European American Music Distributors Company is a member of the Schott Music Group

Tansy Davies Composes Star-way for Zubin Kanga

Oct. 11, 2022

Star-way is the latest work from Tansy Davies, composed for the London and Sydney-based composer and pianist Zubin Kanga. The 10-minute work for solo synthesizer is written for the Prophet Rev2, an update to the original Prophet 08 analogue poly synth familiar from numerous pop and electro hits, whose notable exponents include Thom Yorke and Sufjan Stevens.

Star-way was commissioned by Zubin Kanga with the support of a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and Royal Holloway, University of London. Star-way is built on seven chords, and the Prophet Rev2’s presets. Rising, arpeggiated figures emerge from a rich, fruity bass line, making use of the complex interrelationship of timbre and dynamic that is integral to the instrument. These figures ascend and fall, creating what Davies calls a “path through the stars”; metallic, rhythmic textures emerge in the very highest register, as well as the sound of air, a kind of “cosmic interference”.

Star-way is dedicated to composer Mira Calix, who passed away in March 2022. Davies used her name as the basis of musical material for the work’s coda, which has “a more bombastic and club feel”, the composer says, hinting at the influences of Conlon Nancarrow and Daft Punk. Tansy Davies has previously made use of the synthesizer in neon for seven players (2004) and her 2007 piece for ensemble Falling Angel, inspired by the work of artist Anselm Kiefer. 


(Tansy Davies/neon/London Sinfonietta/David Porcelijn, conductor)

Star-way will be released through the Nonclassical label in early 2023.

Additionally, on November 5 the Orkest De Ereprijs and Konstantyn Napolov premiere Tansy Davies’s Stone Codes for percussion and ensemble at the November Music Festival. 

To learn more about Tansy Davies, visit: fabermusic.com.

Tansy Davies
Star-way
for solo synthesizer
10'

News