Uchronia – „non-time“; the time that never actually happened.

UCHRONIA opens a window onto possible musical worlds in times that never existed. Two compositional forms emerging from hypothetical historical divergences – Monkpunk and HyperRhythmicon – take root in St Stephen’s Cathedral for the duration of the performance, transforming it into a resonant vessel of decolonial speculation. The Gregorian choir and the giant organ form the sonic core of the work. Synthesiser and electronic organ sounds, techno-pulsing drum machines, Afro-Caribbean drumming culture and voices distorted by Auto-Tune coexist with the cathedral’s historical sound bodies. 

The audience moves through different listening perspectives – sometimes walking, sitting or lying down, shifting between a monumental overall soundscape and intimate moments in the side aisles and chapels. The result is a choreographed composition that invites the audience to engage and listen in a variety of ways.

Monkpunk describes a variation on Gregorian chant developed by Jorge Sánchez Chiong, in which the originally monastic chant is detached from its liturgical function. Through engagement with diverse cultural traditions, this practice is transformed into an open vocal form. The chant loses its connection to Latin texts. Syllables stretch out, merge with other sounds, and rhythmic structures dissolve, orienting themselves towards natural processes such as breath, biorhythms or cosmic cycles.

In HyperRhythmicon In the 19th century, time takes a new turn: European musical automata and sound machines that reached the Caribbean coast were adopted by Afro-Latin American cultures and further developed in line with their rhythmic practices.  The metronomic time of the metronome encounters polyrhythmic and cyclical models of time.