Bloodorange (2016), stereo electroacoustic music, is inspired by several cultural norms that I don't understand. The terse version... these cultural norms have to do with pride over seemingly obscure things and the investment of time and personal happiness into things that are random (or unknown). The title refers to bleeding orange and not to the fruit. The color here is not important, just the idea of blood-color-changing levels of obsession. All the sound sources for Bloodorange are from field recordings of some of these cultural events. Further, the approach to contrast and the development of musical materials is inspired by these notions.

The piece was composed primarily utilizing an interactive algorithmic process coded in Max/MSP. The code focuses on controlling polyphonic layers of granular synthesis (grainstretch~ in a poly~) and a signal routing matrix that governs additional signal processing.

Bloodorange (electroacoustic)

Facture No. 2 (2006) for solo percussion is the second work in a series of solo works composed with a rigid compositional process focused on form and structure of gestures. Facture (french) - a construction, a making, a work fo art, or in this case, a musical construction. The work is organized by timbre (unpitched-metal, pitched-metal, skin, and wood) and makes use of an incipit, as well as stochastic and serial processes.

Facture No. 2 was composed with the use of algorithmic composition tools programmed in Max/MSP.

Facture no 2 (solo percussion)

Manchouli (2021), for violin, percussion, and computer takes inspiration from the William Empson poem of the same name. This brief work of Empson’s deals with the state of society and draws on a juxtaposition of images - the beauty of “great frontiers” and Japanese occupied Manchuria’s “crowds in rags.” The final two lines are particularly striking, “I find it normal; So too to extract false comfort from that word.” This notion and the idea of such a realization in thinking is central to Manchouli. What has become normal? Has this become normal? Manchouli is a sonification of the text of the poem – an experiment in mapping text to musical parameters such as pitch, rhythm, and dynamics.

The work is a continuation of the composer’s research into computer-assisted algorithmic composition and electroacoustic music composition. Manchouli was composed with the software Common Music/GRACE and Max. The composition of Manchouli was supported by the University of Northern Iowa College of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences Research/Creative Activity Grant 19/20.

Manchouli (violin, percussion, and computer)

Rules (2019), for solo percussion, draws inspiration from non-linear narrative and the works in progress of Walt Whitman - his drafts, notes, and editorial marks, etc. This work uses the text from one of these works in progress - Rules for Composition (early 1850s). Rules explores the use of non-linear narrative as an aleatoric device for musical structure to simulate the creative process evident in Whitman's works in progress.

Rules (solo percussion)

Contrapture (2009 rev 2012), video and electroacoustic music designed for 5.1 surround, draws inspiration from a variety of noisy devices or machines: airplanes, typewriters, printing presses, and others.  The title originates with a verbal mishap that I heard once;  I’m still not sure if the intended word was contraption or capture. In either case, this work resonates with both words due to the sounds sources, various processes used in its creation, and the imagery of the video.

Contrapture was composed with Grace (an algorithmic composition environment by Taube), Csound, AudioSculpt, and Protools. Max/MSP, After Effects, and Premiere were used for the processing and arranging of video material. Contrapturewas realized in the Experimental Music Studios at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Contrapture (electroacoustic)

Concept Drawing No. 1 was approached with an algorithmic process for governing pitch, rhythm, and texture. Some of the rules consisted of maintaining an almost constant running 16th note, that there will be no “non-chord” tones, the work will progressively become more complex (for the most part), and that each measure's harmonic identity will be determined by the rolling of dice. I first composed ten sonorities; some of these were traditional in construction and others I composed as a situation-based rule. For example, this sonority will be the same as the last sonority except with these changes... like adding or removing intervals from the “fundamental” of the sonority. I then proceeded to roll and d12 for the “fundamental” pitch class and a d10 for the sonority for every measure of the work, a number that I obtained by multiplying the results of two rolls of a d20. So, aside from a trip to the local gaming store, the completion of this piece required the analysis of the derived materials for the best possible route to the double bar.

Concept Drawing no 1 (solo piano)

Pantheod (2006), for chamber ensemble(10) - draws inspiration primarily from John Keats’s poem Song of Four Faeries. The titular faeries, named Salamander, Zephyr, Dusketha, and Breama, are each associated with an element in Keat’s poem and throughout mythology: Salamander to Fire, Zephry to Air, Dusketha to Earth, and Breama to Water.Pantheod’s four movements are a portrayal of these faeries/elements. Because of the differing characteristics of each faery and element each movement is approached differently in terms of pitch, rhythm, texture, and time. The first movement Zephyr (wind) utilizes overlapping augmented triads for pitch material, non-retrogradable rhythms, and is mostly aleatoric. All of these choices were made to emphasize vastness, fluidity, and a sense of unendingness. The subsequent movements follow this notion of characterizing the faeries and elements. Pantheod’s title is derived from a manipulation of the word pantheon, which is a monument or temple dedicated to all gods of a religion, or in this case Keats’s faeries and their associate elements. The instrumentation for Pantheod is an expansion of the instrumentation of Stravinsky’s L'histoire du Soldat (The Soldier's Tale), with additions (flute, horn, and viola) to balance each family of instruments. Pantheod was composed with the aid of the computer programs MusicGen and AthenaCL.

Pantheod (chamber ensemble)

Berg Variations (2021), for solo Disklavier, takes inspiration from the player piano works of Conlon Nancarrow and seeks to explore the unique compositional opportunities that are only available through such mechanical instruments. The piece makes use of Alban Berg’s Piano Sonata op. 1 tone row in its initial presentation for the theme of the work and relies primarily on poly tempo, fragmentation, and canonic processes to generate the materials of the work.

