Study 0 - Polyrythmic layers

Study 0 – Polyrythmic layers

This short clip is a very early proof of concept for how I imagined one could work musically with structures derived from speech before I really started to work on this project. Sketched back in 2008 but recreated later with physical modeling string instruments as sound source, this piece have three different rhythmic layers derived directly from attacks in the bass, mid and treble from the recording of a news broadcast, very roughly corresponding to stress, syllables and unvoiceds. These attacks are then quantized individually in polyrhythmic patterns, often involving 3/4 and 2/3 between each layer, so that the complete rhythmic relationship can be 9/12/16 (equal to dotted, normal and triplets of any value) etc. The different subdivisions and polyrhythmic relationships of the three layers are improvised, imposing some musical development. One aim of this kind of approach is to abstract the material yet see if some speech like musicality still can play a part in the resulting sound. In this piece it is really easy to hear how the phrases still appear clear and communicative, even with the multilayered polyrhythmic mash-up of its content.