Output details

Switched on (acousmatic, stereo composition)

Switched on was premiered at the MANTIS festival, Manchester, UK (2011). This work was awarded First Prize in the METAMORPHOSES composition competition 2012, Brussels and was selected as a finalist for the Gaudeamus Prize 2012, Utrecht. This composition has been widely disseminated including a broadcast on BBC Radio 3 – Late Junction, (2012) and has received international performances in Montreal, Brisbane, Brussles, Utrecht, Seoul, Morelia, Rio de Janeiro, Ljubliana and Stockholm. Switched on is published CD by Empreintes DIGITALes IMED 12117 (2012). The work also appears on The Wire Tapper CD Issue 344, no. 30, October 2012 and International Computer Music Conference Music proceedings CD (2012) and the METAMORPHOSES Prize-winner’s CD.

This work aimed to continue my research into using spectromorphological concepts in order to inform aspects of the compositional process. The focus of my practice-based research was the use of ‘micro’ level materials and how spectromorphological structuring processes might apply on such small dimensions. Sound recordings of switches (on/off) were conducted and provided material of sufficient brevity to explore the outcome of this investigation.

This piece began by exploring the sounds of switches, dials and buttons collected from my home and my place of work. A particularly interesting sound was sourced from turning on an old TV, which ignited a series of high frequency pitches and crackling static flutters before eventually powering on. Lower transpositions of this sound revealed a usually inaudible collection of electronic-like frequencies that feature throughout the work. Together with this the switch sounds, being very short in duration, are clustered into intricate groupings, cascades and explosive flourishes. A conference paper ‘Illustration and the compositional process: an update on pedagogical and creative uses’ provided detail about the construction of the piece delivered at the Tape to Type def Conference, Sheffield (2013).