Laufwerk (Originalfassung) (2011)
(for ensemble and samples)

A drive (running gear, drive, turntable) is a computer device for accessing a storage medium for digital data. A running gear is also the part of the movement of a mechanical watch that connects the drive to the oscillating system.

Almost all of the playbacks are sounds generated by the instruments. I imagined loops of recordings that wind their way in and out of the ensemble. Each sound is its own drive and keeps its own tempo. This creates a three-dimensional structure. The various mechanisms together form a functioning organism; an ensemble. The piece was commissioned by Ensemble Cikada and is dedicated to them. I am always fascinated by how an ensemble works together with a high degree of personal responsibility and competence on the part of all the people involved. "Laufwerk" can be seen as a tribute to this organism.