Wound Up/Unwind - Unwind for String Quartet and Hand Pan
Written: 2025
Total Duration: 10'
for string quartet and percussion (cajón with pedal and handpan—D Kurd 10: D) A, B-flat, C, D, E, F, G, A, C )
Commissioned by FAB5 quintet with support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
World Premiere: FAB5, Mostly Modern Festival | The Netherlands, Oostkerk, Middelburg, Middelburg, Zeeland, The Netherlands, May 2, 2025
US Premiere: Mostly Modern Festival. FAB5, Mostly Modern Festival, Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, June 18, 2026
Publisher: Bill Holab Music
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/wound-up-unwind
VIdeo: https://youtu.be/RPyXPYx-nuo


PROGRAM NOTE
For many years, my wife Victoria and her FAB5 quintet (string quartet and percussion), have entertained thousands of people at numerous performance spaces and travel hubs in New York City, including Moynihan Train Hall, Oculus World Trade Center, Javits Center, and Chelsea Market. Having seen many of their shows, especially those at travel hubs, there's a certain tension and release you experience watching people wait anxiously for their trains, and then the release they feel when they are finally on their way. I've had these experiences myself, so I wanted to create two pieces that emulate these feelings.

Wound Up/Unwind consists of two contrasting pieces for string quartet and percussion. The first, Wound Up, for string quartet and cajón, imitates the feeling of being worried, anxious, and frustrated, especially while waiting to board a train. The second, Unwind, for string quartet and handpan, is calm and soothing, perhaps emulating the satisfying feeling of relaxing in a quiet seat as the train leaves the station. Both pieces can be performed independently and in any order.

Wound Up/Unwind is written for and commissioned by the FAB5 quintet with support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Unwind for String Quartet and Hand Pan

i dont know if u still exist or not
but why would i even want to know
its hard for me to go outside
when my bed still smells like your blouse

moving to a new house
with maple leaves falling from the skies
remeber the times back at our town?
i remember how much you loved the fall

bitting my fingers makes me wanna die
theres some kind of wierd shit in life sometimes

are you crying?
cause i want to cry
but its hard with everyone looking aroud
so ill just light a cigarette or a joint
and let myself enjoy being on my own

no good valentine (i lost you) - demo

voice memo 1

the dogs in the yard
are barkin loudly
i can hear it fine
my ears 
are hurting

noises 
all around me
are so big
they bounce in my head

all this food is making me sick
nothing in my bed
nothing in my fridge
nothing in my chest

i’m dulling out
i will not stop i will not stop it
i’m dulling out 
i will not i will not
i feel it still
the claws in my brain trying to remember 
but i’m too dull 
to recall what it was i wanted to not forget

i’m dulling out
overstimulated 
unprepared for the consequences of my actions 

i feel myself
dulling out 
my senses are getting weaker 
my sense of self is growing smaller 
 
the moths that used to crowd me
are no longer attracted to my glow
they’ve found something brighter
than what they used to know

i can feel my brain as it gets older
sense my hair turning grey 
at roots
i will not cover them
i will not cover

i’m dulling out
i will not stop i will not stop it
i’m dulling out 
i will not i will not
i feel it still
the claws in my brain trying to remember 
but i’m too dull 
to recall what it was i wanted to not forget

the crows have come
they’re singing softly
they can see i’ll be there soon
they can smell it on my breath

Im dulling out.
Im dulling out

Dull

i woke up and immediately saw the moon

ugly brunette - horse jumper of love (Scruffpuppie cover)

Release

I found a sketchbook I owned when I lived in texas, this isn't really a song, but more of a story about my growth from an ignorant, selfish child, from a young boy who began to experience hell and hurt, to somebody who wants more than anything to help those experiencing hell and hurt. I hope you enjoy.
the story:

7 to 13 years ago
your little sketchbook snuck it's way into your posession. so little. so carefree
when you were a selfish brat who never saw the world outside of the light load you carried

you left home 13 years later
young, naive, and scared.
clinging to your materialistic desires.
and look at you now;
not so naive anymore.
you've learned so much, but it's not so easy now
18 years later you've discovered so much happiness subjective
not too many are as lucky as you 
life is pain but you know that now 
you know relentless pain
you know the endless rain
everything is burning as you sing
trying to save broken minds
take them under your wing
anything that you can do
to help the souls who felt like you
sometimes words make do
when you don't stop asking who
who will help me thru

you know hell

I spend every single day thinking about how it’s always someone’s last, and it’s never going to end, until it does, of course.

learning to know hell from the beginning

sorry if the lyrics r screwy, I jus listened to it and wrote them down from what I could hear.
listen to the original here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYV0akXYNgk

john cage- the loner(s) cover

nerve ends

This is not my song. It is by Scruffpuppie. It is a clip from a live vid that can be found on his insta as a igtv video.

i woke up and immediately saw the moon

heartless wilderness