Tankekjør

"Tankekjør" is a quick and playful play about too many thoughts, and a warm tribute to vulnerability, written by Nelly Winterhalder and directed by Nora Evensen.

Selma has moved to the city with her father and is dreading being "the new one." She thinks a lot (and in excessive detail) about how to make new friends. When she meets Maiken and Olve for the first time, she toughens up and is challenged in a game. Selma's racing thoughts escalate until she crashes – and suddenly she can hear what everyone around her is thinking. Things continue to get weird as she slowly realizes that everyone is saying something other than what they're thinking....

Based on an original, rapidly tongue-in-cheek and beautiful script by Nelly Winterhalder, "Tankekjør" presented itself as a fun challenge for me as a composer. The script itself is so rich and dynamic, and actually musical in itself, that I really didn't want any music to get in the way. Therefore, a minimalist approach seemed like the right way to go, with the score very softly observing and absorbing the story, rather than forcing it. The music is therefore very ambient, driven by eerie synth landscapes, only contrasted by one recurring main theme with a very dry and intimate piano sound. The eight-note piano theme is a "musical question mark" which is supposed to encapsulate both Selma's curiosity, Olve's insecurity and Maiken's vulnerability, and how these ultimately all mix.