Puzzle Creature is a new multi-disciplinary contemporary dance performance inspired by the death-eluding architecture designs of cult artists Arakawa and Madeline Gins. Created by trailblazing dance company Neon Dance, famed for working previously with stars such as Nils Frahm, Fxck Buttons and Ólafur Arnalds. The Puzzle Creature score has been created by composer and producer Sebastian Reynolds, and to celebrate the forthcoming world premiere and subsequent debut UK tour for the work, Sebastian is presenting a track from the score for radio play and online streaming entitled Drum Pyramid (stereo mix). The track features guest percussionist Greig Stuart, formerly of the legendary band Guillemots.
Having previously collaborated with Neon Dance on the Thai themed Mahajanaka Dance Drama, Sebastian’s approach to the score for Puzzle Creature has been greatly informed by the research process around the work of the artists and architects Arakawa and Madeline Gins. Sebastian stayed in their Reversible Destiny Lofts in Mitaka, Tokyo, and, during his residency there, he composed the basis for three original works that would go on to form elements of the sound score for Puzzle Creature.
The show features a sculptural, immersive set design that both the audience and performers co-habit, breaking down traditional notions of watchers and the watched. As part of this immersive experience and taking inspiration from the great composer and architect Iannis Xenakis, Sebastian has created his score for a custom designed surround sound configuration of 8 speakers, the numerology of which has directly informed elements of the composition. With this track, Drum Pyramid, the count of each percussion line mirrors the speaker channel number from which it is played, and the low sounds play initially from the low set of speakers, and the high sounds from the high, this then reverses to dramatic effect, in a subversion of perspective that echoes architectural practices of Arakawa and Gins most powerfully displayed in their Site of Reversible Destiny Park in Japan. The stereo mix version is a specially adapted form of Drum Pyramid produced by Sebastian, it was mastered by acclaimed engineer Lupo at Calyx, Berlin.
Aside from Puzzle Creature, Sebastian released the Mahajanaka EP earlier in 2018, and his collaborative album Solo Collective Part One with famed German chamber musicians cellist Anne Müller and violinist Alex Stolze was released in December 2017 via Alex’s Nonostar Records.
Puzzle Creature UK Tour – October/November 2018
5th/6th Oct – Tramway, Glasgow
10th – Cornerstone, Didcot
12th/13th – The Place, London
17th/18th – DanceXchange, Birmingham
16th Nov – Swindon Dance, Wiltshire