The project was an exploration of improvisation influenced by extreme metal. As well as various shamanic music traditions that have a much more fluid sense of rhythm. I wanted to explore a music that felt like a waterfall, fast-flowing stream or traffic. A chaotic, overwhelming sound, but with a constant sense of flux and flow.
I was also inspired by left-hand path spiritual tradition. And the driving forces of black metal: the desire to explore extremes, the investigation of transgression and the antinomianist stance.
I am interested in inhabiting these spaces as a queer, trans woman. Given that some expression of these stances can read like the hedonism of the privileged. At the expense of those who have less privilege. Often because of normative and authoritarian system that antinomianist positions nominally critique.
The piece explores the idea of a ritual context that has a communal element. It creates a set and setting conducive for ritual experience. But focuses on an individual (and perhaps individualist) experience. In this sense, it functions as an individual-anarchist spiritual practice. Mutual aid and solidarity in the pursuit of an individual(ist) spiritual experience.
I have no desire to be prescriptive. Players may read the scores simply as musical instruction. But I do believe in a spirituality that infuses every day life. Rather than something separate from it. And a musickal experience can function as a spiritual one in my world. (For clarity—I regard any experience a performer has as a valid expression of the piece. No investment in any form of spirituality required.)
The constant intensity of the piece defies an exploration of dynamics or narrative. The piece cannot ‘go’ anywhere. The piece does away with linear narrative. It becomes about exploring—through playing or listening—textural, timbral differences. The piece makes use of repetition to deconstruct our usual experience of linear time. And perhaps facilitates a sense of trance of the ‘ecstatic’. The physicality intensity of the piece also contributes to this.
The structure of the piece takes particular cues from descriptions of shamanic journeying. The piece starts with a drum beat, and drums drive the whole piece. The piece ends with bells and chimes which signify a move to finding an ending. Many spiritual traditions make use of bells, chimes or gongs as a means to focus the attention. In this work they also function to bring the ensemble back to a sense of common experience and presence in the moment. This also has a ‘grounding’ effect. Or at least signifies that the players should seek to ground themselves. Particularly if they have had any intense experience during the piece. We transition out of the intense, individualistic, extreme soundscape of the piece. It offers some relief to the audience as well helping them transition out of the piece.
If you perform this piece / as this band, feel free to upload videos of performances wherever you like. Please send me links so I can add them to this page. You can include individual players names (or aliases) or not, as you wish. Also please get in touch to add audio recordings to the Bandcamp page. I would like that!