Alexa Tarantino
"The Firefly Code"
"The Firefly Code" is a piece that came to me while I was sitting in my parents' backyard on a summer visit during COVID. It was one of the first nights I had spent out of New York City since the lockdown, and I was mesmerized by the stillness and sounds of nature. I hadn't seen fireflies in ages and was pleasantly surprised by their presence. The soundscape of the woods and the flashing fireflies made me think that nature was communicating in some type of Morse Code. So, "The Firefly Code" was born. I created a twelve-tone row for the A sections, worked it in retrograde for the bridge, and put it all together into a slow blues-ish chord progression with a 6/8 afro-latin groove. I am so thrilled with out how it came out on my latest record, Firefly (featuring Art Hirahara, Behn Gillece, Boris Kovlov, and Rudy Royston)!