Occasionally, truly good things deteriorate into an irredeemably and inconsolably appalling mess, through no fault of our own. This is human entropy in action.

7.45 am: A communion. 8.30 am: Studiology. Back to ‘Wisdom is Better …’, and the construction of an afterimage (an echo) of the initial ‘crack’. The echo was sampled from the tail-end of the ‘crack’ and, then, hyper-stretched in order to create a bridge (a reverberant pause) between the detonation and subsequent evolution of the explosion. This opening section is a representation (a reconstruction) of a sound, as were the trumpets in ‘Image and Inscription’. But it’s, simultaneously, an abstract noise. I’m back in the territory of that composition, but without a guiding text and narrative structure. My major work (setting aside exploratory sound pieces) is interpretative. An objective source (a ‘figurative’ referent) has been a requirement – something to work with and against.

After lunch, I, rather aimlessly, manufactured sound elements that might be included in the composition. Until a structural map is developed, I’ll be thrashing around in the water like this for a good while yet. I must wait for the penny to drop. Only the mood of the piece is certain at the moment. I winnowed my file folders, developed the final samples, and disposed of the residue. This was not a productive day. From the outset, I suspected as much.

7.30 pm: In search of structure. There were five nuclear tests held during July 1964, under the auspices of the USA, UK, and Russia. They represent a set and division (unity, commonality, separation, and distinction). That was enough to begin – to segregate the whole: