The music for this album was originally created in interaction with visual artforms, such as dance, pictures, video, and sculpture. Except for some percussion, all of the sounds on this record come from my flutes and saxophone. The central instrument is the unique contrabass flute: the “gentle giant” of the flute family. It has a lyrical, melodic quality, and I also use it to play ambient sounds. By using the percussive possibilities of the instrument, I have produced all the rhythmic grooves heard in the music. With my artistic research at Gothenburg University’s Academy of Music and Drama, I have been looking at what you might call musical states: tonal spaces constructed by musical modes. In particular, I have focused on tone color in melody playing and the role of silence in musical expression. My work on states, sounds, and silences has informed all of the music you hear on this album.