Composer, producer, and violinist Emily Wells was fixated on numbers when the coronavirus pandemic began. After a move and the addition of a new dog into her family, her world, like all of ours, was upended by the uncertainty of a global pandemic. In that time of fear, she turned to writing “I’m Numbers,” a poignant and dramatic examination of charged emotions at the height of the unknown.

Wells’s history with Metropolis Ensemble is far-reaching—since meeting the Ensemble’s Artistic Director, Andrew Cyr, in the early 2010’s, they’ve collaborated in many different capacities, even releasing an album together (This World is Too ___ For You). For Wells, working with Metropolis is a treat because it means getting to collaborate and work with other exploratory artists. So, joining the House Music Series was a natural fit.

In composing “I’m Numbers,” Wells found inspiration in Jenny Holzer’s “Laments,” a text-based work Holzer created in which she interviewed people who were dying, and Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), a work made in response to the AIDS epidemic that featured candy piled into the corner of a gallery that patrons were encouraged to take. Each artwork provided specific influence: the line “I need to lie front to back with someone who adores me” in “Laments” and the ways in which Gonzalez-Torres’s installation played with ideas of diminishment, replenishment, and immortal life both touched Wells in this time of isolation and despair.

While “I’m Numbers” is one cohesive piece of music, it moves through three parts: the first, a Shostakovich-like hysteria, the second, a controlled exploration of lyrics, and the third, a more sure and confident finale. Writing the piece gave her stability in a time where that was lacking, as if she was a kid just discovering the power of making music. It was a type of salvation, a place where she knew she could simply be. Her music in “I’m Numbers” is transcendent and rich, reflecting the roller coaster of emotions that come with living right now.

-- Vanessa Ague

 
Episode: 58
Date: October 20, 2020
Artist: Emily Wells
Instrumentation: Keyboards, Voice, Violin
Work: "I'm Numbers"
Composer: Emily Wells
Location: Philadelphia, PA
 

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