Stephen Page and I had bumped into each other numerous times in the past and each time we would say to each other ‘We have to do something together one day’. Today is that day. Being invited into the team to collaborate and co-write the music for Blak with David Page has been an incredible journey for me as an artist. I had never written for a contemporary dance company before, so I jumped at the chance.

David has been my guide on this journey. We bounced ideas and references around until we hit the right spot. He provided me with audio he had recorded of the dancers and other singers, spoken word, music and instruments that I then put through my computer and synthesizers to turn into some future vision of an ancient past.

As David had seen the creative process of a show coming together before, he guided me on how a piece develops and what it needs to get there – how the overall story arc of the work needs to evolve. I would finish a draft of music, fly down to the wharf on my motorbike and watch how it played out in rehearsals, then zoom home to make alterations after seeing it take shape in the space and how the dancers responded.

BEING ABLE TO EXPERIMENT WITH SONICS, RHYTHMS, AND ARRANGEMENTS OUT OF THE STRAIGHTJACKET OF POP MUSIC HAS BEEN COMPLETELY LIBERATING.

I have had such an incredible experience working in this form with this crew. Watching the dancers bring it to life through Stephen Page’s and Daniel Riley McKinley’s choreography has taught me so much about dance, but most of all, being so warmly welcomed into the Bangarra family has been a beautiful thing. Enjoy!

Paul Mac
Composer