Second Circle - Projects

In the earlier works for Second Circle I occupied the driving seat with much of the arranging and production work done alone and a mixture of detailed or not so detailed instructions given to collaborators to work with. I have hoped for the next stage of the ensembles development to move towards a more collaborative arrangement with the musicians, allowing them the space to explore their creativity and contribute musical ideas in the generation of new pieces rather than receive and interpret instruction. However, challenges arise in all areas of life, not least in artistic endeavour. Recent and very understandable individual circumstances for the musicians involved in the Second Circle project mean a plan for regular rehearsal and repertoire development in the pursuit of a full set or album of new musical material has become unfeasible.

A number of considerable obstacles have arisen in the collaborative process:

1. The availability of individual musicians decreased;
2. Ability to find mutually appropriate dates to work drastically reduced due to the previous obstacle;
3. The amount of time/energy available for collaborator's individual practice and preparation outside of any rehearsal reduced
4. Financial and time costs of transport to and from rehearsal time

Reasons for these changes are: paid employment commitments, cost of living and expenses increases leading to prioritising paid opportunities; and the reduction of individual availability compounded with matching availabilities for rehearsal dates. These are all valid and understandable reasons in todays socio-economic landscape, so in order to progress with Second Circle a new approach is required.

Before that, there are three other potential solutions which for various reasons I will not be pursuing.

Alternative Collaborators

One obvious solution would be to recruit alternative collaborators. While this is an option I am considering, I prefer to as much as possible maintain cohesion in the core of the ensemble. Any other collaborators will be extensions of the core members. This is due to three main reasons: 1) because the musicians have already kindly and selflessly contributed to many hours of personal time, will, and energy to Second Circle and they wish to continue; 2) As a group of musicians we are still developing the idiosyncratic sound of the ensemble and there is still much to explore within the core group; 3) There already exists a healthy level of musical rapport between the collaborators which provides a comfortable base for additional musicians to easily slip into, and works well as a small functioning unit.

Remote Collaboration

The online collaborative model born out of pandemic lockdowns is still possible and may well be utilised for some additional works. But this still requires some investment of time and energy from collaborators. The additional commitment requires times learning the arrangement, or developing their role/part within the framework of the arrangement, plus practice and recording time. Even though they can individually work on this in their own time it is still a large commitment. This also was the main methodology for collaboration of the 'At Home' record and if indeed we are to pursue developing the ensemble and exploring new possibilities for our collaborations then this model isn't the best option.

The following model is the proposed solution to the problem.

The Solution - 'Projects'

The following is a methodology born out of necessity, a reaction to and between accepting the circumstances for individuals and, our collective desire to continue to collaborate and develop the Second Circle ensemble.

Firstly, a project brief is crafted with a particular conceptual framework and aims to explore in the session, the project is then named. After the initial brief is created a set of parameters and/or restrictions are stated to dictate the framework further and how the framework is to be individually and collectively implemented. The session is booked and collaborators are made aware of the conditions for the session before hand, and subject to the chosen parameters, allowed to pre-engage with creative ideas to bring if they so wish.

Parameters / Restrictions

These can include but are not limited to particular instructions for creative approaches such as harmonic/melodic/rhythmic/phrasing; instrumental roles and behaviours; physical and temporal limitations; the addition of non-musical elements or inter-disciplinary approaches such as utilising mathematics or spoken word meter to dictate rhythmic phrasing.

The session will be conducted and recorded, culminating in a final rendition of the work conducted to be drafted into a complete and finished article. Following this, a written critical reflection of the final output and process for reference, and potentially as a launch pad for subsequent project concepts or later developed into fully produced tracks.

The first project is titled "The All", as the foundation and testing of the new methodology and will incorporate only a few limitations and parameters in the hopes to mitigate any difficulties and pressure inherent in the first attempt of a new approach. Subsequent projects will explore differing and and potentially more complex conceptual frameworks.

Stay tuned for more when the first project is complete!

Posted In: Reflections on Practice

Tagged: Second Circle

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