E. 3 – WASTELAND (2025) — 3′50″
Commissioned for a transdisciplinary performance event involving acousmatic pieces, photographs and art films
Fixed media (acousmatic) · 3′50″ · Single-movement
Stereo (two channels)
Listen · Watch Cement Anxieties · Discuss a playback or screening
Programme note:
Wasteland was originally conceived as the original soundtrack to a short film made by the composer, featuring residential buildings with seemingly endless courtyards and corridors. This short acousmatic work aims to reflect on the sense of imprisonment and anxiety often provoked by modern urban architecture—or, as the short film’s title suggested, “Cement Anxieties”.
Most sound materials are tonal chords produced by a piano, occasionally prepared or dampened, and often filtered to generate tension and unease. The use of empty wine bottles as percussive elements further deepens the acoustic palette. While the harmonic vocabulary remains largely tonal, it is shaped to produce discomfort, allowing for a critical commentary on the alienation of contemporary urban life.
Composition: Como, 02–09 Apr 2025; completed 09 Apr 2025
Form/structure: single-movement
Medium: fixed media (acousmatic); stereo (2 channels)
Sound sources: PIANO (PREPARED & UNPREPARED); WINE BOTTLES (PERCUSSION)
Premiere: 12 Apr 2025, Mare Culturale Urbano, Milan; fixed-media playback
Publications:
– Casaccia, Alexandre. Wasteland, E. 3. Fixed-media recording. Self-published, 11 Nov 2025. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17581551; also uploaded to YouTube (14 Apr 2025)
– Cement Anxieties. Short film, 3′50″; direction and original music (Wasteland, E. 3): Alexandre Casaccia. First screened 12 Apr 2025. Self-published, 17 Sep 2026. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22812562; also uploaded to YouTube (17 Sep 2026).
Rights: © 2025 Alexandre Casaccia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.