Pang Spindle was commissioned by Cadillac Moon Ensemble. It was composed in Aspen, Colorado and completed in July of 2012.
Pang Spindle is a piece of many narratives, woven together. The first is the narrative of an anarchistic society where every person is struggling to be heard, then emerging and becoming a diverse society where every voice is heard, where every individual fits within the larger tapestry as a discernible thread. It is perhaps an act of wishful thinking, and is inspired by the life and work of activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Another narrative is my own exploration of groove as a basic human need in music. Even through the most complex textures and intense moments that the piece contains, there is always a presence of “groove”, a beat that we can adjust our body to, perhaps a physical compass. In this second narrative, hip hop is a strong influence, and the spindle becomes the needle of the record player.
Lastly, this piece spins out the emotional story of pain and suffering, and the attempts to arrive at a place of peace and reconciliation in a volatile emotional environment. Pang, or pain is spun by a spindle, and any attempt to demolish it is futile. One must wait for the thread to become so thin, that one can no longer weave a fabric of anger and suffering from it anymore.
