Megadrought by Devin Maxwell

Megadrought, the third of four planned releases by composer Devin Maxwell, is a collection of compositions in his "Cloudseeding" series. Apart from "Cloudseeding 10" (a string quartet written for the TriBeCa Ensemble), all works are composed for one instrument with electronics. This includes works for guitarist D. J. Sparr, cellist Noriko Kishi, and harpist Jacqueline Kerrod. "Cloudseeding 15" features hornist Nicolee Kuester, though the process for creating her role is more oblique: perhaps a bit more conventionally working as electronic music, this piece utilizes samples that Maxwell recorded of Kuester’s playing, in contrast to the other works, which feature instrumentalists performing Maxwell’s composition.

The title “Cloudseeding" refers to a weather modification process where silver iodide boosts precipitation, thereby causing rain. Studies in hubris, each Cloudseeding composition is an irreverent take on the real or imagined processes we use to attempt to control the weather. "All I ask is that while you listen," Maxwell says: "Take a long look in the mirror. Ask yourself only one question. Do you have what it takes – the moxie – to attempt to control the weather?"

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