Absence of Function

Silence. No confrontation with any external influences. Searching for musical meditation. Social media is supposed to pro­vide inspiration at the push of a button, but a neutral state of consciousness seems to be an important foundation. I take a step back and begin.
My first musical ideas emerge on the harmonium, a rather antiquated keyboard instrument. It has served as a decorative dust catcher in the studio for some time and, although I admire its idiosyncratic sound, it has never been used in my work, until now.
This is perhaps mainly due to the his­torical tuning: 435 Hz. Compared to today’s tuning of 440 Hz, it seems too low. However, it only takes a neat trick to get around this problem: playing the instrument slowly and playing back the recording faster. I like that. This intermediate step forces me to work slowly and with concentration.
Over a period of months, I create musical compositions that I publish as an album, together with a book: Absence of Function is music and photography. The photography is the bridge between the music and the source of inspiration: the harmonium. The harmonium as a thing, as a hand­ crafted object.
I begin to dismantle this hun­dred­-year­-old instrument and metic­ulously document it. How does it work? How is it con­structed? I disassemble it entirely and put it back together again, part by part. Completely. The circle of work is closed.
I have redistributed the hundred­-year-­old dust and created new sounds. I have held over 500 individual parts in my hands. Each of these parts has a function that serves to create a sound. But don’t ask yourself about the function, ask yourself what it triggers in you.
René Mosele, spring 2022