Sound and Music’s Seed Award brings together a diverse group of composers, each with a unique voice and vision. This Q&A series offers a glimpse into their creative worlds, revealing their musical influences, current projects, and aspirations for the future.

Here, we speak to Seed Award 2024 composer Rieko Whitfield.

Can you tell us about your musical influences?

I am influenced by lullabies of Japanese folk songs and classical music on my childhood violin, soft guitar and diary pages on coffee shop stages along the California coast, adolescent catharsis in mosh pits to heavy metal, and visceral club beats in the early mornings of a London rave.

I am inspired by artists who merge the sonic with the performative like Arca and Björk, or the art world with the music industry like Anne Imhof and Gaika. I also love the cinematic scores of composers like Mica Levy and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am working toward the release of my sophomore EP “Zakuro,” and the art film for my single “Fruit.”

So far, “Zakuro” (Japanese for “pomegranate”) features sweeping electronic string arrangements over crushing textural beats, cavernous minimalist piano, and vocals emoting roaring lament to yearnings of hope. The concept for the EP is inspired by the Buddhist tale of Kishibojin, a child-eating demon who undergoes a spiritual transformation to protect the vulnerable, consuming instead pomegranate seeds as the closest replacement to flesh.

Through a storytelling method I call speculative mythology, “Zakuro” is my way of alchemising multigenerational and anticipatory grief, while serving as a reminder to stay tender to ourselves and to each other in the moments we feel buried – often we are only being planted.

Building on my narrative, cinematic, and synaesthetic approach to sound, I am also interested in expanding my practice to composing for film and theatre. Overall, I look forward to honing my craft as a post-genre songwriter, producer, and audiovisual world builder under the guidance of Sound and Music.

Beyond my solo work, I am the founding director of expanded performance platform Diasporas Now, cultivating a community of global majority artists working across live music, performance art, dance, fashion, film, and experimental DJ sets.