Electric Desert Metropolis

Electric Desert Metropolis (2019)

8’30

Written for B-flat clarinet accompanied by fixed electronics, the main idea that spearheaded Electric Desert Metropolis was a request by the commissioner, Alan Wu. He wanted “something that makes people shake their [you know what].” This piece is heavily influenced by the sounds of electronic dance music, or EDM. Therefore, I wanted the first letters of each of the words in the title to also be EDM in order to give homage to my inspiration. The title came about with the help of my wife while driving the freeways of the Metro-Phoenix area running errands. I began to think about how an aerial view of a metropolis resembles an electrical circuit board. Then I started to imagine a futuristic metropolis surrounded by desert landscape, monsoon lighting, and dust storms, much like the metro-phoenix area. This led me to think about what kind of music would be heard in a place like this. The piece is meant to invite the listener to imagine their own journey through the Electric Desert Metropolis.

*Video of premiere includes visuals that were outsourced by the comissioner and are not included with the piece.

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