I feel like I need to start with a disclaimer—the video for "Air Traffic" isn’t a political ad. You could reasonably see Elon Musk’s cameo, and all the headlines about mass firings at the FAA and assume I’m drawing corollaries.
The video is told from the viewpoint of the passenger looking out the plane’s window, worrying about all that’s happened in the world. “Air Traffic” is about what’s happening in our heads as passengers—what it feels like to be in the air while everything on the ground feels unsteady.
You can say “one thing didn’t lead to the other.” That plane in Toronto didn’t crash because of FAA cuts, and I wouldn’t disagree, not even for a minute. Regardless, everything is happening at the same time.
So as I boarded a few planes between Albany and Miami, I avoided seeing the ubiquitous news video from Toronto, and I took out my laptop and started writing music. “Air Traffic” captures that tension—the delicate balance required to keep the skies moving, thousands of aircraft crossing paths, landing safely, delivering millions of people across the globe. It’s a system built on precision, communication, and trust. But what happens when that system is infected by chaos?
—Doubt.
As the new presidential administration dismantles protections, Americans are left trying to hold everything together with fewer resources. Planes are crashing—literally—as uncertainty builds, and we collectively cross our fingers. "Air Traffic" reflects that overwhelm, starting with driving percussion before spinning into a careful cacophony that sounds to me like the anxiety we carry-on at 30,000 feet and beyond.
What if current events had a movie score?
This video is part of my “Scoring The News” series.
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