PLANISPHERES | TOME TO THE WEATHER MACHINE

Cellist Mike Block presents a beautiful and often jarring solo cello composition that moves in so many directions at one time. Mike Block’s work is incredibly elastic and daring, full of sonorous lines and sudden right angles. Of the composition, discussing “Sea of Tranquility” Block stated, "Contemplating the feeling of approaching and then exploring the moon for the very first time, this track is named after the site where Apollo 11 landed on July 20, 1969. This track was recorded at a fully improvised live performance from a warehouse in Brooklyn, presented for just one listener. The singular audience's influence on the emerging music felt significant in the moment, despite being hard to quantify. My desire as performer was to improvise freely, with only a few seconds of premeditation as the audience member entered the room, so that each of us could discover the music for the first time, together." The solo improvised performance was paired with footage from the groundbreaking 1902 film, 'La Voyage Dans la Luna', by George Méliés.