UPCOMING: KHSHK - SLP

 

SLP explores microtiming and gesture-rhythm relationships from a different angle than previous work, examining the physical, tactile impacts of movement and touch on rhythmic expression. The piece is constructed from improvised recordings using ceramic instruments hand-made by Mexico City-based artist Elena Solís. These recordings were used as a guide for the timing and layering of a sample-based sound composition, exploring the way musical gesture sculpts time when filtered through a tactile physical interaction.

Improvisations were recorded by Solís and I during a short session in June 2024. Five of the instruments used were variations on a hollow sphere with an additional clay ball inside which sounded when it hit or rolled against the inner walls of the object. Turning and pivoting these instruments with one’s hand produced a mix of predictable and unpredictable reactions which followed the overall shape of the gesture, while requiring careful attention and dialogue to achieve detail. The sixth instrument was a ceramic chain, which produced higher-pitched percussive sounds when run against the tile floor of the space or folded upon itself.

The composition was built by considering how the percussive sounds and shapes emerging from our interactions with these instruments stretched, moved within, or outlined time. I saw the arc and shape of these phrases as altering perceived time via delayed anticipation and unpredictability over very short durations, providing another angle through which to explore microtiming. I specifically wanted to investigate how other rhythmic figures could be draped or stretched around the slow, rolling phrases and abrupt gestures that came out of our improvisations, and how this could be another means of translating physical imprints into digital space. 

To execute the piece, I used the recorded improvisations as a timing guide for MIDI-based percussion material, often using samples or convolution reverbs based on the original recordings. I also layered the improvised phrases to put them in dialogue with one another, separated them into shorter snippets for collage, and improvised new patterns alongside the originals. The result is a percussive composition that blurs the borders of the digital and the physical, while unpacking the unique imprint of these instruments and playing techniques on expressive and perceived time.

The recording presented above is a demo version of the final track, being prepared for release in late 2025.