I just released a new single called Out of Balance. I composed this piece for an event in April in which three composers were each asked to create 10 minute pieces inspired by the classic experimental film, Koyaanisqatsi.

We gathered at the 4 Star Theatre in San Francsisco and performed those pieces before a screening of the film.

I first saw this film in a high school photography class and was immediately arrested by it—and honestly, a little put off. I had never experienced a film that had so defiantly thrown away all the conventions of traditional narrative film. It was strange, but also beautiful.

In later years, I saw more of Ron Fricke’s work—Samsara and Baraka—which resonated and made more sense to me, perhaps because I was older and a bit more open minded to what film as a medium could be.

I rewatched Koyaanisqatsi earlier this year and found I was still a little unsettled by it, but also recognized that is one of the filmmakers’ intended effects.

The name of the film is a Hopi word that can be translated as “life out of balance.” In this piece, I was striving to strike a medium between the beauty of nature, and the rigid structure that comes from modern society. I hope you enjoy.