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June 5, 2024 — Justin Wiggan, an innovative, UK-based artist renowned for his groundbreaking approach to soundscapes, today announces Skydentities: Cloud Scanner - the first-ever cloud-generated album. First track “Altocumulus” is out today for World Environment Day – the U.N.’s global platform for raising environmental awareness, held annually since 1973. The complete project is out August 2 released via Real Music, home to acclaimed artists whose music supports personal health and well-being.
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Watch Skydentities Trailer
Pre-save Skydentities: Cloud Scanner
This first of a kind album’s tracks were produced by a cloud scanner, a device created by Wiggan in collaboration with artist-engineer Dominick Allen. The scanner allows Wiggan to collect, light, and shape interference patterns from the clouds. Patterns are converted into signals, which can be translated into musical notes via synthesizers — crafting music directly from the energy of the skies. This bio-sonification of clouds is Wiggan’s unique approach to capturing and translating the hidden sounds of nature into music. Cloud Scanner provides musical connections to 10 distinct varieties of clouds. Wiggan is exclusively signed to Real Music and this is his first release under the label.
Justin Wiggan said, “I’m thrilled to work with Real Music on the release of Skydentities, a wide-ranging series centered on our profound connections with the skies. I hope this music inspired & created by clouds encourages listeners to engage with nature and their surroundings in meaningful ways,to take in the skies into people’s daily mindfulness routines as part of new wellbeing rituals. File under NOWAGE!”
The music of Skydentities: Cloud Scanner evokes the power of cloud-gazing. In recent years, the connection between cloud-gazing and its positive impact on mental health has been explored.
A 2014 study in the Journal of Affective Disorders saw reduction in stress, anxiety, and depression after participants spent time observing clouds. A Journal of Health Psychology found that a significant decrease in anxiety and stress was the result of only 10 minutes of cloud observation each day. Scientists and mental health professionals have continued to dive deeper into the cloud/mental health connection as a mindfulness practice.
Skydentities: Cloud Scanner track listings:
1 . Altocumulus (out now)
Altocumulus clouds are the most common clouds in the middle atmosphere. White or gray patches that dot the sky in large, rounded masses or clouds that are aligned in parallel bands, they are often spotted on warm and humid mornings, especially during summer. They can signal thunderstorms to come later in the day.
2 . Altostratus (out June 19)
Altostratus appear as gray or bluish-gray sheets of cloud that partially or totally cover the sky at mid-levels. Altostratus tend to form ahead of a warm or occluded front. They can also occur together with cumulus at a cold front.
3 . Cirrostratus (out July 3)
Cirrostratus clouds are transparent, whitish clouds that veil or cover nearly the entire sky. A “halo” ring or circle of light around the sun or moon is formed by the refraction of the light on the ice crystals in the clouds.
4 . Cirrus (out July 17)
Latin for "curl of hair,” cirrus are thin, white, wispy strands of clouds that streak across the sky. Because cirrus clouds appear above 20,000 feet (6,096 mi) — an altitude where low temperatures and low water vapor exist — they are made up of tiny ice crystals rather than water droplets.
5 . Cumulus (out Aug 2)
Cumulus clouds are the clouds you learned to draw at an early age and that serve as the symbol of all clouds. Their tops are rounded, puffy, and a brilliant white when sunlit, while their bottoms are flat and relatively dark. Cumulus clouds develop on clear, sunny days. when the sun heats the ground directly below
6 . Stratus (out Aug 2)
Stratus clouds hang low in the sky as a flat, featureless, uniform layer of grayish cloud. They resemble fog that hugs the horizon (instead of the ground). Stratus clouds are seen on dreary, overcast days and are associated with light mist or drizzle.
7 . Stratoscumulus (out Aug 2)
Stratocumulus clouds are rounded clumps or patches of white to dark gray clouds that normally form in groups. The individual cloud elements, which cover more than 5 degrees of arc each, can connect with each other and are sometimes arranged in a regular pattern.
8 . Cumulonimbus (out Aug 2)
Cumulonimbus clouds are one of the few clouds that span the low, middle, and high layers.These cloud tops are usually always flattened in the shape of an anvil or plume. Their bottoms are often hazy and dark. Cumulonimbus clouds are thunderstorm clouds, so if you see one you can be sure there's a nearby threat of severe weather.
9 . Cirrocumulus (out Aug 2)
Cirrocumulus clouds are small, white patches of clouds often arranged in rows that live at high altitudes and are made of ice crystals. They are rare and relatively short-lived, but you'll see them in winter or when it's cold but fair.
During the album’s production, Wiggan invited select guest musicians to respond to the cloud-generated sounds, resulting in a musical dialogue between the sky and humans. The ensemble includes renowned bassist Chris Map, hang drum player Sam Griffiths, pedal steel guitarist John Greene, Shruti Box/piano player/vocalist Nicola Edwards, Norwegian sax player Fred Wolter, violinist Sam Spake, and New Zealand-based Rob Thorne — all augmented by Wiggan’s own electronics, bass, voice, and synthesizer. The album was recorded, edited, and produced by Justin Wiggan from October, 2023 to January, 2024 in Penryn, Cornwall UK.
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