fRICshen by Jim Phelps
fRICshen, for Rickenbacker 370 12-string electric guitar and electronics
The title refers to three things: friction (the obvious), the guitar for which it is written (RIC is a common “short” for Rickenbacker) and an essence of spirit (my interpretation of the Chinese word “shen”). The friction presents itself in two ways: juxtaposition of dramatically different musical sensibilities; the friction between the quintessential sound/performance style one might expect representing this particular guitar (for those who know something about this instrument and its glorious history) but which is not invoked in this piece, and the non-quintessential sound and style that is actually presented.