In a world of constant noise, the most radical musical statement is silence.

Music is everywhere. It is in the elevator, in the grocery store, in the Uber, in your pocket. We have soundtracked every second of our existence. And in doing so, we have destroyed the power of music.

When music is constant, it becomes wallpaper. We hear it, but we do not listen to it. We use it to drown out our own thoughts, to avoid the terrifying prospect of being alone with our own minds.

The most radical act a musician can perform today is not to play faster, or louder, or more technically. It is to stop. To force the audience to confront the silence.

We need to reclaim silence. Only in silence can we learn to listen again. Only after the noise stops can the music actually begin.