Platonic Solids is the first full release of trombonist/composer Matt Barbier’s compositional work. The works, written between 2013 and 2018, are inspired by Tristan Duke’s abrasion holograms.

In Duke’s holography practice, lights reflect off of the intersections of hand etched circles to form floating geometric images in space. In his works, Barbier transcribes these holographic shapes into a lush sonic landscape using Plato’s five geometrically pure polyhedrons, also known as Platonic solids. Throughout the album, these Platonic Solids are overlaid to create different readings of the holograms.

Each reading sonically renders these geometric shapes into a dense layering of strings, retaining the sounds of human effort in an attempt to model the laborious process required for Duke’s hand-etched holograms. The pieces aspire to reflect the holographic phenomenon with glacially shifting glissandi and dense harmonic clusters to create monolithic, yet constantly morphing, sonic structures.