[Revised version forthcoming]

In 2020, during a conversation about where we live and the unique challenges associated with different places we have lived, a friend of mine in Berlin asked whether I felt comfortable living in the United States—specifically, whether I found it to be more progressive than Japan in terms of its treatment of minority communities. I responded, partly with my rusty German but in all honesty:

“More or less. Progressivität mit unendlicher Dissonanz.”

“Progressiveness with never-ending dissonance” Quite unexpectedly, I found that this phrase poetically encapsulated how I viewed my own situation and the world around me. I have always viewed the act of composing—my way of saying something—as a move towards progressiveness, and that gives rise to resistance of many kinds. It becomes an ongoing question of how to say something despite all that is happening to me and around me. As the pandemic has brought fundamental changes in the lives of many, including mine, it also prompts me to ask myself an existential question: Is there anything left for me to say in the first place?

Emerging from the COVID-19 crisis, PmuD was initially my attempt to “say something” through a series of miniature works. However, after four years, I once again feel the urgency to continue this series, even if it deviates from its original conception of creating miniatures.

For PmuD III, my question was: what might a celebration sound like today? To honor the fortieth anniversary of the Network for New Music in Philadelphia, I wrote this piece to create an acoustic space where listeners can freely extend their thoughts—reflecting on the past, contemplating the present, and looking toward the future. To create such an acoustic space—as it is the case with my other works—I abstained from making any specific references (cultural or otherwise) that my identity might project. I view my music as a critical response to the very notion of “culture,” or a form of epistemological question of identity.

PmuD III was commissioned by the Network for New Music in celebration of their fortieth anniversary. The work then underwent significant revision and expansion at Künstler*dorf Schöppingen. I thank Susanna Loewy and Thomas Schuttenhelm for their invitation to the project, and Julia Haarmann and the fellows of the Künstler*dorf Schöppingen whose artistries nourished my creativity.

I dedicate this piece to Ramon Lazkano.