METASTABILITY by Ben Carey

Metastability was composed & performed on the 1975 La Trobe Serge ‘Paperface’, a colossal modular synthesiser designed by Serge Tcherepnin, currently housed at the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS), Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. The fruits of two residencies at MESS in 2019 & 2021, Metastability explores some of the vast sonic terrain of this unique machine across its five tracks. The instrument was commissioned for the La Trobe University Music Department in the mid-1970s by composer Warren Burt & has since been restored by renowned Serge expert Ken Stone. Affectionately dubbed a ‘Paperface’ system due to the characteristic paper graphics used on its front panels, the La Trobe Serge is one of three instruments designed by Tcherepnin to make its way to Australia during this period.

The La Trobe Serge is a beautiful, complex instrument. At the core of Tcherepnin’s design philosophy is the concept of ‘patch programmability’, where low-level functions of the instrument are made available to the musician. This design approach pushes the performer to define & re-define the scope of the instrument’s architecture as part of the compositional process. In my encounters with the Serge, I experience the instrument as an electronic ecosystem, one that makes me work hard for every sound, but always in collaboration with the machine. What fascinates me most about working on the Serge is this sense of human/non-human collaboration. As a patch begins to grow in complexity, I’m acutely aware that my compositional decisions are not solely my own. They’ve become part of a sprawling human-machine network, the history of which sits in front of me as an imposing tangle of patch cables. In Metastability, I was interested in exploring this relationship, resulting in sounds & processes that push & pull on each other, moving in & out of equilibrium.

Apparent Equilibrium, the bonus CD included in this release, documents a live recording made on the La Trobe Serge at MESS in July 2022. Extending upon sounds & ideas from Metastability, this recording was made in preparation for an octophonic surround sound performance at The Substation (Naarm/Melbourne), as part of Sonorous V, curated by MESS. Piloted through some custom software, the performance weaves in live Serge with pre-recorded materials from Metastability, diffused in a virtual surround-sound environment. As this CD was mixed for binaural playback, please use headphones for an optimal listening experience.

Ben Carey

Ben Carey is a Sydney/Eora-based composer and improviser. He makes music using the modular synthesiser, develops interactive music software and creates audio-visual works. Ben’s work is concerned with interactivity, generativity and the delicate dance between human and machine agencies in composition and performance. Alongside Sonya Holowell, he is one half of voice/modular synth duo Sumn Conduit

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