Bassist Evan Runyon performs his own piece, Floral Encyclopædia, for this edition of the House Music series. The work’s unique title is an allusion to the Floral Library located at the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. Runyon found himself playing a series of gigs in DC with a trio prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and while he was there, he found inspiration in the city’s public spaces and in watching all the people go by. It’s these memories that influence the serene, poignant music.

Runyon began working with Metropolis Ensemble in 2018, when he worked on composer William Brittelle’s Spiritual America, which was developed and toured across the country by Metropolis. To this day, his work on Spiritual America has been his most sustained involvement with Metropolis. Floral Encyclopædia intertwines with this journey; Runyon first performed this piece live in Los Angeles while performing Spiritual America at Hollywood Bowl.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Runyon found himself returning to his compositional practice. He studied composition during his undergraduate degree, but left it behind, for the most part, to work as a bassist. But when the pandemic began, he was filled with a desire to learn new skills and to reinvent himself, so he returned to writing music and to playing music that he had written. One of the aspects that drew him to Floral Encyclopædia for this performance was the fact that the piece is modular—it can be very short or very long. It’s fluid, music that creates a quiet stillness, gently pulsating through its melodies. — Vanessa Ague

 
Episode: 06
Date: April 16, 2020
Artist: Evan Runyon
Instrumentation: Bass
Work: “Floral Encyclopædia"
Composer: Evan Runyon
Location: Brooklyn, NY
 

More from House Music