Victor Zheng

There are many ways in which I imagine the forces beyond our comprehension in this universe, with equal parts awe, fear, and wonder. Whatever comes to me, I surrender full control and ride along, searching for a place for myself in the face of the beyond.

For Liann, who helped me to believe in me and my music again.

Stereo reduction

The algorithms behind this piece produce sounds that are constantly in motion, determined by large-scale shape but indeterminate on the finer details. Composing this piece was like painting in broad strokes while watching the colors transforming on their own before my eyes. Sonic entities grow and evolve, interacting and clashing in a monstrous cacophony, and my place as composer was to commune with the chaos: influence it in whatever way I can, but not stem or fine-tune it.

I term this medium as “live fixed media” because while there is no performer, each rendering is subtly different as determined by the how the algorithmic generation pans out. Executing the code for each performance promises a couple of surprises every time without the work becoming unrecognizable.