Equator Loops is based on a simple melodic idea that expands and contracts step-wise in a "mirror image" of itself around the note D in the very centre of the piano keyboard. Development is strictly organic – this single idea is used exclusively throughout the piece – and progresses in "waves" of fluctuating intensity. The composer's decision to limit himself to such minimal germinal material lends the piece a hypnotic, even obsessive, feeling; interest is focused on the development of a demisemiquaver rhythmic motive and gradual expansion of the music into wider registers.

From the Composer

The title of this piece refers to the use of contrary motion, which defines its thematic material. The "loops" gradually expand but always return to the "equator" (the central tone D). The title is a slight play on John Adams' Shaker Loops, which itself was also a play on words. The overall musical structure of modal alternation is based on the Te Deum of Arvo Pärt – the analysis of which work was the basis of my PhD thesis – and Equator Loops is accordingly dedicated to Pärt.