Library Music No. 1: Penguins, etc. is the reimagination of pieces from an old library music record found in a 2nd hand store. It consists of functionally produced music for the use in films or on the radio. The habitat of such music has long shifted to the Internet, leaving the old vinyl records in an unclear intermediate state: Not really dead, as they still physically exist and specialized collectors are interested in them, but not really alive either, as they are no longer used for their actual purpose. Thus, the Library Music series, which begins with this piece, is an attempt to upcycle different kinds of old library music, with the aim of turning it into something new – not limited to the past, but in touch with it.

Performances

• 15/12/2023
  HfMT Köln, Germany
  Adventure #11
  performed by Ensemble Musikfabrik

Mixtape was composed around various snippets of existing music, trying to rethink and combine them in a fluid musical continuum. They were selected by the members of the ensemble and myself and found their way into the score – in the form of very radically transformed rhythmic and melodic fragments – as well as into the electronic beats played on the keyboard – in the form of very short and unidentifiable sonic particles. Central to the composition are notated loops: They usually include an approximate instruction for each player, e.g. “increase density”, “single notes only” or “pick 1 each cycle”. Events in those loops are chosen to be played or not played by each musician in each respective cycle according to those instructions, culminating in a semi-improvised section at the end of the piece.

Performances

• 17/02/2025
  Kilbourn Hall, Rochester, NY, USA
  performed by OSSIA Ensemble
• 29/03/2023
  St. Peter, Köln, Germany
  performed by Aaron Wolharn, Claudia Fuller, Moena Katsufuji, Bela Bluche
• 25/01/2023
  Neue Aula, Folkwang University Essen, Germany
  performed by Aaron Wolharn, Claudia Fuller, Moena Katsufuji, Bela Bluche