Illusion of Control is the result of a collaborative project that began in June this year when audio-visual artist Brian Cullen (Ireland), Uilleann piper Ivan Goff, (New York), composer/digital artist Pedro Rebelo (SARC, Belfast), and saxophonist/improviser Franziska Schroeder (SARC, Belfast) came together for initial discussions and source recordings for this work. Video footage, sound recordings from the pipes and the saxophone as well as drawings were taken during this stage, and the artists agreed on a timeline for rehearsals and general development stages of the work. After months of ‘virtual’ discussions and the passing back and forth of musical and visual ideas, the four artists reunited at the beginning of this week to put together the final piece. Tonight’s performance is the outcome of this process which results in an audio-visual performance with live music investigating the interaction of sounds, narrative, and visible/physical forms in real and virtual environments. The work is an exploration of the musical territory situated between contemporary music and Irish Traditional music practice.The work was commissioned by Franziska Schroeder with the aid of an Arts Council Northern Ireland Grant.