The wreck of former boundaries (5.1 channel fixed media)

The wreck of former boundaries (2015), for 5.1-channel electronics, is part of a larger conglomerate of works—each sharing the same title—that includes a range of solo works, small chamber works, works for electronics, and an extended ensemble work for two trumpet soloists, clarinet, saxophone, trombone, electric lap steel guitar, double bass, and multichannel electronics, ranging in duration from six to 35 minutes.

The electronic material throughout the network of pieces comes from recordings of earlier pieces of mine written for and/or recorded by the players of ELISION, which are processed and distorted in a variety of ways, including through my own improvisations with several gestural, touch-sensitive digital interfaces. That processed audio is treated as ‘found material’—in a sense, severed from its previous identities and histories—chopped up, rearranged, repurposed, and superimposed to create new multi-channel, fixed-media audio.

The larger conglomerate of works was commissioned by ELISION Ensemble, with support from the RMIT Gallery Sonic Arts Collection and technical assistance from the SIAL electronic music studio at RMIT University. Significant additional support for the project was provided by the University of Huddersfield, including the studios of the Huddersfield Immersive Sound System (HISS) and the University Research Fund.