Threshold – Ed Carter and Jessica Lee. Image Ed Carter / Oliver BarrettThreshold - Ed Carter and Jessica Lee. Image Ed Carter / Oliver Barrett

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THRESHOLD

Threshold is a collaboration with clarinetist Jessica Lee, which reflects on how lockdown has affected both our perception of time, and the manner in which we experience architectural thresholds.

Set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and the physical effects of the virus, the piece references the subjectivity of memory, and highlights issues relating to thresholds and boundaries by focusing on liminal space between inside and outside, private and public, close and distant.

The project embraces social distancing as a central part of the process, using binaural microphones to capture a personal perspective from the footpath outside Jessica Lee’s home, as the sound of her clarinet drifts out through open windows and doors.

The final piece combines these layered performances with the sound of a hand-made Aeolian harp as it responds to the movement of air across a threshold, alongside the incidental suburban sounds that accompanied each of the recordings.

With thanks to Oliver Barrett (artwork design) and Fielding Hope.

Threshold is available via Cafe Oto’s Takuroku label:
https://cafeoto.co.uk/shop/ed-carter-jessica-lee-threshold/