"All de twelve instruments are treated equally, each one contributes with 'it's own tone'. Together they create simple events, chord progressions that are repeated, varied, zoomed in on and treated in periods. 'Measured tremolo' is another possible title. The way of playing spreads a stroboscope like light over the sound."
Cut from the original program note. I was very proud of this commission. The Nieuw Ensemble were invited to Sweden och they wanted me to compose a new work for them. I had reserved lots of time to compose. But then I got another commission that was so fantastic that I felt I had to try to do them both (The Swedish Performing Rights 75th anniversary, Chosen). But after composing that piece the time was too short. After much doubts I delivered a short piece which didn't meet my demands on highest quality. And after that premiere I couldn't compose at all. However this artistic crisis led to a renewal in my music. Threads for brass quintet was the first work after the Lika-crisis.
Looking back on this 'sketch' I can see that the ideas behind Lika, the constant morphing of timbre, the almost minimalistic repetition and variantion of simple events, returned much later in my music, for instance in Timeline.
Lika (Equal) was commissioned by Rikskonserter (special thanks to Göran Bergendal) and premiered by the famous Nieuw Ensemble led by Ed Spanjaard during Stockholm New Music Festival 1999.
HS 2017