“Is it possible to use the tools of classical art music to make people feel better?”

Composer Danny Clay and avant-garde duo The Living Earth Show (Andy Meyerson and Travis Andrews) set out to answer that question. In this livestream, we present the result: Music for Hard Times, a work of experimental music commissioned by The Living Earth Show as a sonic resource for comfort and calming during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Music for Hard Times is an eight-movement work crafted using a series of composed “calming exercises” recorded independently in the musicians’  homes using instruments, voices, field recordings, and found objects.

For this livestream, we present Music for Hard Times accompanied by a film by John Fischer commissioned by the musicians, who introduce the film and take questions about the project afterward.

Zine: Download this PDF of Calming. “The following 'calming' strategies were created by Danny Clay for The Living Earth Show . . . to realize from their homes in the spring of 2020, using instruments and materials at their disposal. These recordings were collaged together to create the album Music for Hard Times”

Download PDF (917 KB)