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

A sci-fi dystopia conceived in 2020 as a performance art piece called 'iTomorrow'—a bleak vision of 2080 ruled by a corporate entity that replaces human purpose with AI-driven virtual reality—unexpectedly became the blueprint for a deeply personal utopia. When the global pandemic killed the original live premiere, the band Arc Iris, led by Jossie Adams and Zach Tenorio, faced creative and emotional collapse. Instead of giving up, they rebuilt their lives from the ground up: living in a 120-square-foot shed, rehabilitating a dilapidated LA property, and building a studio and backyard venue from scratch. Amid the chaos of moving, marriage, and the birth of their child Azzy, they completed the album in a state of raw, intimate creation—recording 'Dreamer of Dreams' while breastfeeding and conducting strings with one hand. The album, once a warning about technological alienation, transformed into a testament to resilience, love, and artistic rebirth. Now, seven years later, 'iTomorrow' arrives not as a prophecy of doom, but as a living, breathing sanctuary. The episode reveals how trauma and disruption can catalyze creation when met with radical commitment. What was meant to be a critique of a future where humans are replaced by AI became, in practice, a celebration of human connection, improvisation, and the power of building your own world when the old one collapses. The band didn’t just survive the dystopia—they turned it into a home, a studio, a concert series, and a family.