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The Insidious Fight for Democracy

by CHANGES TO blind

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Judson Hurd
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Like much of the world, I watched in surprise and shock as a mob of delusional "patriots" attempted to stop the certification of electoral votes, a formal step in the process of transferring power to a new president. Leading up to that I had watched the start of Donald Trump's rally, inciting his followers to fight, which after months of grooming through deceptive words about the election, resulted in the unprecedented riot and attempt to harm members of Congress and steal the electoral votes. I expected some awful event that day, and this historical moment is a nadir in American politics and the hope of Democracy.

My piece is an audio exploration of what happened that day, through my own relationship to those events. As a composition, I developed this piece over several weeks by first collecting performance samples and developing keyboard sounds that reflected my impressions of the events. After several days of rehearsing those elements I created a base improvisation performed live in the studio. I then sought out samples of actual recordings made at the insurrection event, both inside and outside of the Capitol. I mated those with recordings from earlier Trump rallies and speeches. The samples are all modified to convey my interpretation of their value. As I layered each section, I added various percussion instruments and bass reinforcements to express the emotions I was feeling through the development of the piece.

Several times I was forced to walk away from the development of the piece because of then-current events. In particular, the changes in attitude by the RNC & GOP Senators attempting to divert the public from the weight of the event filled me with dismay, though it has been the status quo for the last four years. Regardless, it fills me with disgust that anyone can downplay or justify an event that ended with four people dead amidst a blatant call to overthrow our government. As murky as political ambition is, we all should see the events of January 6th for what they are. If my piece contains its own murky details, it is because it reflects my observations on the diversions, deceptions and doubt.

If you choose to listen to this piece, please try to use a decent stereo or headphones, full volume will help with the details. If you are kind enough to pay for the piece, all proceeds will be donated to the ACLU, whose work is ever more essential in these times.

lyrics

"[...] but I said, “Something’s wrong here. Something’s really wrong. Can’t have happened.” And we fight. We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore."-Donald Trump

credits

released February 8, 2021
Phil Zampino: Composition, Sampling, Farrago, Korg MS2000, Sunvox, Percussion, Clarinet. Samples are taken from videos made inside The Capitol siege, a 2015 Trump rally, and various eye-witness videos from outside of the Capitol.

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CHANGES TO blind Wilmington, North Carolina

CTb was borne in Syracuse, NY in the mid 80s. Originally the trio of phil zampino, Mortimer deSquid & Heraldo deSquid, only zampino survives. Wires and boxes were dragged about and throttled, moving to Manhattan in 1992 as improvisation krept into the mix. Now in Wilmington, NC the kurrent state of affairs involves exposition, as CTb airs its dirty underdrawers for the listener's disdain. ... more

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