Moving between future grime, choral music, ambient techno, post-dubstep and broken beat, Anton Friisgaard’s new live session brings together ethereal, mechanical textures with a lush, melancholic atmosphere. Recorded at torso electronics HQ in Copenhagen, the performance is built from samples gathered across Anton’s own musical practice.

The sounds come from analog synths and acoustic sources, shaped through tape and digital processing. Some began as parts for other projects or concerts; others are ideas that had yet to find a place.

“I am really interested in the complex third world emerging from banging two things together,” he says. “Sometimes it clicks and sometimes it doesn’t, but there’s always the potential for igniting an interesting concept.”

One instrument, many contexts

Anton considered several directions for the performance before settling on the S4 as its centre. Its ability to work with samples from many different sources suited the eclectic approach he had in mind.

The setup is minimal: the S4, configured with a set of macros. Anton was especially drawn to the button macros, which he used for glitchy fills and momentary variations. They gave him a way to make quick changes while moving between the set’s different sections.

The sequence of those sections was carefully planned. Anton spent time choosing samples and shaping the performance’s overall dynamic. At its centre is a sustained choir loop, made by sampling Kringsatt Av Fiender, a poem by Nordahl Grieg set to music by Otto Mortensen, through his tape-loop system.

He wanted the passage to feel heavy and historical, creating a contrast with the more modern-sounding sections around it. With the structure in place, the S4’s processing and macros gave him room to improvise within the composition.

Making room for the unexpected

For Anton, the set continues an approach he has explored in earlier work: building systems that bring different contexts together and leave room for happy accidents.

Juggling samples and processing systems gave him energy and momentum as he worked. “Working like that, it feels like the music can assemble itself almost, with my personal taste guiding the creation.”

In this performance, that balance is audible in the relationship between the planned structure and the sounds that emerge as Anton shapes them live.

About Anton

Anton Friisgaard is an electronic musician and composer whose work brings acoustic and electronic sound worlds together. His practice spans classical collaborations, tape-loop experiments and Teratai Åkande, a six-year project created with Balinese gamelan musicians.

Anton also recently released EMS Synthi 100: Building Blocks, a sound pack recorded on Iannis Xenakis’ original EMS Synthi 100 at the Athens Conservatoire. The collection offers highly malleable building blocks drawn from one of the world’s rarest synthesizers.

Read more about Anton here.