Installation (audio) 2017
Violence extends the archetypal horror stinger into a prolonged Shaefferian musique concrete.
Counter-conditioning occurs when the listener hears positive music coupled with abrasive material noises - so panic attacks are less frequently triggered by unpleasant sounds in everyday life. Throbbing piano gradually modulates from foreboding deep minor tones to a consoling major resolution in delicate high notes. Short extracts of cello are cut up and multiplied; whilst strings have been seen as supra-expressive voices throughout history (mimicking human cries but faster, with a more diverse dynamic and pitch range), in this soundscape the cello parts are physically unplayable in real-life. The organic breathy timbre of the cello comforts, but its digital manipulation causes unease.
The listener is constantly being interrupted, never allowed to settle into the soundscape: there are numerous sudden interjections of metallic squeaks, but repetition gradually numbs their shock value.
Just when the sound reaches peak saturation, there is a sudden dropout, akin to intrusive fearfulmemories barging in and out of focal consciousness in Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder.
The gradual reduction of intensity is a hopeful metaphor: realistically, no-one is ever “cured” from anxiety - but eventually the mind can begin to realize positive attributes of the same memory trigger.