Work in progress (for piano solo, 2021 - ...)

David is a self taught composer and music theorists who has written in many genres of music Classical, Melancholy, Trance, Uplifting Trance, Progressive Trance, Melodic House, Drum & Bass, Ambient, Chill out, Punk Rock, Metal, along with many others!   A majority of David's passion flows into his love for video game style soundtrack music and scores, of which are written in orchestra and classical styles.

Dmitry Burtsev (b. 1992, Moscow, Russia), composer, sound artist, improviser. 

His current artistic research is primarily focused on human perception of sound both within and outside of a musical context in relation to affect theory. Dmitry explores the sonic environment of human habitation through the field recordings and transforms the latter into his music pieces. Another point of his musical interests lies in spoken word and language as the point of departure for a musical thought, which is at the same time influenced by years of accordion practice and free improvisation. Through an ongoing contemplation on memory and  the process of forgetting, Dmitry reflects on the European and non-European tradition in music history in search to understand the present reality through compositional tools and musical discourse.

Dmitry studied composition at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with professor V.G.Tarnopolsky, from where he graduated in 2017. Additional studies include master classes with Oscar Bianchi, Fabien Levy, and Carola Bauckholt at the International Composers Academy in Tchaikovsky city in Russia in 2016. Since 2017, Burtsev has taken on the role of assistant of the composer Sergei Newski, which provided Dmitry with invaluable experience and advanced his professional skills.

Dmitry’s music was performed by various professional ensembles and performers, such as: Studio for New Music, Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (MCME), ensemble Kymatik, L.G.Zykina State Ensemble of Russian Folk Instruments, Pavlos Antoniadis, Sergei Tchirkov, Natalia Pshenichnikova and others. 

Since 2017 Burtsev starts writing music for theatres, such as Moscow Chekhov Art Theater, Moscow Academic Theatre of Vladimir Mayakovsky, Norilsk Polar Drama Theatre and others.

In 2017, he won the Open Space competition at the Museum of Cosmonautics, where he got a chance to collaborate with the Zykina State Ensemble of Russian Folk Instruments. In 2020, he became a laureate of the Russian Music 2.0 program and wrote the piece Revisité for MCME.

Dmitry is also the author of interdisciplinary musical performances, in which he brings together performing arts, free improvisation, collage combinations of contemporary art- and popular music and field recordings. Most of these performances resulted from a collaboration with the Vadim Sidur Museum (Moscow).

In 2022 Dmitry left Russia and currently is based in Tbilisi, Georgia

In 2024, Dmitry started a master's program at Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf under the supervision of Professor José María Sánchez-Verdu.

Hanging out in the cloud forests of the Sierra Juárez mountains in Oaxaca, I’m tapping into the sounds of the universe like a mushroom-drunk nahual, reaching into the heart of nature to grasp at the mysteries of existence.

You’ll hear influences from deep time and across as many cultures as I can get my hands on. I get obsessed, man. Seriously, everything else melts away around me. I can spend days absorbed in an idea, like that stone statue guy—but with a stone guitar instead.

My approach to music? About as unpredictable as my ability to remember where I last saw my passport (pretty crucial when you live abroad all the time, right?). My unique way of processing the world often leads to an avant-garde approach to life. And yeah, maybe there’s been a mushroom-induced revelation or two along the way, but who’s counting? I don’t need a million-dollar studio—just a good instrument, a decent interface, a computer, and some monitors that hopefully survive my absent-minded chaos.

I’m a multi-instrumentalist who loves complexity, especially when it sneaks up on you through unexpected rhythms or harmonies from the far corners of the globe. From Carnatic ragas to garage rock grooves—why not just mix every cool sound and see what happens? Maybe I’ll start with a harmonic progression from Bach’s Goldberg Variations and slap it into a Hindustani 7/4 thaal (that’s rhythm, if you’re wondering). It’s a bit technical but, trust me, as cool as—well, let’s just say it’s the kind of vibe that might inspire a dream-like hallucination about nailing the perfect groove. (Music available for film, TV, and media licensing.)

