At the weekend, a group of trans women protested topless at the Scottish Parliament about the recent Supreme Court ruling that the Equality Act defines women as "biological women". The police couldn't arrest them, because to arrest them for showing their breasts would be to define them as women (it's not illegal for men to be topless). And, of course, the right-wing press that reported on it censored their breasts, thereby making their point for them.

(2/2) Hundreds (I believe!) of SeaBus passengers exiting Lonsdale Quay create this titillating soundscape with audible turnstiles firing nonstop!

#soundscape #electroacoustic #composer #contemporaryclassical

(1/2) I did field recordings in Vancouver after my four-week MacDowell residency. (Also three interviews for my music release next month). For two commissioned music projects, I recorded transit interior soundscapes like buses, light rail, planes, even audible traffic signals. Then those audible turnstiles at North Vancouver's Lonsdale Quay when hundreds of SeaBus passengers exit in droves -- gotta record that too! Video follows. #fieldrecording #electroacoustic #Composer #contemporaryclassical

@dabertime I was biking along a trail some days ago and encountered so many geese along the way. There's this one mom goose with soooo many hatchlings and my first thought was: Who did this to you??? How dare he. 🤔😹

I did #fieldrecording work during my #MacDowellResidency last month. There's this forest, water, wind, owls hooting - beautiful #soundscapes. But there's also airplane traffic above, zooming vehicles far away. Human sounds encroach on seemingly remote spaces. A teacher would describe it as the encroachment of colonial modernity on ancestral lands. Even musical action is human intervention. But sifting through this patchwork is a composition exercise.

#electroacoustic #composer #artistresidency

Canada, France and the UK issue a joint statement on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. https://www.elysee.fr/en/emmanuel-macron/2025/05/19/joint-statement-from-the-leaders-of-the-united-kingdom-france-and-canada-on-the-situation-in-gaza-and-the-west-bank

@arendleejessurun i think the demo songs were the icing on the cake with those PSRs. They were done really, really well as I remember, and that got me learning to play those songs by ear or something (with the programmed accompaniment). If I can hear them again, it would be a great exercise to recreate the music production and put a spin to each track. 😹

It's been 10 days since I left MacDowell. I was awarded a MacDowell Fellowship, which brought me a very productive four-week #ArtistResidency there. (A five-day Vancouver stay followed for another upcoming project in June). I jumpstarted a couple of musical projects - five commissioned pieces, in fact! - during my stay, with premieres set in Europe for 2026/2027. Thank you, MacDowell!

#macdowell #Composer #contemporarymusic #contemporaryclassical #electroacoustic #AcousmaticMusic #spatialmusic

@arendleejessurun lol i had one of the Yamaha PSR series back as a kid in the early 90s. I even got disappointed because a newer model had a "sound effects pad" that my older keyboard doesn't have. Kinda weird to actually remember all that now. 😹

I just realized that the only people who are saying #AI is the way of the future are people who have never had, or are afraid of, original ideas.

@nigelharpur oooof this is a difficult one for me since even my ongoing grant applications require my Soundcloud tracks to be up for review before results come out in months.

You know how f*cked America is when academic authors are now refusing to publish their books in the US. I now receive messages to help them publish books in the Philippines, because it is also an English speaking country. Yes, the 🇵🇭 is happy to publish your books in English.

I'm more motivated to finish PM Carney's book, "Value(s): Building a better world for all", and came across this section:

❝An advantage of the subjective approach to value is that it is neutral. Everything that is priced can be compared by means of a common, widely available standard, the market price. But from the perspective of welfare, it creates several issues.

First, whereas economic infrastructure and economic capital are usually priced, social infrastructure, social capital and natural capital generally are not. This can lead to underinvestment in what matters for wellbeing. In standard GDP accounting, government contributes no value added beyond public sector salaries. Measurement of (unpriced) outputs would better reflect both living standards and economic per-formance. What captures performance during the crisis? A healthcare worker's salary or their heroic efforts at saving lives?❞

So we know he at least understands the problem. #CanPoli #CdnPoli

All these years... I had no idea that Nena's "99 Red Balloons" was about an accidental nuclear war, caused by an errant red balloon.
#genx #music #80s

I’m shedding off my contemporary composer self for a bit. #BandcampFriday passed by, but I feel more of a sharer than a seller right now because Grumpy Kitty Boy (my #SynthPop singer-songwriter project) is still a #WorkInProgress for me. I’m slowly working on a second EP that includes this song from five years ago. Here’s an excerpt of what I have for now. 😼 #songwriter

@arendleejessurun i know that "How To Disappear Completely" was Thom Yorke's antidote to this disillusionment from "rock-band fame" and exhaustion from doing the OK Computer tour. And hence, Kid A. The times are just different now, apparently. Sigh. 🤷🏽

@arendleejessurun Kid A was also my favourite album ever. They had that platform and influence, only to play the status quo all over again. It still is all about where the money comes from. Very, very disappointing.

@chessert go for it! I'm doing the same with my Japanese koto after a nine-year hiatus followed by another 1.5-year break since studying again for a year. 🤷🏽

The #tradewar has started. 😖

My MacDowell #ArtistResidency starts in April, but I'm very conflicted with crossing the US border. It's tempting to diss it and prepare for the upcoming recession instead. But I'm Filipino-turned-Canadian who once exchanged dreams for third-world practicalities. It's a great disservice to myself if I sabotage professional prospects as big as MacDowell. Ugh Grumpy Kitty Boy needs his milk to calm down...c'est tout 100% Canadien. 😹 #contemporaryclassical #composer

I find Trump as repulsive as most people here, but as a German, one thing I want to push back on is focusing only on one man.

Hitler's rise was possible because he was able to exploit the racial hatred and conspiratorial thinking that already existed.

It's MAGA acolytes that see Trump as an extraordinary figure. He was a reality show grifter with a crumbling business; Hitler was an undisciplined drifter with delusions of grandeur.

It's the soil that matters, not just the rotten harvest.