My name is Danny Castro, and I am a sound person. I technically am a sound designer and audio programmer, but I often think those titles are too reductive; they fail to describe what I do and what my goals are regarding my work. As a sound person, I like to be involved with audio beyond what someone can hear, and I instead prefer to focus on the way my sounds can shape reality. I strive to create living, breathing worlds that resonate deeply with audiences, seamlessly incorporating technology as a direct complement to the effectiveness of my work.  

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Some of the tools I utilise in my everyday work include audio spatialisation, audio programming, digital and analogue synthesis, foley, and digital audio processing. A general approach I have towards all these different subjects is developing a harmonious marriage between an assortment of sometimes contrasting disciplines. For example, my sound design work is centred around narrative and storytelling, constantly morphing into whatever can best communicate the rich stories I make sound for. In that same vein, I treat my work in sound spatialisation as a tool that complements my sound design by creating immersive virtual spaces, transporting the listener not only through sound but by directly placing them in the middle of the story. As for audio programming, I am constantly developing tools that facilitate the achievement of complicated sound immersion techniques, such as reverbs that scan virtual rooms and detect relevant details in their architecture that would impact the distribution of sound and audio phenomena.  

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My personal obsession with narrative carries on to my musical endeavours, perpetually informing every decision I make along the way. This influence permeates into my composition process, my infinite revisions, and naturally, the way I mix my own music. I compose pieces meant to be experienced as immersively as possible. Whether composing for a binaural format or channel-based surround formats, I think of literal physical placements for every element. Furthermore. My regular use of the elements of stories and storytelling creates distinctive curves of tension and release in my compositions, a little like musical anthologies. At this moment, I am concluding the production of my debut album under my nom de plume, santalucia. My hopes are that, through this additional medium of expression, I can scratch the surface of yet another complex storytelling device that will, in turn, enrich my other creative processes. 

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There is something breathtaking about captivating people with sound. Transporting them to a million different realities with just 1 of the 5 senses, persuading their minds into suspending their disbelief and embracing a new form of experiencing life. This is why I consider myself a sound person. I am, at my core, an aural terraformer and an unseeing storyteller.