​(​2004)

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Forces: 16 voices, doll percussion



Duration: 2'16"

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Originally entitled mama-papa-nana due to its constituent parts, the piece came about after watching an episode of the Fast-Show in which the posh alcoholic bloke starts imitating a mechanical doll.

The piece originated as an improvised recording which I then scored.

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The score is made up of three parts:

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Mama - A family photo-album featuring a doll with performance directions etched on her forehead, indicating the tempo and pitch of the repeated "mama"s. 

Papa - A cine-cam film of a man banging a nail into a piece of wood indicating when to strike a doll on a hard surface, whilst a child bounces a ball in a playground, indicating when to vocalise a "pa".

Nana - Written directions on how to generate pitches with which to sing "na", generated from a game of Paper-Scissors-Stone.

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I once sent the piece to the NSPCC for their advertising campaign, but they said they didn't want to frighten off donators.

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The piece is featured on the album The Best of "Futility Music" - Volume 1 (left)​, alongside Three Boxes and a Cube.