Psychography

Psychography was written for Turning Point Ensemble in the Spring and Summer of 2026.

“Psychography” refers to writing unconsciously, something that is often framed as channeling a spiritual force. For example, Hildegard von Bingen’s conviction that her writing was dictated by God positioned her as a conduit rather than an author. More recently, similar claims have been made by cult leaders, such as those associated with the famous UFO cult, the Seekers. Psychographic authors may truly believe they are merely a conduit or they may be positioning themselves strategically, but either way, this idea of psychography resonates with my own experience of how thought, reflection, and creativity happen.

Psychography mirrors an essential aspect of artistic creation: intuition. Across artistic disciplines, intuitive processes often exceed rational explanation, suggesting that all artists engage in forms of psychographic practice, as perhaps best exemplified by the mid-century Québécois artists Les Automatistes. The concept also intersects with how beliefs are formed and maintained. The case of cults illustrates how pre-existing convictions and cognitive dissonance shape perception and behaviour irrationally (the truth appeared! it just came to me and requires no proof or explanation!). In this piece, I use the concept of psychography as an entry point to explore intuition, belief, and perception as musical and aesthetic phenomena, informing the musical structures of the work, such as the tuning, form, harmony, and orchestration.

The clearest example can be found in the perceptual ambiguity between acoustic and electronic sound in this work. By placing speakers among the musicians that diffuse samples that mirror and blend with the acoustic instruments, the listener cannot fully determine the source of what they hear. This dislocation enacts the psychographic experience: the uncertainty of where sound originates as the music moves between what is possible and impossible for an acoustic instrument to play.