18 June 2024
Kolkata, India

I remember learning ages ago in grade school the difference between kinetic and potential energy- the one active, the other static. Yet rarely does the difference feel more ‘academic’ than now, when so many things are in motion and it is only a matter of time before they break out and, well, entropy ensues. On the surface it feels like a relaxing summer, but I’ve got twenty minutes of music to write more less before the month is out (back to old traditions circa 2020-2022!) for the first stage of an immersive work in the realm of martial arts, and just as much if not more to prepare in advance of the world premiere of Otherhood (2022) in the autumn in Helsinki, Finland, among others. And, let’s say, there will be some modifications to my duties in Hong Kong about which I’m tremendously excited, too.

Despite a sort-of round-the-clock working schedule, I dread any proper ‘vacation’- the little weekend escapes to Southeast Asia and elsewhere had been incredibly revitalising and the prospect of anything longer than that seems like far too much time spent idle. Yet, that downtime can also be the source of very crucial steps forward (or sideways) in one’s musical journey. I recall some remarkably unproductive periods which nevertheless have stuck with me as references of inspiration, or a new way of thinking, all of which might be impossible to directly trace forward into musical works, but nevertheless are somehow personally seminal- those stormy dark mornings in Tallinn, Estonia; a sweltering bus ride through the plains of Sri Lanka in dawn, or the first time I ever glimpsed Kangchenjunga from the Himalayan foothills, just barely two years ago. It is undeniable that if one’s music must truly be an honest representation, then those moments that forever change something inside extend to the manuscript paper, too.

It has been a very special, healing time at home, with two busy months of travel and work ahead. I’m not particularly looking forward to jet lag and I’ll miss cooking on an (almost) daily basis, but there is a lot to do and hear and progress. Much like that kinetic vs potential energy example, and forgive me, physicists- things are moving.