Wreckage presents a collaborative work jointly composed by Oren Ambarchi and James Rushford (originally commissioned for the Ultima Contemporary Music Festival at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter and premiered by Ensemble Neon) for their own instruments (piano and electric guitar) and a small chamber ensemble, performed here by an ensemble of leading lights in Melbourne's experimental and new music communities.
Cycling through a set of asymmetrical harmonic and rhythmic patterns, the composition is a study in displacement. The material, though repetitive, shifts itself in unpredictable ways to create an amorphous, and extremely delicate, sonic world. Wreckage draws upon both avant-garde and avant pop sensibilities, influenced by a variety of artists including Morton Feldman, Luciano Cilio and Luigi Nono. This is a reflection of both composers engagement with rock, experimental, and improvised musics.