Totem Electric

I started working on this piece in the fall of 2015 during a residency at the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden, Germany. Although I worked on it over several months, Carrousel is a very simple piece. I challenged myself to work with tonality and rhythm, a rather risky approach when it comes to Totem Contemporain’s instrumentarium. Also risky is the fixed media music, which consists of tracks recorded in succession in real time. In most cases I kept the first take, hence the "fragile" – but to me more "sincere" – feel of that element. In fact, this piece could very well be played by an instrumental ensemble (gamelans, percussions, cello, contrabass, guitar, and noisician), with the Babel Table performer acting as the soloist.

The title Carrousel comes from the somewhat nostalgic images that coalesced in my mind while composing it. It is a bit like a big carrousel that shifts gears and slows down at times. The music video already exists in my head  the only thing left is to shoot it on 8mm film… F-A. Morin