Gemma Peacocke - "The threshold we cross with closed eyes"
Gemma Peacocke - The threshold we cross with closed eyes
… ideally shows off Third Coast's increasingly more common branding of a rock n' roll classical percussion quartet.
Another pandemic piece, Gemma Peacocke's The threshold we cross with closed eyes was recorded by Third Coast Percussion in 2021 and officially uploaded last week. A thirty minute work for percussion quartet and electronics, threshold is a large scale example of what Peacock calls 'avant-pop', combining popular harmonic progressions and drumset grooves with Library of Congress archival recordings and unconventional percussion instruments. In fact, threshold opens with all players using waldteufel, a small friction drum also nicknamed 'forest devil', which returns at pivotal transition points in the piece. The archival recordings are sampled and included in the electronics part, where Peacocke curates tales of arrival from early American families.
Peacocke's popular musical language combines well with the active electronic backing track. The threshold we cross with closed eyes ideally shows off Third Coast's increasingly more common branding of a rock n' roll classical percussion quartet.
Threshold is beautifully crafted and is further supported by Third Coast's video and post production budget. Peacocke's electronic part is very involved, including sampling text, sound effects, and rock electric bass parts to make David Skidmore's drumset playing sound even more like a full band. Surprisingly, Skidmore is designated to the drumset for a majority of the piece, which while helpful in supporting the strong groove and visually turning the group into a mock rock band, it becomes tiresome and comes off as one of Peacocke's compositional crutches. If the drumset and electronics part were removed, very minimal music making would be occurring. While not necessarily a bad thing, Threshold is much more a work for electronics and percussion quartet, not vice versa. Fortunately Peacocke has a solid mastery of the electronic idiom, or else Threshold would most likely fall flat.
The video, done by Nick Zoulek, is quite superb. It focuses on the performers without needless distraction or jerky transitions. In fact it adds much to the overall experience. The text Peacocke samples is better understood and more impactful due to Xuan's text art merged with the performance video. Peacock's avant-pop music is pretty and easy listening, but needs the visual stimulation, as it is thirty minutes of a melody-less pop song.
watch Third Coast Percussion's video release here
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