2Ba4

2ba4, is a work for tuba and electronics written in a style I have dubbed “Brassplotation.” Imagine it as the soundtrack to an R. Crumb animation where a tuba does horrible, horrible things. There are explicit references to the sub-genre of music known as trip-hop, a style that flourished in the late 1990s. Trip-hop itself often makes references to the conspicuously vintage sounds of tremolo guitar (think spy movies) and lo-fi scratchy vinyl sounds. Thematically, the motives are based primarily on funk riffs derived from the blues scale. The first three notes of the C minor blues scale (C Eb F) also provided the architectural structure for the piece in that the work centers first around C, then Eb, then F before returning to C. Elements of the performer’s part are echoed by boomboxes placed behind the audience.
The work is suitable for all ages.