The Dutch composer joins Lawrence Peryer to discuss 'Asymmetrical Dot,' the album shaped by his mother's death, a grandson's birth, and four decades of learning which clichés to reject.
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Today, we're putting The Tonearm's needle on Stephen Emmer, a Dutch composer and musician based in Amsterdam. Stephen came up in the late 70s post-punk underground, and his band Minny Pops was the first international act signed to Factory Records. He is a curious genre-explorer who has worked with Lou Reed, Chaka Khan, Tony Visconti, Trevor Horn, Flood, and many others.
His latest album, Asymmetrical Dot, is a chamber work rooted in his Dutch-Indonesian heritage, built around sustained tones, wordless vocals, vibraphone, and strings. The record came out of a year when his mother died, and his first grandson was born, and the contracting themes of grief and arrival appear throughout the work.
We cover the album, his hearing loss, and why he walked away from commercial work to make the most personal music of his career.
(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Stephen Emmer's Asymmetrical Dot)
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00:01:29 Commercial work and artistic autonomy
00:06:44 "Rejection comes after insight"
00:08:53 The inspiration behind Asymmetrical Dot
00:14:26 Indonesian heritage and the gamelan tradition
00:16:39 A musical awakening
00:20:06 Portfolio careers: music as a life
00:23:02 Releasing music: relinquishing control
00:27:07 Recitement: soundtracking iconic voices
00:29:44 Constraint as creative focus
00:36:14 Vulnerability, live performance, and the trilogy
00:40:27 Hearing loss and a new sonic palette
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Visit Stephen Emmer at https://stephenemmer.com
and follow him on Bluesky → https://bsky.app/profile/stemmer.bsky.social
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/stephenemmer
and YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@stephenemmer
Purchase Stephen Emmer's album 'Asymmetrical Dot' from Bandcamp → https://stephenemmer.bandcamp.com/album/asymmetrical-dot
or Qobuz → https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/asymmetrical-dot-stephen-emmer/orokkca8y1f4t
and listen on your streaming platform of choice → https://album.link/9hxnsdk3nmnpp
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For extensive show notes, links, and podcast information, go to https://podcast.thetonearm.com
Be sure to check out The Tonearm, an online music + culture magazine featuring fascinating perspectives and conversations with creative people → https://www.thetonearm.com
The Tonearm on Mastodon → https://social.lol/@thetonearm
The Tonearm on Bluesky → https://bsky.app/profile/thetonearm.com
The Tonearm on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-tonearm
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