Accretion
About the work
Accretion expresses, through music, visuals and performance, the process by which matter scattered through space gathers and collides to form a planet. Beginning with accretion—the gradual accumulation of matter—the work brings to the stage a period in which disordered particles come together and take on a new form.
Musical structure
Scattered notes in the introduction evoke the unstable state of the earliest particles. As layers of sound accumulate, the music moves into a section depicting a protoplanetary disk, with rising chord progressions and strings building tension. When the planet takes shape, the music shifts to quiet ambient sounds, revealing a planet born from a long process of transformation.
Technology & performance
TouchDesigner particles are mapped to wrist coordinates, the opening and closing of a fist, and pinching gestures. The wrist controls particle movement and density, the fist creates unstable changes in form, and pinching controls the glow. Through piano performance and hand tracking, the performers' movements interact with the visuals, joining music and imagery in a single flow.
Music & technology
Full submitted program note · English translation
Accretion
Team: ACCRETER
Overview
Accretion is a work that expresses, through music, visuals and performance, the process by which matter scattered through space gathers and collides to form a planet. Accretion refers to a phenomenon in which matter gradually accumulates and grows through gravity or other natural processes. In this work, the term is used in its astrophysical sense to depict the birth of a planet.
Using TouchDesigner, we visualize the process by which particles that were scattered in disorder gradually come together, aggregate and form a planet. The texture and energy of the music change in step with this process. Piano performance and hand tracking are used as performative elements, allowing the performers' movements to interact with the visuals. Music and imagery are thus connected as a single movement, rather than functioning as independent elements.
Music
The introduction uses scattered notes to evoke the unstable particles present as a planet begins to form. The sound gradually accumulates, entering a section that depicts the protoplanetary disk—the most visually spectacular stage of planetary formation. Rising chord progressions and string lines expressing mounting tension lead into the climax. In contrast, once the planet is complete, quiet ambient sounds reveal the planet that has taken shape after a long period of time and movement.
Visuals
Scene 1: Particles follow the coordinates of the wrist, representing cosmic gas and dust.
Scene 2: The particles change shape in an unstable manner as the fist opens and closes, while pinching is mapped to the glow. These interactions depict gas and dust being drawn together by gravity, gradually contracting and aggregating.
Scene 3: Wrist coordinates control particle density. Matter that has contracted under gravity rotates and forms a protoplanetary disk.
Scene 4: Dust and rocky material within the disk collide and aggregate, growing into a planet.
The work begins in a state of disorder, gradually accumulates energy, and moves toward the moment when a planet is finally born. Through music and movement, it invites an experience of the vast processes of change taking place in the universe.
Performance video
A video of this performance will be available after the event.