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In 2017, I had traveled back to the United States from staying over the summer in Vietnam and learning how to adjust to the 12-hour time difference was particularly difficult that time. I remember staying up until 4 a.m. every night and struggling to get back to my regular sleep cycle. Eventually, I thought I had fixed it but that relief did not last for long: that winter my insomnia returned and every time I would try to go to sleep there was this terrible ringing in my ears. The ringing would always crescendo until it was deafening and, as soon as I notice it, it would go away. I had gotten so paranoid about falling asleep that I kept myself busy until my body could no longer move and then, when I finally did sleep, I would wake with sleep paralysis most times. It was constant anguish and had caused me to be afraid of sleeping.
The piece as a whole is a representation of these experiences but the sixteenth note section in the beginning and end of the piece is a sonic imitation of the ringing I experienced. The rest of the music is detailing a constant shifting and changing that is hard to keep up.
Instrumentation: Vibraphone & Electronics
