OBERKIRCHEN (2014)

for percussion and electronics

Oberkirchen is named after the the town in which it was created - Oberkirchen in Saarland, Germany. The work was first performed at Mia Münster Haus in Sankt Wendel, Germany. It is a structured improvisation that is guided mostly by the signal processing design, which incorporates a set of feedback delays that can be turned on and off throughout the performance. These are long delays with a high levels of feedback causing any sound put into them to loop and slowly fade out over several minutes. Players, therefore, must strategically use these delays. Whatever goes into them may be around for a while. The engagement of delays though is also a collaborative component since either player - there are 2 players in this performance - can turn them on and off. As one plays, the other can control the delays, determining what their partner will sonically leave behind. Additional processing includes pitch shifting, which can be heard clearly around 8 minutes into the piece.