David Bird's compositions explore the impact of technology on our world, both musical and beyond, both from the past and into the future. Featuring performances by lovemusic, bassoonist Ben Roidl-Ward, cellist Isidora Nojkovic, Grossman Ensemble, and Mivos Quartet, Bird delivers once again with music that challenges, conjures a fantastical sci-fi-esque sonic environment, and interrogates the human experience in a shifting era.
| # | Audio | Title/Composer(s) | Performer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Time | 43:00 | |||
| 01 | Hinterlands | Hinterlands | lovemusic, Adam Starkie, clarinet, Sophie Wahlmüller, viola, Christian Lozano Sedano, electric guitar, Finbar Hosie, electronics | 13:38 |
| 02 | Ambient Machine | Ambient Machine | Ben Roidl-Ward, bassoon, Isidora Nojkovic, cello | 6:23 |
| 03 | Chroma | Chroma | Grossman Ensemble, Jeffrey Meyer, conductor | 9:51 |
American City | ||||
| Mivos Quartet | ||||
| 04 | I. Magnetic Mountain | I. Magnetic Mountain | 3:01 | |
| 05 | II. Behind The Urals | II. Behind The Urals | 3:44 | |
| 06 | III. The First Trees Were All Metal | III. The First Trees Were All Metal | 6:23 | |
Hinterlands is an intermission between the past and future of technology; yet, we are unable to be present, too spent on excavating the lingering effects of industrial modernity. David Bird’s thrilling compositions are performed here by premiere contemporary ensembles lovemusic, Ben Roidl-Ward and Isidora Nojkovic, Grossman Ensemble and Mivos Quartet.
Shifting between microtonal shimmer, dense counterpoint, and immersive electronic textures, the album treats sound like a form of “sonic metallurgy”: metallic resonances, harmonic artifacts, and layered noise evoke processes of extraction, production, and decay. The album unearths geographic, psychological, and technological disruption, the sounds of machines working with and against each other in entropy. Like the emerging co-existences between humans and artificial intelligence, David Bird and collaborators articulate the subtle yet severe realities of technological change. Inspired by sources ranging from William Gibson’s speculative fiction to the industrial histories of American and Soviet cities and the rise of white-noise machines, the album reflects on systems of control and alienation through immersive listening.
Each work on the album approaches these tensions from a distinct vantage point. The opening track, Hinterlands, performed by lovemusic, explores a space that is both geographic and psychological, drawing on William Gibson’s story of travelers returning from deep space to shape its speculative sonic terrain. Ambient Machine, performed by Ben Roidl-Ward and Isidora Nojkovic, turns to the present, juxtaposing dense multiphonic and overpressure textures with resonant harmonic tones to reflect the hum of technology and the paradox of noise as comfort. Chroma, performed by the Grossman Ensemble, treats timbre as material, unfolding from unisons into increasingly rich, overtone-based sonorities. American City, performed by Mivos Quartet, translates the history of industrial labor into mechanized textures, inspired by the Soviet–American collaboration behind Magnitogorsk. Together, these works form a collection that reflects on the sonic and psychological consequences of the technological age.
– Alexi Orchard
Hinterlands - Commissioned by Südwestrundfunk (SWR) for Donaueschinger Musiktage 2024. Recorded by lovemusic: Emiliano Gavito (flute), Adam Starkie (clarinet), Sophie Wahlmüller (viola), Christian Lozano (electric guitar), and Finbar Hosie (electronics). Recording engineer: Didier Houbre.
Ambient Machine - Recorded by Ben Roidl-Ward and Isidora Nojkovic. Recording engineer: David Bird.
Chroma - Commissioned by the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition. Recorded by the Grossman Ensemble. Conductor: Jeffrey Meyer. Recording engineer: Christopher Willis.
American City - Commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation. Recorded by the Mivos Quartet: Olivia De Prato (violin), Maya Bennardo (violin), Victor Lowrie Tafoya (viola), and Nathan Watts (cello). Recording engineer: Mike Tierney.
Album Mixed and Produced by David Bird
Mastered by Murat Colak at GERYON, NYC, 2026
Album Art by Justin Nambiar
Layout and Design by Pat Swoboda
Introduction by Alexi Orchard
David Bird is a composer and multi-media artist based in New York City. His work explores the dramatic potential of electroacoustic and mixed media environments, often highlighting the relationships between technology and the individual. His work has been performed internationally, at venues and festivals such as the MATA festival in New York City; the Gaudeamus Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands; the Wien Modern Festival in Vienna, Austria; the SPOR festival in Aarhus, Denmark; the IRCAM Manifeste Festival in Paris, France; the Festival Mixtur in Barcelona, Spain. He has composed and collaborated with groups like the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Jack Quartet, the Bozzini Quartet, Yarn/Wire, the Talea Ensemble, Mantra Percussion, the Mivos Quartet, the Austrian Ensemble for Contemporary Music (OENM), AUDITIVVOKAL Dresden, Ensemble Proton Bern, Loadbang, the TAK Ensemble, andPlay, and the Nouveau Classical Project. He is a founding member of the New York-based chamber ensemble TAK, and an artistic-director with Qubit New Music, a non-profit group that curates and produces experimental music events in New York City.
http://davidbird.tvNew Focus Recordings is an artist-led collective label featuring releases in contemporary creative music of many stripes, as well as new approaches to older repertoire. The label was founded by guitarist Dan Lippel, composer Peter Gilbert in 2004, and composer/engineer Ryan Streber in 2004, formed …Read More …
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