ZenSim

Duration 
Approx. 16 minutes

ZenSim was inspired by an interview with composer and producer Oneohtrix Point Never, in which he described using the clichés of New Age music to create something that moved beyond them. I became interested in the idea of writing music with a sterile, corporate, simulated feel-good atmosphere while filling it with subtle movement and detail beneath the surface.

The six accordions are treated as a single, slowly shifting sound. Tiny differences in tuning, timbre and attack cause the focus of the music to move continually around the ensemble, creating the sensation of a single organism breathing and changing shape in space.

The piece unfolds in three connected sections. A restrained opening gradually gives way to broad consonant harmonies before returning to the stillness of the opening in a brighter register. Although entirely acoustic, the piece was shaped by ideas drawn from electronic music production, particularly the movement of sound through space and the gradual transformation of sustained textures.

Instrumentation
6 accordions