Spectral Desert explores the physicality and materiality of a specific place using the methods and tools of sound recordings and arrangements of recorded sound to immerse the listener in a sonic environment . In June of 2005, the Cave Creek Complex wildfire cleared nearly 244, 000 acres of desert land located in the Tonto National Forest of central Arizona. The lightning-caused fire left a vast graveyard of foliage, mostly juniper and mesquite trees, spread over the scorched earth. I chose to record the sounds of these trees brushing against the ground, stones,  other plants, cow bones, or blowing in the wind. Nearly 4 hours worth of recordings were then edited and arranged into a chorus of sounds that serves as a requiem for these trees. There is a rigidness and resistence found in the branches of the dry, brittle skeletal remains of the juniper and mesquite that possess a captivating sonic quality. This specific physicality can also provide us with a reminder of the powerful forces of nature, how these forces take part in a larger ebb and flow of life and death, and also how human activity is implicated in this complex system. Spectral Desert in not a critique of all of these forces (the necessity of wildfire in the renewal of the land, the impact cattle over-grazing has on wildfire management, etc.), but rather it is simply an observation, and also an invitation to listen, because it is within this act of conscious receiving that we find true understanding.