Technology allows creating an astonishingly realistic digital orchestra. So why did an electronic music creator need dozens of live musicians?
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“In digital, you can make everything insanely perfect, but the essential difference comes from the human touch. That’s what makes the orchestra interesting – it’s a large unity of people. Everyone has their part, their task, but all work as one body,” says Maximilian Oprishka, who introduces himself as FUME.
The recordings of “Matter” were conducted by composer and conductor Gediminas Gelgotas. The recordings took place in the LRT radio studio with sound director Justinas Chachlauskas (“Freakin Studio”), and musicians invited from the most prestigious Lithuanian orchestras played in the symphony orchestra specially assembled for this project.
Dissolving the orchestra into electronics
The combination of electronic music and symphony orchestra is not new. But the first time hearing the working version of “Matter” created by FUME, G. Gelgotas was surprised by how organically the boundary between two seemingly different worlds disappears here.
“There are many examples of electronic music and symphony orchestra, various applications and variants. But this piece stands out because everything is very woven into one sound. For the first time, I experienced something where the orchestra is not an accompaniment to electronics and not vice versa – their roles and the sound itself are equal. I think it’s very difficult to achieve, but here it succeeded,” says G. Gelgotas.
In the digital space, sound can be controlled down to the smallest details. Live performance introduces variables into this system that cannot be fully predicted. “The essential difference is warmth, emotion, liveliness, and sometimes even some imperfection. It is precisely this that gives that feeling, that shiver at the concert,” says G. Gelgotas, who will also conduct the premiere of “Matter.”
System, rules, and limited resources
Work on “Matter” lasted several years. FUME himself says that this piece demanded not only time but also patience from him. “Maybe this is unhurried music for hurried times,” the creator reflects.
The creation of “Matter” itself went quite smoothly. A more complicated stage began later – the orchestra parts created in the digital space had to be transferred into a system with specific performance and notation rules.
“You can invent many things, but you need to make them feasible. You have a finite number of people, a finite number of performers, and, ultimately, a finite amount of time. So, in a way, it becomes an optimization challenge,” says FUME.
Seven pieces about what we are made of
At the core of the idea of “Matter” is matter from which life arises. Seven pieces are inspired by chemical elements – oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. But biology here is not just a theme – it becomes a way to explore human nature, its complexity, fragility, and evolution.
On November 28, “Matter” will be performed live for the first time. FUME and the symphony orchestra – nearly 60 performers in total – will appear on the stage of the LVSO concert hall. “bymodern,” producing the album recordings and organizing the premiere concert, is preparing scenographic solutions specially created for “Matter” for this evening, which they do not yet reveal.
“We aim for infinity through the limited time given to us – today providing composers and performers space to create, and listeners the opportunity to experience this creation. ‘Matter’ is one of the projects where this aspiration takes a real form,” says “bymodern.”
After the premiere, “Matter” will be published on digital music platforms, and a limited edition vinyl release is also planned.
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