Exit the Foundry was originally commissioned for euphonium by Matthew Turek, a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire student completing a research project that explored the psychological experience of composition. Turek commissioned works from seven student composers, offering them very few guidelines save the inclusion of his instrument, euphonium. Hase's contribution, Exit the Foundry, incorporates three contrasting sonic elements. The first element, recorded and sampled mechanical sounds, includes various metallic hits, blowtorches, saws, fans, and other industrial noises. The second element, synthetic electronic instruments, consists of synth pads, leads, arpeggios, and an electronic drum kit. The third element is a low/mid register acoustic instrument that offers a contrastingly natural tone and lyrical voice. Hase produced the accompaniment track for Exit the Foundry in a computer based digital audio workstation, and included a multiphonic passage in the live instrument line to offer an aural bridge between the smooth timbre of a live instrument and the sometimes rough and piercing wanderings of the synthetic and mechanical sounds. At the start of the piece, each element battles for its place in the foreground, but inevitably a compromise is reached and all three elements meld into one coherent musical voice.
