A few months before writing this piece, my mother and I watched through the Netflix documentary “Is That Black Enough For You?!?” which chronicles the development of black cinema through the mid-late 1900s. The insights on the history of film were interesting sure, but what really caught my eye (and ear) were the soundtracks to the “blaxploitation” era of black film-making. It was funk as I hadn’t really heard it before, dramatic without losing any energy or flair. From drums and guitar, a whole world could spill out to set a scene. At the time I happened to be brainstorming for a suite of band pieces inspired by black popular music and was stumped on how to begin the work. The soundtracks of these films planted a seed of inspiration that would eventually grow into this piece.

Spun from the Elements is my homage to funk, disco, and old school rhythm and blues. The title comes from a half-remembered lecture from one of my composition professors. He spoke about how an ideal beginning should “spin itself out of nothing”, though it also refers to the incomparable Earth, Wind, and Fire whose influence is all over the piece. It starts with gradually thickening textures driven by a hi-hat ostinato straight out of Isaac Hayes’ Shaft. A simple four note motive first appears as an ostinato introduced in the flutes, starting as an innocuous detail yet growing into an essential element of the music. The movement shifts between smooth, cooler funk-disco grooves and bright, bluesy breaks all while pushing forward with unstoppable momentum.