“[…] matter at equilibrium is ‘blind,’ but far from equilibrium it begins to ‘see.’ New processes set in and increase the production of entropy.”

— Ilya Prigogine, The End of Certainty: Time, Chaos and the New Laws of Nature (1997)

The idea that chaotic, non-equilibrium processes and the irreversible arrow of time are fundamental creative principles of nature is here taken as a point of departure towards an aesthetic that draws attention to self-propagating phenomena in music. This is manifest in an approach to form that emphasises fluctuations and processes of growth and change, where time enables the production of possibilities and novel organisation of sound.

The entropic dynamics of sound create states of instability where textural processes can bifurcate and take a multitude of directions. Phenomenologically, we might experience this in the emergence of monolithic gestures, vast spaces, and bustling ‘cacophonies’ of mutated sound entities. They all thrive in a universe far from equilibrium, in moments where intense energy dissipates into a transformational chaos.

[iv-14]

Far-from-equilibrium was realized in 2008 at the composer’s studio in London (UK) and premiered on February 19, 2009 in the Electroacoustic Concert Series at City University London (England, UK).

Premiere

• February 19, 2009, Electroacoustic Concert Series, Performance Space — College Building — City, University of London, London (England, UK)