Sounds are inherently loaded with drama and poetry. Every single sound contains its own logic, history, trajectory and beauty. 'Bounce, Crash. Shake Scratch' is a two movement piece for String Quartet and Electronics. It is what I consider to be my first in-depth exploration of what it means to fuse electronic and acoustic sounds together.

As a composer primarily working in the field of Electronic Music I have always been obsessed by the infinite potential of electro-acoustic music, not only because of the limitless sonic opportunities it presents, but also the possibility of crossing boundaries, musical spaces and genres within music. Despite this, as a composer I have often felt a disconnect between both electronic and classical practices, both in the sonic results and also in the practice of composition itself. 'Bounce, Crash. Shake, Scratch.' is my first truly electro-acoustic piece where I believe that this disconnect has been properly addressed.

As an electronic ‘sound artist’/producer’ I am often dawn to creating sonic landscapes where simple structures are populated with complex sounds. These sounds often include indeterminate rhythms and micro-tonal inflections of pitch that can be more complex and chaotic than the structure may lead you to expect. This micro-complexity, which is generated via quasi-random electronic algorithms interests me as a composer and a listener. Working with String Quartet, I was interested in finding a way to transfer this electronic micro-complexity on an acoustic instrument. I chanced upon the idea of using a handheld ‘lipstick fan’ as a rhythmic contact point for the violin strings, I attached a piece of string to the end of the fan, which quickly hits the string of an instrument in an semi- controllable, yet wholly indeterminately rhythmic fashion. This textural sound became what I call the ‘bounce’ sound.