strOBO
6 percussionists, glass, stroboscopes, electronics.
strOBO is an exploration of split second shifts of time and synchronization. Six players playing on large panes of amplified glass are spread out along a long space with strobe lights. The piece plays on one's momentary illusion of what one sees and hears. The core rhythmic structure of the piece is provided by the six strobes which are set behind each of the glass panes - the ticking of the strobe-lights as they switch on and off. Moreover , this is amplified and mixed in a constant state of flux with the sounds of the players tapping on the glass, and with varying degrees of amplification which brings out constantly shifting pulses and rythms from the strobe source. The rhythms themselves are also in a constant state of speeding up and slowing down - morphing from one state into another - which are reinforced by the ever-changing pulses of beating sine tones heard throughout the piece. The piece has an hallucinatory effect.
The music can be ordered from Donemus Publishing House, Amsterdam.