Archipelago

In Archipelago, the audience is invited into a meditative space where the boundaries between sound, silence, connection, and isolation blur. At its heart are two interrelated musical experiences: the intentional focus on one sound at a time and the mesmerizing, seemingly endless alternation of two sounds. The beat is irregular as it emerges from performers intuitive perception of each note expressing itself fully before the next. The fundamental question posed is: how long should a note resonate before the next is played?

This indeterminate duration of each sound leads to a broader, elusive duration of the entire piece. It prompts reflection on how we communicate and listen to one another. In moments of togetherness, aren’t we also alone?

The stage is arranged to resemble an archipelago, with instruments positioned like islands awaiting exploration. As musicians take their positions at these islands, they are encouraged to look both inward toward their own internal landscapes and outward toward one another. After a series of sometimes layered interplays, we reach a slow, irregular repetition of a single note played with both hands on a bass drum, sustaining a sense of presence—until it stops.