Tensão–Tension

At a summer festival, the composer met someone who would become a close friend. This friend from Brazil introduced him to a Berimbau, a traditional instrument with one string used in percussive ways. But his introduction was through a distortion of the Berimbau; literally. He showed a video of the Berimbau used in the context of metal music; distorted and pitched to simulate multiple attacks of the bass and kick drum.

 

Tensão–Tension uses a single-note sample of the Berimbau, but in another new unique context. Using multiple processes, this single attack develops in real time during the performance. Tension arises as the sample drifts further from its origins. The piece works through this tension before ending in a calm release.