Quartered by Ryan Lott, Third Coast Percussion

Quartered is a percussion quartet for live ensemble or for playback as a 4-way sound installation. The instrumentation includes glass bottles, wood planks, ceramic tiles, metal pipes, electric toothbrushes, and resonant metallic instruments called sixxen. This recording is from a live performance of the work by Third Coast Percussion, who also commissioned it. When performed live, each performer receives a headphone feed of one of four distinct metronomes. The independent clocks relate to one another differently throughout the piece, sometimes maintaining a proportionate relationship, and at other times flexing and contracting to dictate phasing events. Sustained, "irrational" composite rhythms sometimes result, as the metronomes/performers play all together in the same tempo but out of synch with one another. Because the headphone feeds eliminate the need for proximity, the ensemble has the option to function more like a sound installation, performing in four corners of a room. When this is done, rhythms and melodies move around the space, and the perception of composite rhythms is informed by one's position in space with respect to the ensemble.

In addition to his work as Son Lux, producer-composer Ryan Lott composes music for film, theater and dance.

ryanlottmusic.com
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