LET GO OF CONTROL

Close your eyes and imagine all time is happening and once

            and no time is happening at all.

            Imagine someone is stealing your breath.

             Everything is collapsing and you can’t keep up.

                              “What good is your reality?”

                                You are suspended.

You are just one moment and then you disappear.

*shouting* LET GO OF CONTROL

You do not exist.

Video description: Vimeo player for Thembi Soddell’s ‘Let Go of Control’ performed by Decibel New Music Ensemble. It shows Thembi’s visual score, which is black with various white lines and scratches. Each member of Decible is shown in squares across the top of the screen with lines leading to the parts of the score they are playing.

LET GO OF CONTROL was composed for Decibel New Music Ensemble’s 2-Minutes From Home (2MFH) series, in which they commissioned 20 composers to compose a 2-minute piece during COVID-lockdown using a visual score player, for the ensemble members to perform from their homes. These were videoed then edited together to show them playing along with the scores. The above text is assembled from instructions given to performers on how to perform their parts.

Artistic director of Decibel, Cat Hope, also interviewed me about making the work during a pandemic, and you can hear the podcast episode here.