Musician Johnny Reyes, known as Sen Sanik, visited Ontario wineries over four days to record sounds for Expressions of the Vine.AVDB PR + Communications
Johnny Reyes, an electronic music producer who grew up in California wine country, didn’t grasp the creativity that went into winemaking before spending time with Ontario winemakers.
“It makes you respect it a lot more,” says Reyes, known professionally as DJ Sen Sanik, who was commissioned by Wines of Ontario to produce music with sounds gathered from the winemaking process: everything from bubbling fermentation tanks, to clinking bottles on a bottling line, or electrical signals from vines near Thomas Bachelder’s tasting room in Beamsville.
He captured 192 different sounds from Niagara wineries, including Malivoire Wine Company, Niagara College Teaching Winery and Tawse Winery, where he also recorded the heartbeat and other biometrics from winemaker Jessica Otting, as she sipped and swallowed one of her wines.
More than 190 audio samples were captured, including sounds of fermentation, vine pruning, bottle clinks, winemaker’s heartbeats and even electrical signals emitted by the vines themselves.AVDB PR + Communications
“I wanted to record anything that could make noise,” he says, explaining how he used sensors, like the ones used for EKG machines, to capture electrical signals that are translated into notes for synthesizers and software programs to recreate the sounds of musical instruments.
Those field recordings have been used to create different tracks for a project called Expressions of the Vine, some that the artist classifies as meditative soundscapes and others that are more upbeat: “They are different ways to experience wine.”
Reyes’ tracks will be posted on streaming services, such as Spotify.AVDB PR + Communications
Reyes says uninformed listeners won’t know that the sounds are related to the winemaking process, the same way you can drink a glass of wine without noticing the intention and creativity behind it. “But,” he explains, “once you know more, you engage with a different appreciation.”
He worked with Lolo Urbiztondo for an Aug. 15 tasting and multi-media experience, also called Expressions of the Vine. Following the Wines of Ontario’s event in Toronto, Reyes’ tracks will be posted on streaming services, such as Spotify, and his samples will be shared with other electronic music artists and DJs to create their own music.
