Wired was commissioned by Aaron Holloway Nahum and the Riot Ensemble for their series of concerts featuring Dutilleux’s Les Citations (for oboe, harpsichord, percussion and double bass). When I was asked to write for this unusual combination of instruments, I was drawn initially to the harpsichord, not having written for it before. I was particularly interested by its raw, clattering, almost machine-like sound, in comparison to the rest of the ensemble, and this became the focal point for me during the composition process. I started to imagine ways in which the other instruments could become part of this mechanical world, and aimed to chain the disparate instrumental colours together to give the impression of one instrument’s material directly impacting upon the next, and creating a musical flow throughout the whole piece. The title also refers to the frenetic tension of the music, unrelenting from from start to finish.