Maria W Horn Epistasis

Following the success of her 2018 solo debut album "Kontrapoetik," the Swedish composer Maria W Horn returns with "Epistasis," her most ambitious record to date. The title track, "Konvektion" and the two parts of "Interlocked Cycles" see the XKatedral co-founder explore radical approaches to composition that combine avantgarde methods with electronic means. While "Kontrapoetik" highlighted Horn's strength as a conceptual and political artist, "Epistasis" is to be understood as an advanced statement by a forward-thinking composer who throughout four pieces channels her influences, ranging from black metal to minimal music, through state-of-the-art technology. Originally composed as an audiovisual piece for synchronised multichannel sound and lights and premiered in 2018 at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, "Interlocked Cycles" is a series of pieces exploring a gradual increase in tempo and density using various instruments. It was written to be performed by a computer-controlled upright Disklavier piano while the electronic part was generated within the Supercollider framework using phase modulation synthesis. An exercise in minimalism that combines the subtle gravity of Phill Niblock's work with the visceral theatrality of Anna von Hausswolff's organ pieces.