This piece originated from a little melodic idea that came to me while I was humming to myself in a small but reverberant kitchen just over a year and a half ago. I was in high spirits, feeling grateful for the support of my family, close friends, a positive new relationship, and the opportunity to begin graduate studies in a field that fascinates me. While humming I came up with a little motif that evolved into a melody I thought should be set for voice or perhaps violin. Because I don’t play either of these instruments, I "sang" the melody into my voice recorder and allowed it to float around in my head (among other unrealized ideas, some from ten years ago). 

This April whilst in a creative stupor I found it challenging to come up with new ideas. Eventually, I decided to sit down and spend some time working with the piano to develop the idea into a composition. What was previously “a possible vocal or violin melody” began to take on a life of its own. Later when I learned @spitfireaudio was giving away their BBC Discover Strings VST in exchange for a five-minute questionnaire, I started working on the string accompaniment. Now in June, I am happy to share "Not Unearned" with you.  

Anyway, that’s enough self-indulgent musing for now but I thought I would share this in the off chance you also have a decade-long backlog of unrealized ideas to start working on. 

The photo of canyons is from a trip I took to the Sleeping Giant in Thunderbay (also two years ago).

Not Unearned

Not Unearned (Piano version)

This piece originated from a little melodic idea that came to me while I was humming to myself in a small but reverberant kitchen just over a year and a half ago. I was in high spirits, feeling grateful for the support of my family, close friends, a positive new relationship, and the opportunity to begin graduate studies in a field that fascinates me. While humming I came up with a little motif that evolved into a melody I thought should be set for voice or perhaps violin. Because I don’t play either of these instruments, I sang the melody into my voice recorder and allowed it to float around in my head (among other unrealized ideas, some from ten years ago). 

This April whilst in a creative stupor I found it challenging to come up with new ideas. Eventually, I decided to sit down and spend some time working with the piano to develop the idea into a composition. What was previously “a possible vocal or violin melody” began to take on a life of its own. Later when I learned @spitfireaudio was giving away their BBC Discover Strings VST in exchange for a five-minute questionnaire, I started working on the string accompaniment. Now in June, I am happy to share "Not Unearned" with you.  

Anyway, that’s enough self-indulgent musing for now but I thought I would share this in the off chance you also have a decade-long backlog of unrealized ideas to start working on. 

The photo of canyons is from a trip I took to the Sleeping Giant in Thunderbay (about 2 years ago).

Happy New Year! Whether you spent New Years celebrating with friends and family or simply on your own, I wish you a positive new year full of fond memories. This year I spent New Year's Eve on my own in my apartment. I focused my energy on finishing this piece preserving delightful memories of a recent visit to Montmorency Falls (in Quebec).  Wherever you are, and whether or not you are currently celebrating the new year, I hope you are safe and sound.

Montmorency

Thank you for listening to my composition. The art for the piece is by my brother Eoin(eandersonphotography on Instagram), and I can not think of a more fitting photograph to accompany the idea behind this composition. I also realized after writing this that I definitely took some inspiration from one of my favourite tracks by @ianaisling called "Galaxy", which you'll hear in the left hand motif.

Lately I've been reading studies on how prior information we have about composers, like autobiographical information, affects the emotions we perceive in their music. As such, if you would like your listening experience uninterrupted by my thoughts and perceptions of my own work feel free to stop reading here.
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Recently I've spent more time than I would like to living in the future. I look out to those who have taken very different paths and I sometimes wonder where I would be if I had made different decisions, even though I feel I have made the right ones. I am fairly sure this is a common theme throughout adulthood.
As for the title, sometimes I imagine following my own path is like stumbling through a forest in the dark, with nothing but a meagre flashlight guiding the way--there are many uncertainties as our paths diverge from more well-trodden ones. 

But should I remember to look up, I'll notice the glorious night sky above me, right where I am.

Nightlight

I'm finally sharing a little piano piece I started working on two years ago. Lately my composition has drifted to piano pieces with some pockets of improvisation. These pieces are a bit more stripped back, so I've been hesitant to share them. Nevertheless, in the spirit of the title, here it is.

