[SPEAKING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE]: A STUDIO VIOLIN ALBUM
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JAMES DIAZ
STUDIO ALBUM
VIOLIN MUSIC
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Abstract
[speaking in a foreign language] is a full-length studio album for violin and electronics. The work embodies composer-performer collaboration, studio-recording practices, and post-production techniques as part of the compositional process. The album is a sonic dialogue of musical and cultural intersectionality between myself, as composer and producer, and the Korean violinist and collaborator Julia Jung Un Suh. Throughout 11 works, the narrative explores the multi-definition of the sound of the violin as a metaphor for sonic identity and transformation. "[speaking in a foreign language]" is a typical subtitle caption found on streaming services, which works as a frame for any non-English speaking dialogue. As a response, the violin operates as a multi-virtual instrument, embodying the voices of unique entities that dialogue and navigate in contradictory spaces and times. It is worth noting that the violin produced every sound in the album, and in some pieces, the violin sound also works as the reverb. The album was recorded in the 301 studio at the Lerner Center at the University of Pennsylvania between 2021 and 2022.