Additional information/sources for OHNomad – The Silicon Island: Clash

The Silicon Island Septet narrates the 400-year journey of the Taiwanese identity. The entire piece is structured in three movements, each representing a distinct phase of the journey: contact, clash, and fusion. The second movement is where OHNomad unleashes his most intense emotions about the Taiwanese people. He reaches deeply into the most polarizing and darkest aspect of Taiwanese history: “ethnic clash.” The movement begins with a flute solo introducing a distinct Japanese melody, complemented by pizzicato violin sounds, as if the Taiwanese people are cautiously tiptoeing around the new Japanese colonial administration. The subsequent dialogues and ensemble of various parts then immerse the audience in the sorrow of a confusing era, introducing Taiwanese people’s rootless yearning for an identity that has not surfaced. Furthermore, the society is now transitioning from an untamed frontier to a rigorous modern industrial landscape, intensifying the pressure of assimilation among once