Works » By Title » T » Train Train Tugboat Train (5:27 / 1994)

Train Train Tugboat Train is a montage of three sound-scape recordings, recorded in 1989. First is the arrival of a steam-powered passenger train at the North Vancouver station. Second, after the heightened screeching of the brakes, passes a commuter train departing from the Vendôme station in Montreal. The engine is pushing from the rear of the train and cross fades to a tugboat that passes upstream along the Fraser River at New Westminster. The ambience of the nearby Annacis Island docks cross fades back to a filtered version of the Montreal commuter train. This composition interplays rhythms, textures, and timbres.

Why train recordings? Rich timbres, interesting rhythms, train recordings have a long history in the world of electro-acoustic music. But basically, the composer just likes trains.