THE LEMON CAR LOT                                   










Forgetting the Laws of Robotics
Michael Chinworth

3/30/2022






Asimov might roll in his grave/churn in his urn if he knew his carefully crafted Laws of Robotics was being lifted for a title. But I truly hope he would be honored, or at least sense the parallels between his often eerie, uncanny fiction exploring the tension between human and machine with this composition. 

Created during some particularly bleak period during the pandemic and recently unearthed from a forgotten folder on an external hard drive, FTLR is an example of one of my modes that combines impromptu recorded composition and fastidious editing. The piece juxtaposes a patient and minimal piano meditation with a rambling, curious synthesizer, striving to be human.

I opened a folder from 2021 specifically but mysteriously labeled “Feb 22”. Inside was a protools session that had what i presumed (if I can make presumptions of my past selves) was an unfinished work in progress. I listened back to the recording and realized this was a nearly finished piece of music. I barely remembered recording it.

I heard a voice, so I began picking thru it and sculpted a finished work. It was a wonderful moment of uncovering something I had left unfinished, re-stumbling upon it to make something moving and meaningful to me.


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Michael Chinworth (he/him) is a composer, actor, vocalist and recording artist based in Vermont and New York. He makes work through a solo practice that can be found in concert venues, theaters or in record form, and appears on stage in works of vocally-driven experimental opera and theater. His recorded material ranges the spectrum between pop and deconstructive experimentation and his live performances attempt to engage and synthesize the two.

︎ @chinworth
www.michaelchinworth.com

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