I think of music itself, particularly the music made by the Kronos Quartet, as a strategy for mustering enthusiasm and joy. It’s a way of setting the world in order, a method of carving up time in way that, seemingly by magic, changes our frame of mind, energizes us, and gives us courage and reassurance. In this piece, I tried to combine techniques that were both scary and familiar to me; a cascade of natural harmonics collapses into an ecstatic chorale, which then evaporates into silence.

Digital technologies have changed the way we interact with and perceive our environment, how we conceive of time and space, and how we relate to people and nature. Remote Control is a sonic representation of an alternative reality. Just like a video game, the piece is a virtual rendition of a video war game. By using loud sounds and intense music to create fear, music becomes the ominous whisper of death. Alternative instrumental techniques imitate random events on the battle ground, and audience members stream stroboscopic videos from their phones, turning them into active participants.