“Subtraction” is a program-length piece that is a result of researching alternative approaches to playing the clarinet. Here, the mechanical aspects of playing the instrument focus on seeing the clarinet as a tube without holes, a blank canvas, with the performer being one whole with the instrument. Starting out from a totally closed position, the player creates openings in the body of the tube (simply by lifting fingers) and changes the original drone. As a result, a unique microtonal scale and harmonic world are born. 

The order of the fingers being lifted is intended to be as instinctive and natural as possible, avoiding any awkward positions. With elimination of stress, the performer and the listener are gradually immersed in a trance. The electronic effects gain a life of their own and build a growing pulse. As the pulse finally materializes, the fingers begin moving faster, in a strangely frenetic but totally free dance of our subconscious. 

The track is one continuous 45-minute musical line, and it has not been conceived as a goal-oriented piece, but more as an environment, a universe to be explored. As this universe unfolds, we fall further and further into the abyss…