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The conceptual framework for “For it is Our First Universe” is taken from Gaston Bachelard’s book, “Poetics of Space”. In this book, Bachelard talks about the intimacy one develops toward the space of their childhood home, and how that intimate relationship becomes a fundamental part of that person. The title of the work was constructed by putting two quotes from Bachelard’s book together. In general, the concept of home could be applied to things beyond the house itself.
For example, it could be applied to home town, home country, the
language one grows up with, the cuisine of one’s culture, etc.
In this work, I use phonographies of the bazaar in Kerman, Iran to make the electronics and form the instrumental part. I chose to record the sounds of this bazaar because of its national significance as well as personal meaning. As one of the largest and oldest bazaars in Iran, it has cultural significance and has become a destination. Additionally, its sounds have a strong sense of intimacy for me since the distinctive accent of the Farsi spoken in Kerman resonates with me personally. In this piece, I tried to capture the essence of this intimacy through the bazaar’s sounds and spaces.
Pedram Diba (b.1993) is an Iranian-American composer of acoustic,
acousmatic, and mixed music residing in Chicago, IL. Diba’s music has been showcased in festivals and conferences such as IRCAM Forum, CIRMMT-ACTOR Symposium on Orchestration Research, Festival Temporel, NOVA Contemporary Meeting, Concert Vivier
Interuniversitaire, New Music Gathering, White Ibis Ensemble Winter
Heat New Music Festival, and Oregon Bach Festival Composers
Symposium.
Since 2019, Diba has been a member of the Analysis, Creation, and
Teaching of Orchestration (ACOTR) Project. Through ACTOR, Diba has participated in and initiated various research-creation projects such as the CORE Ensemble Project, Musicians Auditory Perception (MAP) and Space As Timbre (SAT). His work with ACTOR has also led to a peer-reviewed publication in 2022, which he co-authored with the MAP team. Diba completed his B.M. in composition at the University of Oregon where he received the prize of Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar in Composition. Later, he received the Max Stern Fellowship in Music to attend McGill University, where he completed his M.M. in composition under the supervision of Philippe Leroux. Currently, Diba is pursuing his Ph.D. in composition and music technology at Northwestern University.
Diba’s music is published by Babel Scores in both digital and printed
formats.
Performed on this recording by J. P. Lempke, piano
Recorded by the administrative assistant on October 16 @ New Zone Gallery, at the third of three EDME New Music Festival shows in Eugene, Oregon, USA
Richard Fenton did a bit of mastering or something
The Eugene Difficult Music Ensemble performs and commissions underrepresented experimental works in order to open ears and
minds. We work to expand the definition of what music can be and what music is capable of achieving, as well as who is capable of achieving it....more
A beautiful and unique record of compositions for the viola de gamba, a Renaissance instrument most popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 12, 2021
A remix album crafted during Covid lockdown, this LP twists classical compositions into dazzling electronic ambient forms. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 31, 2022
The debut album from Irish composer Anselm McDonnell examines faith, folklore, and environment through contemporary music. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 12, 2021
On "The Source," composer Ted Hearne uses bureaucratic language and poetic chat transcripts to create an electronic opera that honors its subject matter. Bandcamp Album of the Day Dec 13, 2016