Artist Statement

2 channel audio (2012)

Composed for accordion and electronics, Within and Without uses the rich expressive control and timbral palette of the accordion to “drive” a music
of rhythmic pulsation. The piece is in a popular idiom, and its title refers to the George Harrison song Within You and Without You, which provides
some of the melodic motifs. The electronic modules used are the filters and samplers that have been around since analogue days, and the central
instrumental technique used in the piece is the tremolando effect – shaking the accordion in fast rhythmic repetition – usually synced tightly with
the electronic pulsation.

• Michael Century (Canada), pianist, accordionist, and composer, is Professor of New Media and Music in the Arts Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which he joined in 2002. Century has enjoyed a varied career as university teacher, new media researcher, inter-arts producer, and arts policy maker including Banff Centre for the Arts (1980-83), McGill University (1998-2002), and the Canadian Heritage and Department of Industry  (1993-98). His works for live and electronically processed instruments have been performed and  broadcast in festivals internationally.

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