J-Wake (2001) 12'45"
J-Wake , was inspired by the gradual erosion of footprints in sand, caused by forces such as wind and repeated waves lapping up and over the shoreline. It is a process of deconstruction; the disintegration of that which was initially whole and identifiable, into that which is indistinguishable from its surroundings. This disintegration process is a continuum. Only if it is observed from beginning to end can one say exactly when the impression, which was initially distinct from its surroundings, became so deformed that it was no longer identifiable as a distinct entity. At what point does any object that is subject to disintegration, erosion, and decay lose its identity and cease to be what it was? This is the process I attempted to model -- the question I attempted to answer -- when I set out to compose J-Wake. This piece is dedicated to the memory of a friend, Steve "Jake" Jacobson. His proactive, exuberant and uncompromising personality made an indelible impression on all those who were privileged to know him. -TB

Thom Blum (Columbus, Ohio, USA, 1954)
studied composition at California Institute of the Arts and completed his degree in Computer Applications to Music Synthesis at Ohio State University (1977), where he holds the dubious honor of being the first person to generate sounds with MUSIC-V on the University's DEC PDP-9, PDP-10 and IBM 370. He has been composing electroacoustic music since 1972, and his works have been presented in concerts and festivals and radio broadcasts internationally. Residing in San Francisco since 1978, he is co-founder of the International Computer Music Association and has worked as an engineer for DroidWorks, a researcher and software architect for Yamaha Music Technologies, and a co-founder of Muscle Fish, an audio signal processing and analysis software firm.