Output details

Clicks

The inspiration for this piece was a concert given by London Sinfonietta and artists from Warp Records. In that concert the worlds of Electronica and Minimalism were juxtaposed. Pieces by Steve Reich were followed by sets from Jamie Liddel and Squarepusher. Disappointingly, the performers and sonic material from these different musical worlds failed to combine within any one piece. Clicks is a response to that concert and explores some of the missed possibilities. Sound files are used to give the impression of live looping, glitch-like sampling and processing of the instrumental ensemble, in order to create a hybrid sound world. Samples of orchestral instruments were carefully recorded in advance and then edited and processed. The technical requirements for Clicks are straightforward. The whole ensemble is amplified and balanced with the numerous sound files, which are triggered by a percussionist using a MIDI keyboard. The sound files can either be played from any software sample player or from a Max/Msp patch. The piece was invited by Ensemble 10/10, the contemporary music group that is made up of players from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Knowing that 10/10 concerts have very limited rehearsal time, a pragmatic approach was taken with the electronics. Although some of the electronics sound as though live sampling and processing is taking place, all the electronics are prerecorded. The intention was to give the impression of Electronica-style looping effects and glitches: these are most often heard within the piece as tales, following live instrumental gestures. Edit clicks and looping glitches were intentionally left or even added for effect to the sound files, as a reference to the style of Jamie Liddell and Squarepusher. The opening sound of the piece is derived from an audio editing click.

Score, patch and recording are provided on the DVD.