Suggested Album

Sins & Fantasies

Mark Takeshi McGregor

2014

Ephemera

Bjarke Ingels

Posted January 5, 2026

Another creator I found through Netflix's "Abstract" series—why is that gone??? Ingels work, and particularly his thinking about his work, has been a great inspiration. Like music, architecture seems to require a kind of balance and precision to function properly, even when it appears meandering or improvisatory.

Karel Martens

Posted September 20, 2025

I was immediately struck by Martens' aesthetic after seeing his work at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam this summer. Something about the combination of conceptual precision and analog production, as well as the use of pattern and variation, felt immediately musical to me. Well worth a look!

Marie Chouinard

Posted February 19, 2026

Chouinard is a visionary choreographer and creative mind. I saw "solos 1978-1998" way back in 1999 and it was a transformational experience for me.

Rei Kawakubo

Posted December 17, 2025

Legendary designer and founder of COMMES des GARÇONS, Kawakubo is deeply inspiring for her uncompromising search for originality. Her work reaches beyond fashion and into the deep recesses of desire, doubt, and curiosity.

Reach Out

I'd love to hear from you. Let me know any thoughts about your music, ensemble, organization, or any collaborations you might be interested in initiating.

Featured Collaborator

James Proudfoot (lighting designer)

A fantastic lighting designer and collaborator, thinking back it's quite possible that James has worked on every dance project I've composed music for!

Ephemera

Christoph Niemann

Posted November 3, 2025

I was introduced to Niemann's work through an episode of the Netflix series "Abstract". Such fantastically imaginative, whimsical, and surprising work. Brilliant.

Bliss Foster

Posted June, 2025

Always brilliant, funny, and inspiring, Bliss Foster's fantastic deep dives on contemporary fashion provide context, background, and insight into an often baffling world. I've always been drawn to fashion, but Bliss' long-form videos became a regular visit during lockdown and have been a go-to ever since. This look at Issay Miyake is highly recommended.

Sofia Gubaidulina

Posted July 23, 2025

Probably my longest lasting and perhaps deepest source of musical inspiration, Gubaidulina's music is at once dramatic, moving, meditative, and transcendent. A staggering musical mind and truly one-of-a-kind compositional voice.

Wolfgang Rihm

Posted October 2, 2025

I had the enormous pleasure and good fortune of seeing Ensemble Modern perform Jagden und Formen in Karlsruhe many years ago. The capacity for invention demonstrated by that work is mind-boggling and a constant source of both intimidation and motivation! Possibly the last of his kind.

composer@jamesbmaxwell.com