MUSIC CURRENT COMMISSION PROPOSAL

“ATTENTION(!)”

for

Flute, Violin, Bass Clarinet, Cello, Electric Guitar & tuned/untuned Percussion

with accompanying video & track

IDEAS STAGE - CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES/NOTES

PREVIOUS RELEVANT WORK EXAMPLE (VIDEO)

‘FILTERING’ - PART VII FROM ‘ADJUSTING PARAMETERS’

@ TIMECODE 53:11

“ATTENTION(!)” - for ensemble*, track & video

ATTENTION(!) plays on two contrasting concepts - decreasing attention spans and increasing mindfulness.

Many of us find we are losing the skill of attention through vastly invasive daily technology use, yet in a wholly separate, dedicated exercise take measured time to pay attention to the simple act of breathing. Are we losing a cohesion in the way we operate daily, and the art of paying attention to each moment as a whole?

Is the diminishing necessity for patience (due to increasing technology speeds & capabilities) curbing the creative imagination often found in waiting?

How much does our capacity for attentiveness depend on content and context?

Is the current situation considered dire or exaggerated? Lost or retrievable?

Arguably we could all at least benefit from taking time to ‘pay attention to our attention’…

In ATTENTION(!) there is a playfulness around the cohesion between the musicians and the accompanying track & video, with their ‘attentiveness’ fluctuating from ‘zoned out’ to ‘hyper-focussed’, and various in-between states across different energy levels. The video & track utilise spoken word from discussions around this subject and sampled technology sounds, providing a strong rhythmic foundation underneath musical/performative representations of topics such as impatience, mindless scrolling, Moore’s law, literal breathwork and ‘flow state’.

The end result hopes to reflect in equal measure both critical awareness of the influence of technology, and more inspiriational positive behaviours to carry forward.

*Full forces (i.e. flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, electric guitar & tuned/untuned percussion)