Temps Suspès — Idle Time — is an octophonic composition for piano and generative electronics, specially conceived for the space in which it is presented. The title Temps Suspès is in Catalan, my mother tongue. It literally means “suspended time,” referring to a state in which time seems to stop, progress becomes imperceptible, and everyday activity is placed on hold. Idle Time serves as the English motto for the work, expanding this idea toward those periods in which nothing appears to happen, while time continues to unfold beneath the surface.

The composition is divided into two parts and presents an apparently immobile sonic landscape. Piano tones seem to stretch toward infinity, surrounded by slowly evolving electronic textures distributed across eight channels. The result is an immersive environment in which sound becomes a way of experiencing the passage—or apparent absence—of time. The piece was created from a single sound sample. Rather than introducing a variety of sound sources, I used generative processes in Ableton Live to continuously transform, layer, stretch, and reshape this single sonic material. The resulting composition emerges from the interaction between repetition, variation, chance, and gradual transformation. This process mirrors the conceptual premise of the work: apparently little changes, yet over time the smallest variations accumulate and become perceptible.

Yet beneath this initial sense of stasis, subtle changes are constantly taking place. Through prolonged and attentive listening, the listener gradually becomes aware of transformations occurring over extended periods. What first appears static reveals itself to be in continuous motion. Temps Suspès emerged from the collective experience of idleness, uncertainty, and suspended activity during the 2020 pandemic and lockdown. It is a slow, poetic meditation on a period when everyday life seemed to stand still, while time continued to pass.

The work exists in three related iterations: this octophonic spatial composition, conceived specifically for the given space; a sound installation; and a fixed stereo composition, self- published by the artist.

Idle Time is ultimately an invitation to listen to what happens when seemingly nothing happens — to attend to the subtle changes that become perceptible only when we allow time to unfold.