A fully improvised vocal improvisation at the Paris Loop Jubilee 2014

Paris Loop Best 2014 #2

I was trained in tradition, yet I stepped beyond its walls. Sound is my language, not to decorate but to liberate. Composer, performer, and listener — one fire, three sparks, inseparable.

I write and compose to uncover what is hidden: the truth buried beneath power, the dignity of the ordinary, the current of awareness that flows through all.

I belong to no authority, only to sound, to truth, to the silence from which all begins. My work is not mastery, but remembrance — a manifesto in every note, every word, every breath.

I am a composer of the 21st century: a studio artist. The studio is my forge, my battlefield, my sanctuary. Machines hum like choirs, circuits burn like torches, cables twist like roots in the earth. Tradition breaks open in this fire — the score turns to light, the instrument becomes the world itself.

To be a studio artist is to seize sound at its rawest, to sculpt electricity and breath as one, to summon the invisible power that belongs to all. Here music is not bound by walls, not enslaved by profit, not tamed by form. It is free, untouchable, unending — a living flame for the century that is ours.

Sound fragments, field recordings, radio transmissions and the secret soundscapes of machines and building structures are taken apart and reconfigured. The work presented here is the result of such explorations into the sonics of analogue and digital materiality. The music takes the listener on audiological expeditions into uncharted territories. I’m interested in all kinds of collaboration, get in touch if you would like to exchange ideas and/or praxis.
... and thanks for listening!
Lars Björk

I am a composer and producer of instrumental music in several genres, including ambient soundscapes, electronica, orchestral and chamber music.  

Musical influences include John Coltrane, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Holst, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Tangerine Dream, Robert Prince, Frank Zappa, Brian Eno, Heinrich Ignaz, Franz von Biber.

My Method of Composing and Producing
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I'm sharing my method of composing and producing music recordings in case other composer-producers like me might find ideas worth exploring in their own work. I use this method for Classical, Avant-Pop or Neo-Folk Instrumental genres, not for Ambient and Soundscape pieces. Non-composers might find this explanation interesting, but having a bit of music theory background will definitely help. I consider myself a humble learner when it comes to music theory. 

I owe a debt of gratitude to British musician and educator Gareth Green, whose Music Matters online courses and free YouTube lessons have taught me so much over the past few years. Thanks to his instruction, I’ve moved from struggling to compose music by trial and error to something more enjoyable and productive. The knowledge I've gained has taken my work in new and expanding directions. As the saying goes, “Theory is not a cage — it’s a map. It doesn’t make the journey for you, but it keeps you from getting lost.” 

When I start a new piece, I begin by choosing a key, and picking a scale drawn from one of these sources:
 
1) Western Tonal / Functional Harmony - major or minor chords I II III IV V VI VII
2) Modal Harmony - Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.
3) Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns" 
4) Messiaen’s "Seven Modes of Limited Transposition" 

For many pieces, I also decide on a progression, one as a simple as I IV V, or something more elaborate.  

Next I create a "scales and progressions" piano track in my DAW (digital audio workstation software) and enter the chords I to VII in my chosen key. These harmonized scales serve as a basis for writing multipart harmonies and finding pivot chords for key modulations. 

At the start, I know what instruments I want to use, making adjustments along the way. I tend to write chord parts first, then melodies created through a mix of improvisation and direct input in the DAW. Sometimes I start with a melody.

I develop melodies and variations of a phrase by some combination of: a) passing it from one instrument to another, transposing it by an interval that sounds pleasing, b) reversing it, c) inverting it around the tonic (first) note of the scale. These are well-known methods. 

After completing a section, I choose another scale and maybe a new key and repeat the process until I have a draft of the entire piece. Then I export a recording and listen to it “offline”, take notes of errors and new ideas, and incorporate them back into the piece. Often this “compose / listen / compose” cycle is repeated many times. These iterative cycles include adding new ideas, polishing transitions between sections, changing the arrangement, and incorporating expressive details like accents, and articulations (staccato, sustain, portato etc.). I’m often working several different pieces at once. 

Last is mixing and mastering: balancing the loudness between instruments and adjusting elements like reverb, compression, and equalization. I tend to mix as I compose, even though many producers frown on that approach. I find mixing as I go helps me envision the completed piece and make adjustments to the choice of instruments; it self-inspires me when the piece is starting to sound good.  At the end I do a final mix, but as the saying goes, “A mix is never finished — it’s surrendered.”

In the end, this method gives me a basis for exploration and creativity and helps me stay focused. The goal is always to make a piece of music that feels expressive, cohesive, and emotionally resonant.

WARNING : I'm just an addict ... addicted to music.There are people who are born to make music, others are born to hearing.
Whenever was part of this second group.
Maybe it's a habit, I gotta use, even if it 's rock, jazz or the quiet storm.
Great pictures of the things I love - music, painting, books, photography, architecture, design, women, and more.
I love music more than lasagna.
Better to burn out than fade away. The older you get, the better life gets. 
But time also seems to be accelerating, the clock running too fast. 
So, looking at those early days, everything is very slow, stretched, and great significance. The most recent time, I spent busy with simple things. 
People think rock and roll is only about teenage rebellion, but why can not exist old rebel too?


Take a nice long sip of cynicism with your favorite podcast hosts Timmy and Jimmy. We will talk you through only the most dismal and depraved topics in our society. Come gather round as we give long rambling answers as to the reasons why we are sad sacks. Oh, and this is primarily a comedy podcast so laugh, haha hahaha *sobs*
#cynic #empowerment #podcast #podcasts #about #capitalism #socialism #sad #topics #funny #informative #cynical #deadjokes #dead #jokes

I play improvised music all my life. 
My main interest is focused on enlarging the possibilities of traditional instruments with the help of various sound processors.

If you like my music you can hear it also on bandcamp here

https://bluelizard.bandcamp.com/album/stellar-voices 
https://bluelizard.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-the-ocean
or something little bit different
https://bluelizard.bandcamp.com/album/call-for-the-angels
https://bluelizard.bandcamp.com/album/urban-prayers 
or
https://poli5.bandcamp.com/album/paraneurologic

Paris Loop Best 2014 #2

AmatWorks