See the Sonic Divide film on Vimeo: vimeo.com/214775555
blur (after blue hour)
Composed by Melissa Grey, first performed at a stream near a Divide crossing in Montana.
I constructed the score – a small kinetic object called a volvelle – as a visual structure to guide Payton’s thoughts to the sounds that he had experienced during the first days of his long solitary ride along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. I requested that he perform blur (after blue hour) halfway into his journey, next to a stream or river, at twilight or dusk during the mysterious blue hour. His sonic memories of his journey were put into random motion via combinatorial wheels, which are based on an ancient technique designed to activate and fuel the imagination (volvelle is related to the astrolabe). By moving the small pointer in the center of the wheels, he recalled sounds from the first phase of his travels and recombined them to form new connections and patterns. Payton determined the tempo based on the flow of the water at the performance site. Instrumentation choices included stream or river, voice, body, and materials on site, with an open duration. – Melissa Grey