Right Here

I started writing this piece in 2020, when a melody entered my head walking home from the grocery store. Whistling the melody, I thought it sounded like a bird call, so I spent some time trying to figure out which bird had inspired the melody. After figuring out it was a wood thrush, I asked my insanely talented friend Rachel Horrell (@rachel_horrell on Twitter) if she could draw me one. She created and finished the artwork by hand before I could even finish the piece. 

With time to reflect on the piece, I kept reworking the middle section, and finally settled on what you hear now. I often write multi-track pieces, but this one is only one track, recorded directly from my Roland F-110.

I mentioned this earlier, but the artwork here is by my friend Rachel Horrell, a talented musician, artist and music researcher.

Wood Thrush

Begin Again (alternate take)

Right Here (alternate take)

A draft of a little tune that I started writing a couple nights ago when I happened upon a synth idea I liked, taking some inspiration from Jobim's "Stoneflower" album

Caterpillars

Brock Hewitt's wonderful atmospheric realization of my most recent work.

Idyll II (Brock Hewitt Rework)

A piece that evolved from an improvisation performed close to midnight. While the piano part itself was written within half an hour, I spent significantly longer mixing and mastering the piece. The result is what you hear now. 
I hope you enjoy it!

Sleepyhead

A semi-improvised piece.

To Fe, whose sleeplessness often competes with mine

Sus Ojeras

There's no word for reverdecer in English but it roughly translates to "growing green again" from Spanish.

Reverdecer

This piece evolved from a little idea that came to me while playing piano at my parents' house on a particularly quiet New Years Eve. 

Composed and produced by: Cameron Anderson
Guitars, drones: Liam Foley of Medians (https://soundcloud.com/mediansmusic)
Artwork: Eóin Anderson (https://www.instagram.com/eoin.anderson/)

New Beginnings

New Beginnings (feat. Medians)

I find this to be an interesting time to reflect on our habits and goals as many of our routines we've taken for granted have now changed or indefinitely taken a backseat. I've been lucky enough to be able to work from home and have been trying to reinvent my daily routine to focus on some of the goals I left behind or forgot about over the last few months.

The picture is of Gocta Falls, a magical place I visited a few years ago while exploring Peru. It was only shortly after releasing this piece that I realized I accidentally stole the title from my friends in the ambient duo Medians.

Begin Again

I wrote this piece while reflecting on my favourite places to visit around my childhood home and the feeling of refuge they elicit.

Favourite Place

This is a rework of @yoursilentportrait 's piece "35". I left the first minute of the piece featuring the poignant piano melody and synths completely unchanged, appending some new orchestral textures while trying to retain the beguiling atmosphere of the original piece.

Your Silent Portrait - 35 (Rework)

Although I've had less time than I would like to compose music lately it is still keeping me sane amidst a busy master's workload. 

The title is inspired in part from the idea that much of the knowledge we take for granted which helps us to understand the world around us was developed, refined and fought for over several centuries, such as the fundamental idea of Heliocentrism.

Epicycles

I don't like to say the music I write is about any particular subject because to me music is a deeply personal medium to connect with. However, I was feeling rather sentimental writing this piece and filled with gratitude being able to connect and celebrate with the people I love, albeit largely through a computer screen. 

While interacting digitally is not the most ideal way to connect, it's a privilege I often take for granted.   In a sense I wanted to write something that could be a celebration of celebrations to come, reflecting how I will feel with renewed opportunities to coincide with the people who are special to me in a common space. 

The artwork is by my talented brother Eóin, you can find more of his work at: https://instagram.com/eandersonphotography

Coincide

Hi, I write soundtrack-esque piano music and study music cognition.

 I have always gravitated to the piano when composing as it offers a wonderful outlet for creativity and introspection.  Beyond composition, I study music's expressive power to convey emotion.

I hope you like what you hear!

Bio photo: Shu Sakamoto(instagram.com/mosh_shu).

Cameron Anderson

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