As we reported last month, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy teamed up with IBM to create music from the tennis matches of the U.S. Open, with every fault, double-fault, serve, and ace becoming its own musical note. Murphy has released two of the songs that came out of that project, ”Match 4” and “Match 104.” (There’s no other information on exactly which matches they are, though the blurbs for each offer some clues.) Here are the tracks, with their liner notes:
When a young player beats a top-seeded player, like in this match from August 25th, it’s bound to make some noise. And in this case, that noise is glorious: a series of simple, almost sweet opening notes that slowly transform into unexpectedly intense, mature sounds. Beats bubble up from out of nowhere, swiftly take over and set the track in an uncompromising new direction. Hear how James portrays the swagger of the younger player and the relentless drama of the match in the deep, pulsing beats.
When this match began, it could have been either player’s game. And like the match that inspired it, this track opens with beats that are balanced–intense but equal, just like the players–with no instrument clearly taking the lead. The music pulses steadily until the last half of the track, when the instruments start to break form as one player falls behind, and the other takes the lead. The track ends with a soft, high-pitched whistle that ushers the defeated player off the court.
For more music and more on the project, check out the U.S. Open site here.