Program Notes:

This project explores the theme of censorship, inspired by Margaret Roberts’ book Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China’s Great Firewall. The piece is structured in three movements, each reflecting a distinct method of censorship: fear, fiction, and flooding. An AI model, developed by Rose Qianyi Sun, will be trained to manipulate sound processes live on stage, mirroring these censorship tactics sonically in real time.

• Movement I – Fear
  Explores the aggressive yet subtle nature of fear-based censorship, which relies on constant observation to be effective.

• Movement II – Fiction
  Examines the insidious efficiency of fiction as a form of censorship—redirecting attention and concealing truth without raising suspicion. In this movement, the AI transforms the vocalist’s spoken text into mumbles and fragmented sound units, reflecting how fiction distorts perception without detection.

• Movement III – Flooding
  Investigates the overwhelming tactic of flooding, in which positive propaganda saturates the public sphere, burying or obscuring hidden information beneath its sheer volume.