P(i)e(a)ce by Red Chemistry
This is a friednd's song that I helped polish from his original demo.

Five Strings

P(i)e(a)ce (by Red Chemistry)

I wrote this piece for a project in which various artists were invited to illustrate the Circles of Hell as described in Dante's Inferno. I have always been curious about the work ever since I bought my vinyl edition of Skinny Puppy's single for Dig It, which featured one of Gustave Dorés gorgeous illustrations on the sleeve.

I was assigned Canto VI. Dante's view of Hell's third circle, is a place of cold, noisome filth which serves as the only sustenance for those punished for gluttony. It was interesting to discover his blending of Greek mythology into the tale, placing Hades' guardian Cerberus as the jailer and tormentor of the damned. The author speaks of its bestial majesty, of a terrifying creature with a long beard, red eyes and claws that slash the spirits - both literally (the dead) and figuratively (their hope).

The title is intentionally campy, a nod to the intimidating figure described by the author. A massive ball of coiling muscle and spines sprang to mind, one that moves unpredictably and devours all that it reaches for. The central themes oscillate between sparse, percussive bass stabs and roiling drone-like patterns that shift in and out of tune. These parts are underpinned by wavering orchestral sounds that weave in and out (one could imagine an orchestra that does its best to express the creature's might while being to terrified to be in its presence). The piece's final part slows in pace, representing Dante's awe-struck slow-motion view of the beast turning towards him and his companion, where "His mouths he opened, and displayed his tusks; Not a limb had he that was motionless". In the Canto, Virgil finally manages placate the monster's ravenous hunger by lobbing mud into its open mouths.

Cerberus, Devourer Of Gluttons

Since this piece was written for an event called "Signs of our Times",  I took the event's title literally, identifying the sounds that characterize this current moment in my life: drums, eructating infants, and cantankerous toddlers. Though it may be hard to believe, most of the sounds in the piece actually come from a field recording of my children's voices during a weekend lunch at home.
I used Five Lamentations as an opportunity to apply techniques learned from the Producer Edition of the album Ninth Wave, by Trifonic. It was a departure from my usual approach in that I worked almost exclusively with audio stems (as opposed to sequenced samplers), cutting them up, stretching and reversing them. 
I was processing a sample of a crying baby when the unifying vision for the piece came to me: a terrifying midnight ritual to awaken an ancient beast best left asleep (an unintentionally self-reflective piece, perhaps?). This sound became the lamentation that opens the piece and anchors its various sections. The result is decidedly much eerier than I had anticipated. Sorry about the nightmares...


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