Darren Ng, 37
Sound Artist & Music Composer
Award-winning sound designer and music composer Darren Ng has composed music and sound designed for more than 200 local and international arts productions in his two-decade-long career – including the National Day Parade in 2007 and numerous theatre and dance productions by The Finger Players, Dramabox, Pangdemonium, W!LDRICE, The Human Expression, just to name a few. He has also been invited to perform solo concerts in numerous prestigious music and arts festivals such as Wiener Feswochen (Vienna) and SONAR (Barcelona).
The 37-year-old is responsible for designing the sound installation and music composition for Singaporean designer and label MAX.TAN’s Spring/Summer 2017 showcase at this year’s Singapore Fashion Week, which will take place from 26 to 30 October.
“The process of creating sonic experiences in a space is both complex and delicate,” he said. “Sound and music plays an important yet subliminal role in creating the mood, emotion, meaning and context for any show, whether it’s a theatrical production, sound installation, or even a fashion runway show.”
There are numerous factors to consider – the way the audience is positioned, the direction of the runway, the fashion collection itself, how sound can play nicely with the lighting design to create and immersive experience, and more.
“Sound design and ambient music usually play on your subconscious and peripheral senses, but the absence of it will result in an indescribable void in space, and the entire mood, pacing and experience of the show will change drastically. Yet, when sounds and music are introduced, they should not overwhelm or overstate the performance itself,” he added.
Fortunately, Darren has a little extra help this time around.
As the Official Device Partner of the Singapore Fashion Week 2016, Microsoft Surface will feature prominently in the entire showcase. Not only will he have the benefit of working and designing the showcase’s sound on a thin-and-light hybrid device, Darren will also tap on the vast sound library present in Microsoft Windows.
“The integration of Microsoft Surface and the sounds of Microsoft Windows is an inspiring experience in my creative process of melding MAX.TAN’s new collection with a complementary aural experience,” Darren enthuses. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the showcase debut in a few weeks’ time.”
Microsoft sits down with Darren to find out more about what inspires him and the inner workings behind his masterpieces.
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Microsoft: Tell us more about who you are and what you do.
Darren Ng: I’m a music composer, sound designer, sound artist. I work primarily in the theatre scene, and I am an Associate Music Composer and Sound Artist with The Finger Players for the past 15 years. I compose music and sound design for art films, animations and contemporary dance locally and internationally as well. I am also signed as an artist to Kitchen. Label and release neo-classical and ambient music albums in Japan. I venture into sound installations of my own penchants and explore the possibility of making sound tangible. Once in a while, I will collaborate with artists from other disciplines to create works together.
MS: That last bit is exactly what you’re going to accomplish at the Singapore Fashion Week.
DN: Yes! And this project is particularly interesting, because it is a symbiosis of tangible and intangible art forms.
The main challenge lies in fusing the concepts that drive MAX.TAN’s latest collection and his runway show, the unique form factor of the Surface tablets, working with the audio elements of the Windows operating system; and making sure that the outcome is cohesive sonically.
For this creation, I drew inspiration from MAX.TAN’s latest collection and from his works. I feel that there is a sense of reinvention in his latest collection. I hope to be able to create a piece using existing Windows sounds to represent that reinvention, and of both the evolution of both fashion and technology.
Sound design is a crucial element in technology hardware and software design. It helps to add a subconscious and intangible experience that connects the human touch with any interactive medium and helps the devices come alive by complementing and augmenting tactility.
When you turn your Surface Pro 4 on and off, when you clear the recycle bin, when you do something erroneous and the system warns you to stop, and so on – all of these sounds help to enhance and bridge the experience between humans and technology. This enables and inspires us to use technology to do wonderful and creative things.
I cannot reveal too much about how the showcase will be like – that will have to stay a surprise!
MS: What is it like working with Max Tan and the visual artist in this runway showcase?
DN: Collaboration is key for a show like this.
I’ve worked with Max a couple of times before, so we already have a bit of chemistry going. In the early phases, we communicated and I try to grasp the philosophy behind his designs, and we feed off each other, inspire each other so that we can be synergic.
