My main drive behind this piece was to explore the range of sounds available when writing for the given set of instruments, using the imagery of a tsunami as the conceptual starting place. This concept largely defined the structure as a crescendo-study of sorts, beginning with the quiet, serene atmosphere set by the bowed vibraphone, growing and building in complexity, before moving to a more driven and rhythmic character, which eventually collapses at the point of climax.

The tone of the piece is uneasy right from the beginning, with the contrast between the perfect fourth interval and the tritone in the vibraphone. The tritone and major ninth interval feature prominently throughout, emphasising this sense of unease, which is contributed to by the constantly shifting metre. The tuned percussion instruments are often interrupted by the more ‘percussive’ instruments in the form of stabs, but this role is reversed later on in the piece where the rhythmic character established by the tom-toms and bongos is interspersed by more melodic and harmonic material in the vibraphone and glockenspiel.

The piece ends with an element of performer-improvisation, where each player is left to their own devices when it comes to tempo and dynamics; the result should be a gradual descent from a tightly performed rhythmic unit into a chaotic mess.