Shift, Trip

Inspired by Boulez’s multi-cello piece “Messagesquisse” and John Scofield’s inspired funk number “Protocol”, “Shift, Trip” is an unrelenting moto perpetuo for amplified cello and pre-recorded guitars, brass and percussion. Although choreographed early on the piece is designed to stand alone. It demands virtuosity and great stamina from the performer over a five and a half octave range and requires exact synchronisation with the recorded backing track whose shifting rhythmic patterns trip up in unpredictable ways, as the title implies. I’m indebted to Lester Barnes for guiding me through his vast guitar, brass and explosion effects sample library, mixing the results, and to percussionist Julian Warburton for hitting a lot of metal in interesting ways. Zoë Martlew 2014