Output details

Papyrus

Fundamental to Papyrus is the examination of how recordings of paper, a comparatively ordinary acoustic source, may be manipulated with the specific aim of appealing to the listener’s tactile sense and proprioception, in order to evoke an active, multi-dimensional and multi-sensory soundworld. The work questions the extent to which the composer can guide the listener’s perception of source-bonding in order to articulate certain physical or tactile sensations via sound stimuli. As such, Papyrus invites a ‘transmodal’ interpretation of sound (Smalley 2007) through a variety of compositional techniques.

Surface details in the original recorded material are magnified to highlight traces of human agency and embedded gestures and trajectories are expanded and foregrounded in order to convey proprioceptive qualities intended to enhance implied motion and tactility for the listener. Isolated quotations of ripping paper draw attention to human agency and carry implications of real-world movement and intention. This reliance on extrinsic source-bonding (Smalley 1997) is critical in the work.

A dichotomy is set up between the presentation of unprocessed recordings of the source material and the development of complex layered landscapes, constructed from more heavily processed sound materials. The gestural impetus of paper ripping acts as a link from one world to the other, shifting the emphasis from proprioceptive qualities towards fictional landscapes that provoke greater exteroceptive engagement.

A further compositional device is the construction of intricate strings of sonic gestures displaying complex motion, a technique which articulates both temporal and virtual space in a particularly dynamic manner.

Premiered at MANTIS (Manchester, 2008) with subsequent performances at ICMC (Montreal, 2009), BEAST (Birmingham, 2010) and 15 others. Papyrus was a prizewinning work in the 10th Música Viva Competition, Portugal in 2009 and was awarded the Prix Destellos 2009. Released on the compilation CD Electronic Music Vol. IV (MisoMusic MCD 023.10) in 2010.