Music for 100 Carpenters

Music for 100 Carpenters is a theatrical surround sound work enlisting 100 workers, 100 hammers and some 10,000 nails in a real-world articulation of complex computer synthesis. Under the guidance of job supervisors thousands of hammer blows become waves of tonal murmur. Toolbelts, sweat and lunchboxes are part of the score, and a bird’s-eye video with superbly detailed 6 channel sound recording form the installation.
"The piece unfolds as a moving sculpture, using sound to tilt the architecture of the venue; confined to a limited sonic palate, I focus on architectural drama to move the music forward. Employing a devolved structure, like a construction plan, I can maintain musical control without relying on performers’ virtuosity. Within this scenario is an emotional distillation of purposefulness, threaded with the individual’s loss of identity in the scheme of manufacture. As the piece progresses, a palpable sonic transcendence emerges: the physical actions of the performers cease to match the cloud of sound that they generate. The sensual reality of the piece finally evades the meanings and structures it invokes."