21st Century Junkie is a snap-shot observation and response to the velocious consumerism at the turn of the millennium. Scored for six pianos and fixed audio, the work plays on the connotations of ‘junk’ in a hallucinogenic world of associative references.
Among the pianist’s analgesic and hypnotic interplay of hocketing lies a collage of references that are deliberately hackneyed and expeditious in delivery: the striking of a match (spun back and forth in a retro 80’s DJ technique known as ‘scratching’); the once familiar dial-up tone into the World Wide Web; the iconic Nokia ring tone; and samples of advertisements that reflect the need for instant gratification in modern life. These are interwoven amongst darker references that allude to the hedonistic nature of modern society: the slow inhalation and exhalation of a smoker; and sampled words associated with addictive recreational lifestyles.
Commissioned by Planet Tree Music Festival, 21st Century Junkie was first performed by Piano Circus at The Round Chapel, Hackney, London on the 19th November 2000 as part of the Planet Tree Music Festival.
Audio excerpt taken from love recording performed by Piano Circus at the RCM, 26-1-2006.
Artists - Piano Circus (pf)
© 2006 Piano Circus/Patrick Nunn
