Samir Odeh-Tamimi: Εντροπία Endropía

The starting point for my work Εντροπία Endropía is the concept of entropy: in physics and information theory, it describes the degree of disorder, densification and irreversibility in a system. Entropy does not mean chaos in the sense of randomness, but rather the tendency of systems to densify, interconnect and thereby gain complexity. Applied to music, entropy is understood here as a process: an increasing densification of material, time, sound, movement and image.

 

The work consists of six parts (A–F), which are distributed across four clearly defined positions on the stage. These positions are arranged at equal intervals behind one another, forming a visual line of condensation. With each new position, the number of instruments, the variety of materials and the tonal complexity increase. The materials used–wood, metal, stone, skin–are not only sources of sound, but also structural carriers of the composition.

 

Part A begins at the first position. A wooden box and an iron box are played while seated with wooden and iron mallets. Individual strikes, swiping movements and friction unfold between gentle and violent impulses. The events are initially isolated, but become more concentrated at certain points over time. Sound arises from resistance, materiality and physical contact.

 

Part B remains in the same position. Two large stones are rubbed together with the hands, moved in circular motions, struck against each other and transferred to the boxes. Friction becomes rhythm, mass becomes sound. This is where live electronics come into play for the first time: transpositions and delays expand the acoustic gestures and create complex tonal overlays that transcend what is physically produced.

 

Part C shifts to the second position. A solid wooden board is played standing up with wooden hammers. Individual strokes gradually develop into a dense structure. The left hand establishes a fast, regular pulse, while the right hand sets striking accents that shift against each other. This rhythmic tension seems demanding and decisive until the structure slowly dissolves and almost disappears. This part forms a first formal climax–and at the same time a moment of control and clarity within the overall process.

 

Part D leads to the third position on a raised platform. Thunder sheet, tam-tam, China cymbal, antique cymbal, bongos, tom-toms and bass drum are played with thick wooden mallets. Skin and metal appear side by side on equal terms. The sound space expands, the energy increases. Here, the material begins to multiply significantly: tonally, spatially and musically, the work becomes denser and more complex.

 

Part E returns to the second position and refers back to Part C. Similar rhythmic structures reappear, but shifted and recontextualised. This is not a repetition, but a recollection. Formal progress is briefly slowed down, the progression reflects on itself before accelerating again. This recourse creates a deliberate imbalance and sharpens the perception for the following section.

 

Part F, the longest and most complex part, takes place in the fourth position, on a platform that is even higher than the previous one. The range of instruments is expanded to the maximum: thunder sheet, tam-tam, China cymbal, iron spiral, metal bucket, metal barrel, wooden box, bongos, conga, tom-toms and bass drum. Behind the player are three large screens arranged in a quarter circle. A camera records the performance live; the image is delayed and projected onto the screens at different speeds. The same person appears on each screen in a different state of time.

 

Musically, this is where the entropy process culminates. Several delays, samples and electronic layers run simultaneously. The samples consist of heterogeneous sound material: sheep bells, metal and wood sounds, stones, bee sounds and human voices in many different languages. These layers overlap and create a high degree of linguistic and tonal complexity.

 

This also gives the work a political dimension. The condensation of voices and languages refers to current social realities: migration, multilingualism, digital networking and the accelerated development of global communication systems. Entropy appears here not only as a physical principle, but as a description of our time–a world in which everything overlaps, condenses and can no longer be clearly disentangled.

 

The duration of the individual parts does not follow a rigid mathematical pattern, but the formal idea is clear: with the exception of Part C, the sections become progressively longer as the work progresses. This temporal expansion reinforces the perception of densification, so that the last part can be experienced as the maximum state of complexity, superimposition and irreversibility.

 

»Endropía« is thus a composition about material, time and perception–about processes that condense, shift and ultimately cannot be reversed.

(Samir Odeh-Tamimi)