About…
by Pete Stollery |imed_0678-0001|
When I first became involved in electroacoustic music, I was fascinated
with the way that technology could allow the composer to work directly with
sound, in a similar way to how a sculptor or potter works with his/her
materials. The ability to manipulate material at this basic level is a
central aspect of my music and this can be seen most obviously from pieces
which are concerned with the interplay between the ‘meanings’ associated with
sounds and these sounds as pure sonic material, divorced from any mimetic
connotation.
There is little in my music which can be likened to ‘broad brush-work’ —
attention to detail and the exact positioning of sound objects within
composed space is of the utmost importance to me. This allows the listener to
become aware of the intrinsic qualities of the sounds themselves, and how
they behave.
There are many uses of, and references to, real-world sounds in the pieces
on this disc; the key in the lock opening the door at the beginning of
Onset/Offset is, on one level, metaphorical, but at
the same time, provides an opportunity for the listener to enjoy the
spectro-morphological behaviour of this gesture. Playing with the potential
ambiguities of listening is central to all these pieces; a door slides open
to reveal a new sound space, but at the same time, the listener dwells on the
texture and shape of that slide; a street scene is recognised initially, but
with the subtle inclusion of other sounds, and gradually mutates into the
unrecognisable — the boundaries between what is known and what is unknown
become blurred. A roulette wheel is stretched and the outer surface peeled
back to reveal new sounds beyond…
… sounds can hide one another…
Pete Stollery [iii-06]
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