Inner

About

'Inner' extends out of the sound and sensation of human breath from a visceral and magnified perspective. The starting point was concentrated listening to some straightforward electroacoustic transformations of breath sound. Because the spectrum of the sound is rich and noisy, as well as capable of being articulated with seemingly infinite variety, it felt almost as though a whole world of new sound identities might be heard 'within' a single breath sound itself. So following that idea I tried to draw attention to the way vowel-like colourations and the rhythmic contours of the breath can be developed and related across a range of noise-based gestures and textures. In seeking to anchor the sound transformations against recognisable sound, the gesture of the opening intake of breath became a key figure, hinting at a surface of realism during some of the more abstract extensions of the material. But perhaps one of the most important motivations for me as composer was the innate potential of the electroacoustic medium to exaggerate the apparent physical scale and presence of such a very intimate and personal sound. Along with 'Virtual', and 'Time, Motion and Memory', this work forms an integrated sequence of three electroacoustic works exploring movement between sound sources which are 'internal' and 'external' to human sensibility. 'Inner' was realised in the Electroacoustic Music Studios of Victoria University of Wellington and premiered at Concordia University, Montreal in February 1996. The work was awarded first prize in the 1996 Stockholm Electronic Arts Award.