loss by David Vélez

Between September and November of 2024, I turned to sonic art making to cope with personal grief and to reestablish a sense of purpose after a family loss. Like a ritual, I developed a weekday routine, working in my studio from 1:30 to 5:30 PM consisting of field recording and improvisation with sine waves and objects. From this material, I composed six pieces that emphasize continuity and repetition, drawing on coarse, low, and deep resonances to embody the ritualistic dimension of the work.

During this process, I engaged with Albert Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus, where he explores meaning in a universe he sees as inherently meaningless. He describes the human condition as absurd—a conflict between our deep desire for purpose and the silent, indifferent universe that offers none. Yet Camus argues that even within this absurdity, we can create meaning through our actions and attitudes. While Sisyphus’s task is meaningless, his defiance and ability to embrace his labour with a smile transform his punishment into triumph.

This Sisyphean routine gave to my grieving artmaking a ceremonial sense, offering a refuge from the crushing weight of loss. In this regard, I found a connection between my practice and Sisyphus rolling a boulder up a hill, only for it to fall back down for eternity. Mourning feels pointless and yet necessary. Grief becomes endurable once it becomes an artistic ritual.

The ceremonial process and emotional context of this work revealed the transience, unrepeatability, and futility of each fleeting moment that comprise life.

Dedicated to my dad, Álvaro Octavio Vélez (1942–2024), an architect who encouraged me to love and appreciate music since my earliest childhood.

(David Vélez, November 2025)

Tracklist

1.	Ceremonial # 1	10:09

2.	Ceremonial # 2	6:32

3.	Ceremonial # 3	11:07

4.	Ceremonial # 4	5:51

5.	Ceremonial # 5	5:15

6.	Ceremonial # 6	8:14

Credits

releases December 26, 2025

LOCATIONS : outdoor field recordings made in Huddersfield, around the industrial area of Holme Mills.
Additional outdoor recordings captured across the basin of the River Colne.
Indoor recordings centred on the mechanical textures of my Huddersfield studio.

Recorded entirely in Huddersfield (UK) by David Vélez, using shotgun, contact, hydrophone and geophone microphones. Also employed, old and noisy hard drives, ventilation systems, water pipes, fuse boxes, and fans.
The album also includes sounds created through improvised studio performances using a digital sine tone generator, a subwoofer transducer, marbles, water containers, springs, coils, jars, bowls, and cups, all recorded with a cardioid microphone. These materials were processed digitally in a DAW, with an emphasis on pitch treatment and subtle coarseness enhancement through noise effects.
physical objects and sine waves, environmental recordings, and composition through various softwares. 2024.

Mastered by Bruno Duplant.

Cover, card design + treatments by Daniel Crokaert.
Based exclusively on photos by David Vélez.

License