Paul Koonce

Have you ever experienced those remarkable moments when everyday sounds, similar in structure but different in function, coincide, the phone that rings through the trill of a Mozart piano cadence; the baby whose cry follows the meandering squeak of a nearby door? The coincidence of similar sounds creates curious double takes that draw us back to our senses and into the intrinsic beauty of sound. I am struck by these moments, by their suspension of communication, and by how I find myself listening, uncertain whether I should. While the confusion these anomalies create can be explained and resolved, their charm is not dispelled, nor is the uncanny sense that somehow they represent a new sound, even a musical one. Like new sounds in music, they challenge our perceptions and invite us to reinvent our memories of sound. (Paul Koonce, from his linernotes)

It has been with an ear turned toward these moments, their magic and the insight they give us into sound and representation, that Paul Koonce composed the works in this collection. These works were all created out of recorded materials, using collage and various computer manipulations to create a unique, evocative sound world.

Paul Koonce is one of the leading composers of electroacoustic music. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim and McKnight Foundations and has received awards and commissions from the Luigi Russolo International Competition for Composers of Electronic Music, the National Flute Association, Prix Ars Electronica Electronic Arts Competition, the Electroacoustic Music Contest of Sao Paolo, the Bourges International Competition, and the International Computer Music Association. He is currently an assistant professor of composition at Princeton University.

Walkabout (1998) 16:40
Hothouse (1996) 8:27
Pins (1992) 13:29
The Flywheel Dream (1994) 9:23