of gardening equipment and a few synthesizers? The answer to that question is a definitive YES! I had the pleasure of diving into the insane sonic world of lawnmowers, tarps, shears, planters, shovels and rakes when I scored the short film “When Are You Going to Cut the Grass"?”

The short film was filmed, edited & directed by Joanne Matthews & Hsin-Yi Wang. Joanne and Hsin-Yi are students in the MFA program Art, Space and Nature at the University of Edinburgh. The film seeks to explore everyday occurrences of ecological destruction in the domestic setting. Specifically it looks at the action of mowing the lawn, and depicts it as an act of slow violence. The filmmakers and I agreed that the score should be mechanical, at times violent, and should be made almost entirely out of gardening/household materials.

Recording the Sound of the Garden

A screenshot of the “Kitchen” portion of my sound-kit

I was brought onto this film in early 2020 and immediately began experimenting with ways to craft an unconventional score out of materials. In February, I went to Joanne Matthews home in Edinburgh, Scotland and we recorded gardening equipment, as well as kitchen equipment. With a slight flurry of Scotland snow in the air, Joanne mowed a small patch of lawn in the backyard and I hovered above it with my Zoom H4N handheld recorder. I made sure that I got multiple angles of the lawnmower, from right along side it to above the engine to right around where the cutting of the grass was occurring. These takes were fairly long (30 seconds - 1 minute). We also recorder multiple takes of the lawnmower turning on as well as turning off. It had a lovely pull cord which created a terrific sound. There was even this small squishy button on the lawnmower (unsure as to what it exactly did), which we recorded. It turned out to be very important in the score.

We then moved on to rakes, shovels, shears and planters. Joanne lightly hit the end of the shovel against the fence, and also dug out a small bit of earth. We also went into a nearby stairwell and recorded the planters. She would lightly hit them with her hand, and also hit planters together. We also got a number of takes of the shears. The stairwell had some nice distinct reverb. Finally we recorded a tarp, specifically hitting it and dropping it on the floor.

Then, we recorded a number of different objects in her kitchen. These included small handheld radios (just getting the static), a kettle, the gas stove turning on, cutting squash on a plastic cutting board and scissors.

With this incredible array of sounds, I went back to my flat in Edinburgh and started crafting the sound-kit.

Crafting Gardening Rhythms

My next step in developing this score was to craft rhythms out of the sounds from my lawnmower sound-kit. This involved experimenting with layering different sounds together, and in doing so creating musical gestures. You can hear two of the rhythms here:

Once I began building up these rhythms, I would bounce them out and then place the individual rhythms together to create a longer, more developed, demos:

I found that the shear, scissors and squishy button were very important for creating a driving beat. For example, I would take two takes of the shears, place them as 8th notes in the Logic file, and pan them left and right so. This made the driving rhythm dynamic and interesting to the ear.

The long lawnmower takes became critical. I would take small little bits of audio (a half second, even less) and use those short lawnmower screams as sharp hits in the score. They almost resembled quick drum rolls. I did a similar technique with the long handheld radio recordings.

Panning also was very important for this score. I made sure to pan out the different tracks/sounds to make them feel as if they are being performed live in an actual space.

These different beats/rhythms became musical motifs in the score. I was able to build up textures, take specific rhythms away, and then return to them later in the score. The rhythms I made from the sound-kit became the musical framework.

Below are small screenshots from my Logic X file. you can see how each second of this score was intricately crafted and includes numerous small bits of audio.

Adding Synthesizers

The main theme of “When Are You Going to Cut the Grass”

On top of this sonic palette, I added some subtle synthesizers to further create a harsh sense of unease. The synths that I utilized were a few sounds from Spifire Labs as well as a couple sounds from Kontakt.

The main melodic theme of the film is only a collection of 7 notes. It is played by the “Journey to the Center” synth in Kontakt’s “Analog Dreams”. I also absolutely love the sound of the “Tape Warp Major” instrument from Spitfire LABS “Opia”. It has such a beautifully bizarre quality to it, and fit so well in the sonic palette of this short film.

Final Thoughts

This was a fantastic project to work on. It has definitely taken me down some fantastic creative avenues. I absolutely loved collaborating with Joanne and Hsin-Yi on this unique and thought-provoking film. It is currently being submitted to film festivals and will also screen at the World Conservation Conference (IUCN) in Marseilles in 2021.

As always, thank you for reading and keep an eye out for future blog posts about my work!

Your’s Musically.

Nicholas Escobar

A Few Links:

Joanne Matthews’ website: www.jojomatthews.art

Hsin-Yi Wang’s website: www.hsinyiwang.com

A screenshot of just a second of the Logic X file for this score. You can see how it is made up of small bits of audio layered together to create a complex sonic environment.