In our current culture, artistic lines between different voices are increasingly blurred. We draw inspiration from one another across nations and time, but this may be a double-edged sword. New stories are difficult to tell when like begets like.

Composers today walk a fine line between old and new ideas. Innovation through rethinking old ideas creates new stories to be told. Our global interconnectivity and enmeshment of artistic ideas creates a shared consciousness of sorts; sounds that evoke certain memories, textures and soundscapes that provoke certain emotions. Tweaking just the right idea creates a new branch on the tree.

Using old tunes, The National’s Bryce Dessner breathes new life into colonial songs of bloody murder. Strange and dark, we hear from the likes of Omie Wise and Sister Polly and how they met their unfortunate ends in the Murder Ballades.