Other Audio Obscura
Midi Sans Frontières

This track is an open collaboration with Squarepusher (www.squarepusher.net) as a response to the escalation of xenophobia and numerous attacks on ethnic groups in the UK since the vote to leave the EU.

When I heard Squarepusher had created this open collaboration and reading the idea behind it I knew it was something I should do with all my heart and soul. I am British but I have always felt European and my partner is from a mixed-race background, her father came here to the UK with nothing but a visa and a backpack and created a succesful business, contributing so much to British society. I lived in London 15 years and friends from around the world, I have been appalled and saddened to hear of the attacks and racism the atmosphere of the referendum has created.

My process behind this track was to take the stems offered by Squarepusher and loaded them into Ableton, I played around with them for long time over a few sessions till I got nice little overlaps between different pieces, I was just exploring the sounds really and getting to know them. I settled on only a few loops from only a few of the stems and discarded the rest. I built the track up just by improving with these few loops, adding effects and twiddling the nobs. I added a cello sound and also extracted Midi notes from some of the existing melodies and played these back with Sine waves which I was manipulating. I added a layer or two of sparse percussion but decided to keep the track from growing into a beat-thing but rather keep it subdued. I tried to keep it short but it still lasted over 8 minutes. Peace from Norfolk.

Tom Jenkinson (Squarepusher) stated the following on his website;

"The referendum on the UK's membership of the EU has had appalling consequences. It has amplified many divisions in society and in particular has helped to re-establish xenophobia as legitimate and acceptable. Witnessing this against the global backdrop of a resurgence of the far-right, it's essential that those who find these developments unacceptable make their thoughts known and take action.

This piece of music was written in the aftermath of the referendum and I present it as the basis of an internationalist collaboration with sound makers irrespective of what kind of music they make, where they live, their background, their age - all are invited to participate. It is not offered as a substitute for progressive political action but as a complement to it. I put it forward in defiance of the bigotry threatening the fragile connections that exist between us all. I hope it will be an opportunity to reaffirm some of those connections amidst a very disturbing situation.

I have provided a finished mixdown of the piece and audio stems of the constituent instrumental parts. Also available are scores and a MIDI file representing the note to note information. Take the parts and use them however you like. It could be subtly remixed or reworked beyond recognition. Change the instrumentation, the key, the order of notes, the notes themselves - it is absolutely open. The only stipulation is this: if you want your piece to be listed on this site then it must have the title "Midi Sans Frontières". You are welcome not to use that title for whatever you do but that means we can't host your piece." Tom Jenkinson, 1st July 2016