HISS of the BAY by Tyler Holmes

The Hiss Of The Bay is a study/excerpt and new amalgam of sounds from an immersive audio exploration about reclaiming peace of mind and creating an internal space for healing during a period of deepening bitterness and ennui. Safety for Black and Queer people is constantly in jeopardy and the compartmentalization required to survive forces our communities to sacrifice, exchange and/or alter parts of ourselves, our experiences and desires.Part of a series of public sound healing explorations that follow a non-linear arc, retracing source traumas, processing difficult emotions and guiding navigation back to oneness by acknowledging these fragments, giving each their space to exist while imagining a course to reconnecting with our deepest selves, cultures and histories.

This piece specifically designed for Ocean Beach intends to draw focus away from the bustle, triggers and stress of the city back to the hiss of the bay, back to the sea where life as we know it first emerged. Utilizing a combination of soothing, new age sounds created from vocal processing paired with machinic whirs and dips, the piece is meant to mimic and contort the juxtapose of these diametrically opposed frequencies that fight and play literally in most of our heads every single day. Stretching and distorting this interplay to isolate the origins and essences of these sounds and what they truly mean.

For the walk: If you can get to a place where you no longer can see the city (houses, buildings, man made structures) that is ideal, please find this place, take a few moments there before you begin your walk back. If you feel it, please touch the water.