**1982 ALBEDO I, magnetic tape (UPIC, Paris) – CD held at NEAR

ALBEDO I (1982) was produced on the UPIC at the Centre d’Études de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales (Cémamu) at the CNET in Paris. The UPIC was a computer designed by Iannis Xenakis. It was taken to festivals and musical events around the world to engage a wide audience in musical composition. Various composers, including Xenakis himself, used this instrument to produce their own compositions. I was invited to Paris after I had been part of the team responsible for the demonstrations of the UPIC at the new music festival in Middelburg, where Xenakis featured on an almost yearly basis.

It was the first and last electronic work I completed, finding electronic studios tedious and being unable to acquire my own equipment due to financial limitations – even when it became more and more accessible and user-friendly. The pressure of time was another frustrating aspect of the business, often having to work on night shifts. And although I felt reasonably comfortable with the graphic representation aspect of the UPIC, my situation rendered me unable to find the inspiration needed to fully do the medium justice. I was able to enhance the sound quality of Albedo a couple of years later in the BBC studios, but unable to improve much in the detail. A CD of Albedo is available from Near.