Stanley Praimnath was working as an executive for Fuji Bank during 9/11. He was standing at his desk as the second plane made impact, and he recalls staring directly down the nose of the plane moments before. Luckily, Euro Brokers executive Brian Clark happened to be walking by and heard his screams (Praimnath was trapped and injured). Clark helped pull him over the wall, and the two were able to escape down the one remaining staircase. (This is a highly abridged retelling, and I would urge you to Google the story).
The main thing that caught my attention about Praimnath’s story was the fact that he literally looked out the window and saw Flight 175 coming directly at him. I can’t think of a more chilling image. The thing is, that image only lasted for a few split seconds, but I think it is one of the most important moments in American history. My goal in creating this album was to freeze time, bringing it to the slowest speed possible, and create a soundtrack for that moment, as Praimnath stares out the window. How many feelings and sensations can a person feel in a few milliseconds? What was going through his head the split second before that plane hit the building? This is the concept that the album explores. I focus on little snippets from that day (the second he looks at the plane, immediately after the impact, injuring his hand as he escapes, ten years after 9/11, and the sounds of New York that day), slow them down until time is passing so slowly that one second would last five minutes, and then create sound collages and synth drones to describe those moments musically. I’m not attempting to make a sonic recreation of the moment, but rather, try to express the abstract feelings associated with those moments musically. There isn’t a precise “meaning” behind each note I play; they just evokea very particular feelings that can be interpreted in different ways in the context of a close study of Praimnath’s experience. The album is bookended by Suite for Praimnath, a slow long-form ambient drone that serves as a contemplative soundtrack for a reflection on the terrible events of that day in a search for meaning at the beginning and end of the album. Surely, this event changed his life, and I doubt he has ever stopped thinking about that day. Those two songs are sort of a general tribute to him; they soundtrack his life post 9/11, and attempt to describe what it must be like trying to reconcile his survival amongst the death of so many and what the event means to him personally.

This project was recorded directly to cassette, with each song as a single take.