Boston-born composer Sid Richardson releases Borne by a Wind on New Focus Recordings. In this debut portrait album, Richardson explores the convergence of music and literature in non traditional ways...

On a personal level I really don't enjoy poetry nor avant garde classical music. I find poetry dull and lifeless and avant garde music is just insulting to artists talents - they've spent years honing their skill and a composer comes along and says "sing this out of key piece" or "play this tuneless passage that sounds like you're mistreating your precious instrument".

So Sid Richardson's compositions here did a real number on my head. I get it. I really do. You're messing with convention... Smashing down walls... being edgy... Sad thing is there are so many composers doing a similar thing that it just sounds... meh! Fine, if you want to compose something to listen to in your own house and feel clever that you're subverting convention. That's absolutely fine. Just please stop forcing it on other people and expecting them to pay for it.

I found it tuneless, pointless and just so damn dull. Maybe that's the point and I'm just a plebeian.

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Darren Rea