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LHCTF:

While writing something the main thing is not to think of not thinking of anything

The following sound material is called «Approximations» just because in every fragment I tried to approximate to something. At least, to the ability to think and play, forget and pause. 
To what state every particular piece approximates is up to the listener (as well as thinking/not thinking about the approximation at all). I’ll only make a few notes about the conceptual base of the 3rd fragment.

The fragment is based on parts each including 18 notes. The intervals between the notes are fixed, while the first note’s pitch is chosen by the performer. The parts following the first part are transposed up/down by one semitone (to transpose up or down is also up to the performer). The aim of these relatively small changes is to create a sense of smoothness – the piece seems to be motionless and nevertheless it moves. 
The length of the fragment (in minutes and seconds) barbarically equals the number of daylight hours in the day of performing (in hours and minutes). That is to say, the performance also involves the geographic factor. For example, I played the piece on the 11th of May 2014 in Irkutsk, Russian Federation. The data I had, which was inaccurate enough to satisfy the «approximating» concept, stated that between the sunrise and the sunset on the 11th of May in Irkutsk there were 15 hours 30 minutes 24 seconds. So the length of the piece is 15 minutes 30 seconds. 
The number of notes needed to be played equals:
the number of daylight hours + the number of minutes left + the number of seconds left 
(this time we don’t forget about the seconds)
i.e.
15 + 30 + 24 = 69 notes (or 3 groups of 18 notes + 15 additional notes of the 4th group). So, I placed 69 notes in 15 minutes 30 seconds. The length of notes and the distance between them are chosen by the performer.

At least here we have some approximations between time units, a base for the uniqueness of the performance and a proper realization of my daylight-time-mania. Possible references to Bible weren’t planned, but so it goes.

DCCCXXXIV:

The images attached to the pieces may be called «withdrawals» from the object in the same sense in which it is done by Picasso and Lichtenstein in their series, dedicated to bos taurus taurus. But at the same time the images may be called «approximations», because they use the method of approximation (though non-linear), as it’s used in the series of forecited artists. The theme of a horseman may be connected not only with the famous photos by Eadweard Muybridge (probably, the first of possible associations with a horse row like this), but also with the «spherical horse in a vacuum» archetype.

The third image «approximately» expresses not only the primary image, but the conception of the third piece as well: the horseman is reproduced with 18 black lines (the length of a single part in notes), while yellow lines relatively represent the movement of the sun during the daylight hours.

Approximation IV

Based on a Russian folk song written and performed by my mother (https://soundcloud.com/elena-kurilo)

This version was recorded in 2011

Crying

This piece was recorded almost spontaneously in December 2010. I had in my head only a few chords and some kind of a structure. The quality of recording is bad enough to make it a part of the concept. 

Savoie

Now That Things Are So Simple

Gameline

Based on a play-along record from Jim Riley's book "Survival Guide for the Modern Drummer". Drums were recorded with a phone, hence the quality.

Yaroslav Kurilo (LHCTF)

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