sLowlife (2005)

8-channel sound

Listen to a stereo mix of sLowlife.

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sLowlife began as sound I did for an exhibit about plant biology. The exhibit encourages visitors to appreciate changes in the lives of plants — changes so slow that we often overlook them. Many of the sounds in the piece are influenced by plant study data. For example, the changing curvatures of seedlings bending toward the light become the irregular rhythms of the repeated bell-like notes that open the piece. The fluctuating amount of light transmittance through leaves affects the detuning of oscillators in the final, sustained section. My aim in designing the exhibit sound was to create a sonic backdrop that could help visitors ease into a contemplative frame of mind. This concert version retains some of that feeling, but I also try to construct a slowly evolving narrative.


Performances:

  • SEAMUS National Conference, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 3/8/2007
  • CECM Concert, Indiana University School of Music, 2/04/2006
  • EuCuE, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, 11/18/2005
  • Third Practice Festival, University of Richmond, Virginia, 11/5/2005