Junkyard Construction: Why stop the swing?
acousmatic stereo piece
(2020)
dur : 8'15"
First performance : September 19, 2021
by Influx Acousmonium - Contemporary Music Lab
at Aristotle Natural History Museum, Thessaloniki, Greece
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This piece has received distinctions such as:
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1st Prize at the Iannis Xenakis International Electronic Music Competition (2021) form the Contemporary Music Lab​
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2024 PRISMS Contemporary Music Festival call for scores, Honorable Mention
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About the piece
English (original)
The intention behind this piece is mainly to construct a discourse distanced from the elements that are traditionally explored in electroacoustic music, eg. texture and timbre. While these elements are undoubtedly present in the piece, it is first and foremost the rhythmic impetus — working around an unstable pulsation — its energy, as well as the imagery and the dramaturgy of the work that is highlighted.
I have worked exclusively with a collection of sounds from my personal library as well as sounds that have been recuperated online (sort of objets trouvés), like a depository where I drew the parts that were best suited; hence the title “Junkyard Construction”.
This comes from an interest to work with fairly limited resources (concerning equipment), which is also why it’s a stereophonic piece.
“Why stop the swing?” refers not only to the rhythmic content, but also to the swaying of unstable images that are being constantly re-contextualised, progressively detaching and revealing themselves as the inner drama unfolds.
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Español (translated by the author)
La intención detrás de esta obra es principalmente construir un discurso alejado de los elementos tradicionalmente explorados en la música electroacústica, como la textura y el timbre. Si bien estos aspectos están indudablemente presentes en la pieza, lo que deseo destacar es, ante todo, el ímpetu rítmico —en torno a una pulsación inestable—, su energía, y la dramaturgia de la obra.
He trabajado exclusivamente con una colección de sonidos de mi biblioteca, así como con sonidos recuperados de internet (una especie de objets trouvés), que funcionaron como un depósito de chatarra, donde seleccionaba los segmentos que mejor se ajustaban a la obra. De ahí proviene el título, Junkyard Construction. Esto responde a mi interés por trabajar con recursos bastante limitados, por lo que la pieza también es estereofónica.
Why Stop the Swing? no solo hace referencia al contenido rítmico, sino también al vaivén de imágenes inestables que se recontextualizan constantemente, separándose y revelándose progresivamente a medida que se desarrolla el drama interior.