Sulphur is an element already discovered in ancient times, the mineral cinnabar HgS was used in prehistoric times as a vermillion pigment, while much more recent but still ancient scriptures refer to it as (hellish) brimstone (burning stone). Sulphur was used to produce the first matches in China, almost two millennia ago. Its properties were then used for fireworks (to drive out evil spirits), and later this was developed into gunpowder (to kill enemies). Small wonder that in historic pre-scientific times Sulphur was associated with evil, and the devil.

The music of Chlorine reflects the reactive nature of this element, and, like its predecessor Fluorine, suggests a percussive nature developing further the style of the minimalist Constructions of John Cage. This character is achieved by the use of virtual modelling, in combination with a mosaic-like approach to musical time and form.

Spatiality: another critical point in the Elements music is the use of particular places and spaces assigned to sounds. In Francium and other alkali metal musics there is a variety of spatially moving sounds, not just by ping pong echoes but in much more complicated ways. Often such placement is linked to gates and envelopes derived from the sounds themselves. Not only is this music created by the creation and by the composition of sounds, but it is also largely composed by composing a virtual space for each of these sounds and for a virtual space created by all of this together. As opposed to a live performance of music in a certain room or hall which is in itself not composed nor part of the music itself, here the space is very much a part of the composition, and this can be a different experience in a room through speakers: sounds will appear to not really come from the speakers. A final element is the always intentional semi-permeability in van Dillen’s electronic music: this music is intended to sound in and with the world around, so random surround “noise” shall be incorporated into the listening experience.