Antiphon Trio is made up of Michael Century (accordion), Chris Fisher-Lochhead (viola), and  Zach Layton (17-string electric bass guitar). This unique instrumentation creates rich, resonant acoustic  inputs, which are then fed into Pauline Oliveros’s Expanded Instrument System (EIS). The EIS can be considered as an "ecstatic time  machine," a system designed to expand temporal perception where, in Oliveros’s terms, "present/past/future is occurring simultaneously with transformations". This temporal layering is  achieved through multiple delays and processing algorithms, resulting in an evolving, emergent spatio-temporal field, or timescape, that induces discoveries and disciplined practices of deep listening and response. 

The concept of "Antiphon" – meaning "sounding in response" and deriving from roots of  "concord" or "concordance" perfectly encapsulates the trio’s interaction, not only among  ourselves but crucially with the EIS. It is a continuous call-and-response with the deep-seated  echoes and future projections of our own sounds. The EIS, with its capacity for up to 40 discrete  voices from its delay lines and ambisonic panners that sculpt "spatial progressions," creates clouds of sound that envelop the listener.  

The music below—tentatively titled Revenant Sound—was recorded in May 2024 and features four trios, three solos, and one duet,  currently awaiting mixing and mastering. The accordion’s rich overtones are stretched and  multiplied, interacting with the resonant viola and the deep, often sub-harmonic pulses of the 17- string bass. The soundscapes are deeply immersive, inviting the listener into a state of heightened  attentional awareness, a core tenet of Oliveros’s Deep Listening practice. The "ecstatic" nature of the music pushes artistic boundaries and offers transformative listening experiences. This album is not just a  collection of pieces; it is an expedition into the depths of human-machine co-creation, offering a  rapturous and profoundly engaging sonic experience. 

The Expanded Instrument System is used by special permission of the Pauline Oliveros Trust  and Ministry of Maåt. 

Revenant Sound - highlight reel

Revenant Sound - Full Audio (rough edits)

Live performance video at the International Conference of Auditory Display

Michael Century, pianist, accordionist, and cultural theorist, is Professor of New Media and Music in the Arts Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Musically at home in classical, contemporary, and improvisational settings, Century has a passion for experimentation, often interweaving his music with visual images and creating software applications for live performance and interactive installations. Recent performances include the Barcelona Center for Contemporary Culture, Stanford University’s CCRMA, Harvestworks Art and Technology Center, and The Music Gallery (Toronto). Artist website: www.nextcentury.ca

Vermont-based composer/improviser Chris Fisher-Lochhead has has blazed an idiosyncratic path through the landscape of contemporary music. Working acros a broad range of styles and media, he has developed a creative practice which seeks to cultivate open, adventuresome, and playful spaces for musical and social experimentation. He has created notated compositions in close partnership with some of the world’s most celebrated performers of new music (including the JACK Quartet, Ensemble Dal Niente, Third Coast Percussion, and Quince Ensemble), toured and recorded as an improviser, and participated in cutting-edge interdisciplinary research collaborations. He is a founding member of the Grant Wallace Band, a recipient of commissions from the Fromm Foundation and Barlow Endowment, and a faculty member at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Artist website: www.cflmusic.com

Zach Layton is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, curator, and educator working collaboratively across genres and disciplines. He is a practitioner of a rare and unusual instrument, the 17-string bass. He has performed at the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, PS1, and many other venues in New York and internationally. A recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts music/sound award, and a MacDowell Fellowship, Zach is currently Associate Professor of music production at Ramapo College of New Jersey. He earned his PhD in Electronic Arts from RPI in 2017. Artist website: http://www.zachlaytonindustries.com/