Output details

Acousmatic Chakras

Acousmatic – Composed from the sounds of the sitar (Roopa Panesar, sitar)

Electroacoustic – Version for voice

Electroacoustic – Version for bansuri, sarangi, tabla, voice, interactive sound & tape

Attending Indian classical music concerts I would find myself wishing the drone would move in sympathy with the virtuosic musicians. My recent compositional research had introduced the possibilities of using heterodyning frequencies to produce sympathetic harmonic motion directly related to a single note. This could be effectively utilised within musical traditions synonymous with the unison and so I composed a changing resonance (an alternate drone): an acousmatic soundworld of heterodyning frequencies, harmonic overtones and dynamic contours. The primary research focus was to see how flexible one could be with pre-composed concrete forms. As the work evolved I needed to establish a vocabulary through which I could communicate compositional ideas to Indian classical musicians.

In its complete and initial ‘whole’, this large-scale work is a continual acousmatic composition for diffusion to multiple loudspeakers, but the various sections can be disassembled and presented as individual character pieces. They are complete movements, but have been composed with transitional 'bookends' helping them to interact with the surrounding movements.

In an electroacoustic scenario, the individual movements can be cued in real-time and used to frame a structured improvisation by Indian classical musicians. This can be further embellished by alternate mixes of the Acousmatic Chakras. These ‘interactive’ and ‘mobile’ textured sounds act as introductions, extensions, additional textures and transitions to the pre-existing framework allowing for moments of improvisation from both sides of the mixing-desk.

This project has been presented in continual acousmatic form and various acousmatic sub-forms. Chakras 6&7 (version for voice) were performed at the Cornerstone Arts Festival 2012. The version for bansuri, sarangi, percussion and voice was performed in the Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur, India January 2013. This event had localised and regional press coverage and was well-attended. The well-rehearsed (and now premiered) work was then recorded in the Jaipur recording studios.