Yeah, I am a Ph.D. trained evolutionary biologist, and... that sounds impressive until you find out I bailed on it the second I landed a good job. I was bored out of my mind. People look at me like a guy who won the lottery and then spent it all on the greatest collection of rare video games (I mean, I’m not that bad, right?). But switching from science back to music wasn’t just quitting—it was finally tuning into something deeper. Music and science might seem like distant cousins, but to me, they’re intertwined—both ways to unlock the secrets of the universe.

Now, I live in Capulálpam De Méndez, a mystical town in the Oaxacan mountains. The ancient Zapotec culture runs deep here, and creativity flows as freely as the mezcal at the fiestas (and trust me, there are plenty of fiestas).

Art is for everyone, and I’m always pushing to create something that connects—whether it’s a complex harmonic structure or just the right amount of groove to make you forget your troubles (or your keys, in my case).

So if you’re into music that teeters on the edge of chaos but mostly lands right where it needs to be—well, welcome. Just don’t expect me to remember how I got here, or where I left my bag. Seriously, my passport might’ve been in there… Was it the tuk-tuk? (sounds like a joke right... Err.. its not....)


--------------
Relajándome en los bosques nublados de la Sierra Juárez en Oaxaca, estoy sintonizando los sonidos del universo como un nahual borracho de hongos, llegando al corazón de la naturaleza para intentar comprender los misterios de la existencia.

Escucharás influencias de tiempos profundos y de tantas culturas como pueda explorar. Me obsesiono, hermano. En serio, todo lo demás desaparece a mi alrededor. Puedo pasar días absorbido en una idea, como ese tipo de las estatuas de piedra—pero con una guitarra de piedra en su lugar.

¿Mi enfoque hacia la música? Tan impredecible como mi habilidad para recordar dónde dejé mi pasaporte (bastante crucial cuando vives en el extranjero todo el tiempo, ¿verdad?). Mi forma única de procesar el mundo a menudo me lleva a un enfoque vanguardista de la vida. Y sí, tal vez haya habido una o dos revelaciones inducidas por hongos en el camino, pero ¿quién está contando? No necesito un estudio de millones de dólares—solo un buen instrumento, una interfaz decente, una computadora y unos monitores que, con suerte, sobrevivan a mi caos despistado.

Soy un multiinstrumentista que ama la complejidad, especialmente cuando te sorprende con ritmos o armonías inesperadas de los rincones más lejanos del mundo. Desde ragas carnáticas hasta los grooves del garage rock—¿por qué no mezclar todos los sonidos geniales y ver qué pasa? Quizás empiece con una progresión armónica de las Variaciones Goldberg de Bach y la meta en un thaal hindú de 7/4 (es decir, un ritmo, por si te lo preguntas). Es un poco técnico, pero créeme, es tan genial como—bueno, digamos que es del tipo de vibras que podrían inspirar una alucinación soñadora sobre encontrar el groove perfecto. (Música disponible para licenciamiento en cine, TV y medios.)

Sí, tengo un doctorado en biología evolutiva, y eso suena impresionante hasta que descubres que lo dejé en cuanto conseguí un buen trabajo. Estaba aburrido como una ostra. La gente me mira como a un tipo que ganó la lotería y luego lo gastó todo en Beanie Babies (no soy tan malo, ¿verdad?). Pero pasar de la ciencia de nuevo a la música no fue simplemente abandonar—fue finalmente sintonizar con algo más profundo. La música y la ciencia pueden parecer primos lejanos, pero para mí, están entrelazados—ambas son formas de desentrañar los secretos del universo.

Ahora vivo en Capulálpam De Méndez, un pueblo místico en las montañas de Oaxaca. La antigua cultura zapoteca corre profundo aquí, y la creatividad fluye tan libremente como el mezcal en las fiestas (y créeme, hay muchas fiestas).

El arte es para todos, y siempre busco crear algo que conecte—ya sea una estructura armónica compleja o solo la cantidad justa de groove para hacerte olvidar tus problemas (o tus llaves, en mi caso).

Así que si te gusta la música que oscila en el borde del caos pero que la mayoría de las veces aterriza justo donde debe estar—bienvenido. Solo no esperes que recuerde cómo llegué aquí, o dónde dejé mi bolsa. En serio, creo que mi pasaporte estaba allí... ¿Fue en el tuk-tuk? (suena como una broma, pero... ehh, no lo es...).