The Antikythera mechanism is considered to be one of the world's oldest analog computers known to humankind. The device was discovered off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera between 1901-1902, although it was thought to have been created between approximately 200 - 60 BC. Similar in design to a mantel clock, the Antikythera mechanism was thought to have worked primarily as an astrological calendar, displaying time based off of the sun, moon, and planets over set hours and minutes. It also had further capabilities such as predicting eclipses, calculate the four-year patterns for the Olympic Games, and tracking the irregular movements of the moon, in which the velocity at one point is different from the velocity at another point.

This computer is thought to have been constructed with a substantial amount of different gears, each with their own purpose. Of its 82 known parts, seven are known to be mechanically important to the functioning of the device (labelled A - G in alphabetical order). The correlation of the labels for these major fragments to the seven different musical notes is coincidental in nature, but it provided me an excellent opportunity to explore when formulating the musical structure of this piece. It should also be noted that the Antikythera mechanism is a three-dimensional clock - its front faces calculated astrological predictions while its rear faces track the Olympiad.

The conception for this study began with the creation of seven different musical fragments. These materials are not motivic or thematic in any sense, but nevertheless, they form the basis for this duet, a unique formation of two different bass voices at play. The piece bubbles and grinds its way at times (as if exploring the deconstructed form of this analog computer) and creates various grooves at other moments, demonstrating the full capacity of the computer's technological power. Ultimately, both basses in this duet converse and improvise off of each other, conjuring up the wonders which comprise the Antikythera mechanism and demonstrating the methods of study, analysis, and research that would continue to be implemented further as technology improved over the centuries worldwide.