Dichotomous (2024) is a fixed media work featuring the sounds of 32 multi-tracked cellos, field recordings from the Tararua Range of Aotearoa New Zealand, and Foley art produced by tree branches, leaves, newspaper, and plastic wrap. A variety of DSP techniques have been subsequently applied to the non-cello samples.
‘Dichotomous’, is a botanical term that refers to a branching pattern that repeatedly bifurcates. True to its namesake, the work is a direct data sonification of a tracing taken from a portion of a dichotomous leaf photographed in the Tararuas. The music sonically documents the physical features of the tracing as meticulously as possible over a duration of almost 7 minutes. The intended result is equal parts ‘leaf music’ and human music.