How a sci-fi dystopia became a personal utopia (ft. Arc Iris)

About this episode

The episode explores how a sci-fi ballet's dystopian themes became a personal utopia for its creators amidst real-world challenges.

A sci-fi ballet imagined a 2080 where AI strips people of purpose, and the day before its New York premiere, an actual dystopia arrived. Arc Iris, the trio of Jocie Adams, Zach Tenoriom and Ray Belli, built iTMRW as a concept record set in a future ruled by a mega-corporation that shares its name. In its world, AI has taken most jobs and even the thinking left inside them, so the corporation offers pods where anyone can live any dream in virtual reality. The piece premiered in Cambridge in January 2020, then its New York show collapsed the day before the lockdown. What follows is the story of a project that outlasted its own premise. When venues closed, they left Providence for Los Angeles, rebuilt a dilapidated house, spent eight months in a 120-square-foot shed, and constructed their own studio and stage. The dystopia they wrote became, in their telling, a personal utopia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Switched on Pop

Guests: Jocie Adams, Zach Tenoriom, Ray Belli

Topics covered

• sci-fi
• dystopia
• virtual reality
• music
• creativity
• AI

Keywords

• sci-fi ballet
• AI
• mega-corporation
• virtual reality pods
• personal utopia
• music project
• lockdown

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Arc Iris, iTMRW

Places: New York, Cambridge, Los Angeles

More episodes of Switched on Pop

• Paul McCartney went back to Liverpool for something new to say · June 9, 2026 · 43 min
• MUNA's end of the world dance party · June 2, 2026 · 54 min
• Drake's Slop Era · May 26, 2026 · 55 min
• Kacey Musgraves walks country’s borderlands · May 19, 2026 · 40 min
• Two countries at war. Rostam’s 'American Stories' belongs to both. · May 15, 2026 · 55 min
• Eurovision is back – but not without controversy · May 12, 2026 · 58 min