Kontos Costis
1. Kontos Costis - KYMA
2. Kontos Costis - Between Places
3. Kontos Costis - Pressures
4. Kontos Costis - Turbulence
KYMA (2004-2005)
The definition of the word kyma in Greek is wave, tide, current, etc. The piece’s obvious association with this title is based on the constant exploration of the water theme throughout its duration. While one could easily provide a literal conceptual description of the piece which is that of the cycle of water (beginning with rain and ending with the sea), in between these points there is a symbolism that endeavours to emerge. The attempt to achieve this lies in the obscure structure of the piece (sectional and changing) and the connotations that the sounds carry eventually trying to express (symbolize) the natural changes (cycle of water) and finally passing on to human emotion! The inspiration for this piece is based on the notion of cyclothymia in a lyrical (metaphorical) - and not in a scientific - way.
cy•clo•thy•mi•a n. Psychiatry. A mild affective disorder characterized by alternating periods of elation and depression. --cy”clo•thy“mic.
However, in the Greek language it is often used in a casual manner in order to describe the ‘ups and downs’ in our everyday life
Between Places (2005)
Although with all honesty i have to state that the realization of this piece was driven almost entirely subconsciously, i.e. not as a complete pre-conception, when viewing it at a later point, very concrete ideas came to the surface: perceptual/cultural 'marks' already in the mind; Memories and familiar images. This happened due to the fact that in my imagination, the piece works on a very subconscious level as a surreal 'sonic portrait' of my life in Cambridge. The distantbells, the choirin huge sonic depth, the birds, the river, all come together as a celebration of my mystical and imaginary idea of a Cambridge soundscape. However, my previous reference to the 'marks' is of great importance, since what the title was to suggest is that although my inspirational tool was this city, the fondness for the choir sound or the bell sound, etc. have been deeply embedded in my mind for a long time now. 'Between places' was embedded in my memory long before its reali! zation.
Turbulence (2006)
'Turbulence is based on an imaginative idea of being in an airplane journey. The piece is very abstract on the way it has been formed which takes it away from being an exact representation of this idea. However, there is an attempt of imitating certain actions along with emotions in terms of the overall context. '
Pressures (2006)
Pressures is a piece based on the manipulation of very brief samples that were selected from recording the sound made by cracking pieces of wood. The conceptual framework of this piece consists in extending these small segments into a whole composition. As a visual trope, it is as if one were looking through a magnifying glass and capturing the textural detail! The technical principle in making this piece was based on the consistent transformation and extension of these small segments into larger ones, thus revealing expanded structures within them along with their extra-musical qualities.