Berg Variations (disklavier)

Increment (2010) for clarinet and percussion, commissioned by Caleb Herron, is a work with a simple incrementing structural scheme that focuses on interaction between the two performers. The work was composed with the use of weighted interval sets, markov chains, and the various gesture driven algorithms. The Common Music/GRACE algorithmic composition environment was utilized as well as several primitives programmed Max and Java. 

Increment (clarinet and percussion)

Alchemy of Angels (2010) for chamber orchestra, inspired by Salvador Dali's late period work titled The Angel of Alchemy (1974), is an amalgamation of rather basic concepts: the addition of simple shapes and limited gestures to form complexity, and the manipulation of foreground/background roles. Aside from these notions on materials and craft, the sonic image of the flurry of wing beats, the idea of heralding an arrival, and the abstractness present in Dali's The Angel of Alchemy were the guiding ideas of this work.

Alchemy of Angels was commissioned by the UIUC New Music Ensemble.

Alchemy Of Angels (chamber orchestra)

Premiere => NISO - Erik Rohde, Conductor; 10.13.2022; GBPAC

Difference of Cognition (2022), for orchestra, was composed for Erik Rohde and the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra. The program for the work is focused on neurodivergence – the stance of neuro-different rather than neuro-deficient. The work traces a path of parsing data (Through thought, experience, and the senses), working through differing stances (Negotiations; Connecting intelligences), and ultimately achieving conclusion (Attention to difference, Abandoned; Finding forum). This could be a narrative for an internal process of realization or an external interaction between individuals. The work is a commentary from the viewpoint that all voices are needed at the table.

Taking inspiration from the program, the compositional process for Difference of Cognition also brings many ‘voices’ to the table. This is done through combining different compositional methodologies and tools within the work: interval & rhythmic cycles, infinity series, triadic transformations, rhythmic fractioning, rotational arrays, set theory, and text sonification. 

Difference of Cognition is a continuation of the composer’s research into computer-assisted algorithmic composition. It was composed with the use of the software Common Music/GRACE and Max.

Difference Of Cognition

Bruno Cabrera - Marimba

Mantis (2015), for solo marimba, draws inspiration from the praying mantis insect. The piece was composed as part of the composer’s ongoing research in computer-assisted algorithmic composition and composing with MIR feedback. Mantis was composed with the aid of Common Music/Grace and Max.

Mantis (solo marimba)

Premiere => UIUC Symphony Orchestra - James Blachly, Conductor; 2.29.2012; KCPA

Paranoiac-Critical Variations (2011), commissioned by the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra, is inspired by the paranoiac-critical method (PCM) developed by Salvador Dalí in the early 1930s. Dalí describes the PCM as a "spontaneous method of irrational knowledge based on the critical and systematic objectivity of the associations and interpretations of delirious phenomena." The method was inspired by the ability of the brain to perceive links between things that rationally are not linked. Paranoiac-Critical Variations is concerned with the implications of Dalí's PCM for sound and music, perceptual links between variations and juxtapositions of musical materials, as well as the themes, mood, and gestures present in several works from Dalí's paranoiac-critical period: The Persistence of Memory, Soft Construction with Boiled Beans, The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, Metamorphosis of Narcissus, Autumn Cannibalism, and The Sublime Moment.

Paranoiac-Critical Variations is organized into six movements to be performed mostly without pause. Each movement is approached with one of the above mentioned works in mind, and attempts, albeit sometimes abstractly, to highlight features of the painting: I. The Persistence of Memory uses the notions of juxtaposition, melting, and gestural shapes drawn from objects in the painting; II. Soft Construction uses the mood and intent of the painting; III. The Disintegration is a derivative of movement I. as The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory is a derivative of The Persistence of Memory; IV. Metamorphosis of Narcissus uses the notions of juxtaposition, variation, and the shapes of objects from the painting; V. Cannibalism in Autumn uses the notions of juxtaposition and mood; and VI. The Sublime Moment uses mood and the shapes of objects from the painting. 

Paranoiac-Critical Variations (orchestra)

Pathfinder (2009), electroacoustic music designed for 5.1 surround, draws inspiration from all the relatively small sounds that are made as we move through this world. The grating of rocks under foot, the crush of leaves, and the sounds of tree limbs snapping are among the sound sources used. The work is primarily concerned with motion, pace, obstacles, and points of arrival.

Pathfinder was composed with Grace (an algorithmic composition environment by Taube), Csound, Protools, and Max/MSP. This work was realized in the Experimental Music Studios at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Pathfinder (electroacoustic)

Absolute Zero (2008), stereo electroacoustic music, is concerned with the "life" of the constituent particles of matter as they reach the invisible bonds of absolute zero.  Absolute Zero (noun) – the lowest temperature that is theoretically possible, at which the particle constituents of matter do not move or have minimal motion. Imagine these particles as "life forms."   Consider the crowds, the struggle, and the panic that would be the result of such an event as absolute zero.   Imagine yourself rebelling against the approaching bonds of cold.

Absolute Zero was produced using Csound, Absynth, and Protools, and was realized in the Experimental Music Studios at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

Absolute Zero (electroacoustic)

Daniel Swilley (b. 1980) is a German-American composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music. His music and research have been presented at festivals and conferences such as June in Buffalo, SEAMUS, Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium, Understanding Visual Music Symposium, NoiseFloor, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Electronic Music Midwest, Studio 300, Audiograft, Electroacoustic Juke Joint, College Music Society, as well as Society of Composer’s Inc. Swilley holds degrees in composition from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (DMA), Georgia State University (MM), and Valdosta State University (BM). His primary composition teachers have included Heinrich Taube, Sever Tipei, Robert Scott Thompson, and Scott Wyatt. Swilley is an Assistant Professor of Music (Composition, Theory, and Technology) at the University of Northern Iowa.

Daniel Swilley

Popular tracks