Cube

Composition for Bass Clarinet and Alto Saxophone with live electronics and video images.
Created for Naomi Sato and Laura Carmichael, aka Duo X.


CUBE is about the opposition between perfection and disorder. This idea is explored in every aspect of the piece: in the video images, a wireframe cube is set in stark contrast to a natural environment; in the music, symmetrical octatonic scales are set against rhythms derived from chaotic processes; in the overall form, segments of uniformity are set against irregular sequences. Through these juxtapositions, questions arise about our preconceived notions of perfection as being good, and disorder as being bad.

CUBE was inspired by the visual artists of 1960's Holland who began experimenting with alternative media such as film. The combination of their fresh perspective on the technique of film making and the accessibility of technologies such as the super-8 film camera gave rise to strikingly spontaneous, original and thought-provoking works. Their highly individualistic approach to making film is, to me, a watershed moment for artistic expression in a technological context.