Q: How does your synesthesia interact with your creative process?
CORDES: It definitely plays a large role. I think it helps me avoid getting so experimental with my music that it stops connecting emotionally with people. Colors seem to occur in that sweet spot between conventional and unpredictable. I think synesthesia also causes an awareness for when I’m changing the musical character in the middle of a piece; I can see when the color changes. If I change colors within a piece, it’s often an intentional decision for a contrasting section, rather than letting the color falter within a musical phrase, which I try to avoid.
Q: “Singularity” is an ethereal instrumental album. What was your creative process in making these tracks?
CORDES: I generally have different processes for each piece, but I’ll tell you my craziest one. I had been trying to write an orange piece for a very long time and couldn’t figure out how to do it. Since synesthesia is a subconscious process – it’s completely beyond my control and I don’t know what aspects cause each color – I decided to try to use my lucid dreams to help. During a lucid dream, I conjured a “color radio” in which each station (a set of colored buttons on the top) is playing a piece of the corresponding color. I pressed the orange button, and the main theme of the piece that eventually turned into Amber Sky (a synesthetically orange piece) began to play. I know it sounds crazy, but this is what happened!
Q: Did any real-life events occur in your life that inspired “Singularity?”
CORDES: Actually, no. I don’t tend to write about my own life in my music since my goal is to create new musical worlds rather than reflect on past experiences.
Q: Do you have a personal favorite on the album? Which one, and why?
CORDES: The tracks are really difficult for me to compare since they are all so different, but maybe my choice would be “Encounter From Beyond.” It was one of the pieces that was really effortless to write and also takes one of the most dissonant intervals–the tritone–and makes it palatable. That said, I think “A Child’s Song” really represents my typical musical style. It’s purple, which I write in often, and also has a spooky feel.
Q: Was there a pivotal moment in your life when you decided to follow your path as a musician?
CORDES: Yes. I originally planned on studying linguistics in college, but when I started taking music classes and especially music composition classes, I realized that composing music was what I truly loved both studying and doing in my free time.
Q: What is coming up next for you?
CORDES: Another album called Frozen Star! It will be out in a few months, and it will transport listeners to another collection of musical worlds.
Interviewed by Taylor Berry
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