Max, Kian Peng (the visual artist) and myself, band together to see how we can best realise the vision together, and Microsoft’s participation this time provides a unique spin to the concept and direction of the show.
Over the course of several creative meetings, we developed and found a fit for all our concept.
MS: How has Surface Pro 4 helped you in this respect?
DN: Surface Pro 4 has been a tremendous help.
A lot of my work is going mobile these days. Sure, I still need a proper desktop machine with all my recording and mixing gears. But usually in theatres, there is a need to move around to balance the sounds with respect to the acoustic behaviour of the space.
We used to run around, to and from the mixer to the audience seats during the analogue days. We would move the mixing console and audio interfaces into the front of house to do a proper mix before relocating back into the control area.
With the advancement of technology, we can walk around all areas within the theatre and other venues with laptops and tablets to check the frequency responses and mix wherever we go. However, most tablets have limited technical capabilities and limitations, and walking around with a conventional heavy laptop around in the theatre all day can be tiring after 8 hours of mixing and programming.
This is where I find Surface Pro 4 being the best choice for me. Instead of being just a tablet, I can also transform it into a full PC with the Type Cover for full tactile experience. It also packs full laptop specs into such a thin and light body, something which I’m continuously impressed with.
I’ve never had a good experience with styluses, so I was initially hesitant to use the Surface Pen. But it completely changed my mind once I gave it a shot. The Pen makes working on Surface Pro 4 really comfortable. It’s just like writing on a real notebook, and I can rest my palm wherever I like without having it interfere with my writing or sketching.
With Surface Pro 4, I feel empowered with full mobility in the theatre and other spaces. I can move about as I like without having to run back to the mixing console every time I need to make an adjustment.
There’s just something very personal about Surface Pro 4 that feels like an extension of myself. I don’t think I can go back to any other type of tablets!
MS: What inspires you in your work?
DN: In general, I’m sensitive to the nature of space, and the displacement of space. Sounds are vibrations in space, and I try to have a conversation with the space using my sound, reacting and responding to how the space is resonating – be it while composing at home, or in theatre or arts spaces. Anything can inspire me, it is a matter of time and space.
There are composers and artists I identify with as their philosophy and works inspire me. One name that comes immediately to mind is Arvo Pärt, an Estonian composer. Minimalism and distillation are both important approaches I try to adopt in my work. Hence his works are inspiring for me.
Other artists I look up to for inspiration include Dieter Rams and John Cage. These artists have great influences on me as I identify with their aesthetics, be it simplicity, sophistication or necessity.
MS: Yours is an unconventional career for sure! Any advice for people looking to get into your field?
DN: I’ve always been a little adventurous, and that has helped to get me to where I am today. I started my training in classical piano when I was four years old, and started composing for fun at a young age purely out of interest and joy.
I fell in love with the theatre when I was nine. When I was in my teens, I started to think about possibly working in the field when I grow up. But since I really wasn’t very good at acting or singing, I got into composing music and sound for theatre productions.
For about three years, I worked for free just to be out there and learn as much as I can on the job. No one needed sound designers back in those days. Most, if not all, of the theatre companies were using stocked sound effects and music on cassettes and then later CDs. During those three years, I had to show and prove to them that customised designs and compositions would enhance and elevate a show. Consequently, I was offered my first paid job only when I was 19 years old.
It was a career defining moment, and I was lucky enough because I never had to look for work after that.
Nowadays, the perception of choosing music and art as a career has changed a lot, and it should be easier for the younger generation to pursue music and art seriously.
But at the end of the day, it’s really down to your perseverance and your passion for what you do. However long it takes and however many obstacles you have to overcome, you have to believe in what you’re doing, and put in the time and effort to pursue what you love.
We have more room to take risks when we are young. So take that big jump, and know that if anything goes wrong, you have your youth to back you up. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
MS: Thank you for sharing with us, and all the best for your showcase at the Singapore Fashion Week!
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