Han Chen speaks with composer Huang Ruo about how he weaves his own personal understanding of Eastern and Western influences into his compositions.

LINEAGE(S) asks artists to be vulnerable with each other by acknowledging and then sharing the music that lives in their own bodies. We created a map which involves improvising and listening deeply to overlapping LINEAGE(S) gestures*. The piece also includes an evolving lineage folder where ensembles are invited to upload audio or visual documentation of their LINEAGE(S) gestures* to inspire future performers of the piece.

ent- is most immediately a reference to a german inseparable prefix that indicates beginning, movement away, separation, or reversion. but it’s also the beginning of the (etymologically distinct) word “entropy,” which denotes both the degree of disorder within a system and the gradual decline into this disorder. either sense works to evoke the process I envision for the piece. after beginning with slow, stable repetition, performers are encouraged to take inspiration from their surroundings as they diverge from the score and inject unpredictability into their playing.

Homologous explores the multifold ways sounds can be heard and manipulated. Inspired by jazz, electronic music, and movement, the piece asks the performers to relate to one another as a sound source, commentator, live processor, and a movement listener, creating a listening practice based on these roles.

Pianist Miki Sawada shares a playlist of pieces reflecting her experience during the pandemic.

Will Groove for Pizza was written collaboratively for Metropolis Ensemble’s Biophony project and is dedicated to all of the teachers who taught us the joy of play. It’s also a reminder to pay artists for the work they do, because one cannot live on pizza alone in this neoliberal capitalist system.

Composer and producer Nnux curates a playlist featuring work by female Latin American experimental composers.

Alessandro Apolloni shares a playlist featuring a mix of electric and acoustic.

Erika Dohi curates a playlist featuring her debut solo album.

Jeremy Ajani Jordan shares a playlist of musicians he has great respect for.

Giancarlo Latta shares tracks that turn towards ecstatic joy, deep pain, and everything in between.

Scott Wollschleger shares powerful works which create an intense space for reflection.

Cassie Wieland shares her listening selections from regular walks up and down 6th Avenue near her Brooklyn neighborhood.

María Grand shares tracks that bring her sustenance, accompanying her through this learning, this uncovering, this remembering.

Mariel Roberts shares music she's particularly appreciated over the last year, that envelops and takes her out of her own head and into another captivating environment.

Phong Tran shares a bummer playlist packed with bangers, that plays on happiness despite the world being on fire around us.