Musical works

An Endless Battle of Contrasting Memories pulls from two influences. Like After Dark, a quote from Murakami’s 1Q84 initially prompted the writing of this piece: “that’s what the world is, after all: an endless battle of contrasting memories.” Additionally, as used in Frederic Rzewski’s Piano Piece No. 4, An Endless Battle is bookended by an attempt to let the instrument resonate throughout its entire register. 1Q84 suggests a different way of looking at a familiar world. It’s this idea that gives way to the melodic content of the work, used in combination with a loop station to create alternate musical perspectives — even when we return to ordinary and same-ness, there is always the lacklustre tinge of a failed re-creation.

— Emmanuel Jacob Lacopo