Daniel Swilley

Composer • Musician • Educator

← Back to Works

Absolute Zero

Stereo electroacoustic music • 2008 • 5'

Electronic

Program Note

Absolute Zero (2008), stereo electroacoustic music, is concerned with the "life" of the constituent particles of matter as they reach the invisible bonds of absolute zero. Absolute Zero (noun) – the lowest temperature that is theoretically possible, at which the particle constituents of matter do not move or have minimal motion. Imagine these particles as "life forms." Consider the crowds, the struggle, and the panic that would be the result of such an event as absolute zero. Imagine yourself rebelling against the approaching bonds of cold.

Absolute Zero was produced using Csound, Absynth, and Protools, and was realized in the Experimental Music Studios at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Performance Information

  • Premiere: Sound Exchange Concert, Smith Recital Hall, UIUC, Urbana, Illinois, October 24, 2008.
  • Sound Exchange Concert, Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois, October 26, 2008.
  • New Music Ensemble Concert, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Great Hall, Urbana, Illinois, February 17, 2009.
  • New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Graduate Hall, New York, New York, March 2–4, 2009.
  • Sexy Monster / Sound Workshop Series, Gallery One, Urbana, Illinois, September 23, 2011.
  • Audiograft Jukebox / Audiograft Festival 2013, Oxford, United Kingdom, February 25–March 3, 2013.
  • BSU EM|Two Electroacoustic Music Concert, Muncie, Indiana, January 16, 2015.
  • CMS 32nd South Central Regional Conference, Arkadelphia, Arkansas, March 31, 2017.

Recording