When Sam Wells and I first discussed me writing a piece for him I assumed it would be a standard score for solo trumpet and electronics. As I got more into my own performance practice (on the lap steel feedback banjo), the plans quickly shifted. The final result  is neither for solo trumpet nor following a score. Instead we get to jam! Which has just been incredibly fun. There is a plan, sketched in outline form. The process of creating that plan was very much a collaborative effort though.

The lap steel feedback banjo consists of a standard 5-string banjo sitting on a table. I use two sound exciters, one resting on the resonator head and one for use on the strings over the fretboard. That second one has a metal slide strapped to it - so the exciter vibrates the slide, and the slide vibrates the strings. I can send a signal from the banjo pickup to either of these to create a feedback loop, or inject sound from a Max patch on my computer. It’s a rather chaotic system, but learning to control it has been a blast. And playing with Sam, that was amazing!