I explore noise, experimental sound design and the historical resonances of Black music through a series of handmade, playable records. Each piece features an astrology chart drawn from significant dates tied to albums or songs in my vinyl collection.
I collage and glitch album imagery, then etch these designs onto vinyl sheets adhered to blank records.
When played on a turntable, the textured surfaces produce looped “vinyl dust” sounds. I incorporate that raw sonic material into my sample bank and then chop, apply effects, and arrange in Ableton using Simpler and Impulse instrument racks to build new electronic compositions.
These tracks layer the handmade samples with field recordings, experimental tones, and additional sourced sounds.
This series forms part of my broader investigation into Black music, using astrology as a creative and analytical tool to reflect on its cultural and historical resonances.
It also invites a deeper engagement with questions of existence, imagining how sonic worlds intersect with cosmic ones. By connecting the historical significance of music with celestial movements, I explore sound and music as a way of navigating identity, memory, and possibility. This work draws from Afrofuturist thinking to imagine alternate futures, where sound becomes a space for healing, dreaming, and reimagining Black life beyond the limits of the present.
The rest of the records in the series shown below I have yet to create samples or compositions for.
Charlie Star 