A person comes across a button where one is least likely to find one. On it are the words “press for audio.” As one does, they decide to mess with it.
The bus stops in Urbana, Illinois all have an electronic screen displaying upcoming bus arrivals as well as a button labeled “Press for Audio.”
Despite the vagueness of the label, it doesn’t take too much thinking to surmise that pressing the button will play audio verbally reading out the arrivals on screen. Unfortunately, when I tried pressing it, it didn’t work. Naturally, the absence of an expected sound led me to try and fill it in with something of my own.
So if no additional context were present, what SHOULD one expect to hear when pressing a button that promises only “audio”? This piece hopes to evoke exactly that, starting with some uncertain messing around by a curious listener before their world dissolves and they are swept away entirely.
Performances:
- 23 April 2022 – Romeoville, IL at EMM 2022
- 2 April 2022 – Kalamazoo, MI at SEAMUS 2022
- 3 May 2021 – online at NSEME 2021
- 23 October 2020 – online with New Music Mosaic
Victor Zheng 
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