Fake Music

for electro-acoustic ensemble and electronics
commissioned by the Paul Dresher Ensemble

Fake Music (2019) is scored for electro-acoustic ensemble and features a vocal synthesizer. The work sets a quote often attributed to Voltaire: “I wholly disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Throughout the composition, these words are scrambled in various combinations to create a meta text that disassociates the intended meaning while also underscoring the grave collapse of Western free press ideals. This fragmented setting also alludes to the prevalent use of “soundbites” within the contemporary political sphere for “messaging” to constituents, as Donald Trump has so effectively accomplished in phrases such as “fake news.” The use of a singing electronic voice to deliver the text embodies the automated misinformation campaigns that spread dangerous anti-democratic sentiments across the internet.