Kong Must Like

Winter: for voice, orchestra, and pre-recorded sounds
Presented as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival and the Denali Music Festival on 07-20-13
Conducted by Robert Franz
Denali National Park, AK

Winter: Section I

From -Bird Songs-
text:

White lies
Widen eyes,
Night eyes widen, wise

Wings spread word,
A straight line.
Names take flight.

Screaming murder,
Crowded branches know the score,
Raining daggers evermore.

Black eyes, stone,
Seeing red, 
Quick to recognize,
A-head, trouble lies waiting
Down below. 
Waiting…


Crowded Branches (Andy Costello, piano)

Commissioned by the Aeolus String Quartet
Composed by Steven Snowden

From the Aeolus Quartet's 2012 album *Many-Sided Music*
Digital release date: March 06, 2012


Program Notes:
Appalachian Polaroids was initially inspired by the controversial portrait photography of Shelby Lee Adams (b. 1950). Though sometimes criticized for perpetuating the hillbilly stereotype of rural Appalachia, I feel that his photographs often illuminate the quiet resilience of these remote mountain communities. As a native of the Ozark Mountain countryside, I have always felt a strong connection with my neighbors to the East. In Appalachian Polaroids, I chose to create my own musical portrait of the unique mix of hardship and joy that comes with living an isolated rural life. 

This piece begins with a 1976 field recording of Sheila Kay Adams (no relation to Shelby Lee) singing the popular folk song Black is the Color in Asheville, North Carolina. The quartet quietly enters as an integrated component of the recording, playing with the wood of their bows to create a slightly noisy effect, similar to the tape hiss present in the old equipment used to record Sheila's stunning voice. Their sound gradually becomes more brilliant until the group finally emerges with crowing figures reminiscent of Appalachian fiddle playing. However, they also carry with them remnants of Sheila's own unique singing style. These attributes, (which include sliding/scooping to and from certain pitches and a subtle yodeling effect at the ends of phrases) expand as the piece progresses and eventually exert their influence on large-scale aspects of melody, rhythm and even form.


Appalachian Polaroids

from <i>Madrigals (Book One)</i> (2008, unreleased)

lyrics by <a href="http://www.hjertmann.com">Ben Hjertmann</a> (<a href="https://soundcloud.com/kongmustdead">Ben Hjertmann</a>)
music by <a href="http://www.lukegullickson.com">Luke Gullickson</a>

love is lived in the lives of lovers

Alex Temple, "Liebelsied" (2011)

Jenna Lyle, voice
Alex Temple, live electronics
Chicago Composers Orchestra (Matthew Kasper, cond.)
live at Ganz Hall, Chicago, IL, 9.22.12

More info:
https://www.alextemplemusic.com/liebeslied

Liebeslied (2011)

I'm working on an EP of story songs -- this will be the first track.

Balder, soldier, sister, river

An arrangement of James Blake's "I Never Learnt to Share" performed by the Spektral Quartet.

I Never Learnt to Share

Taken from the album 'Dysnomia', released worldwide on June 1, 2015 through Erased Tapes.

Order it on 2x LP, CD and Download here:
www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP068
iTunes here: snip.ftpromo.net/dawnofmidi
Bandcamp: dawnofmidi.bandcamp.com 

With Dysnomia, the Brooklyn-based group Dawn of Midi made up of double bass player Aakaash Israni, pianist Amino Belyamani and drummer Qasim Naqvi abandon improvisation in favour of composition, utilising sophisticated rhythmic structures from North and West African folk traditions to weave a sonic tapestry of trance-inducing grooves. From close up one may see only dots, but when stepping back an undulating image reveals itself. “We didn’t want to create anything cerebral,” says Belyamani, “we wanted something visceral, something that would awaken our instinctive dance impulses.”

“We wanted to make a record that sounded both musically futuristic and sonically vintage,” explains Israni, “and since the album never saw a proper international release, it is very exciting to see what might happen when more people are exposed to it. And to be aligned with Erased Tapes, whose enthusiasm for the music they release has done a lot for exposing unique instrumental and electronic music, makes it that much more interesting.”

TRACKLIST / CREDITS:

1. Io 2. Sinope 3. Atlas 4. Nix 5. Moon 6. Ymir 7. Ijiraq 8. Algol 9. Dysnomia
Written by Amino Belyamani and Aakaash Israni.

NORTH AMERICAN PRESS:

“Stellar… at a loss for words” – Spin
“Something totally unprecedented” – Pitchfork
“Perverse in a good way” – The New York Times
“Brain-bending, seemingly impossible” – Rolling Stone
“Moving and addictive...a feat of innovation” – Interview Magazine
“A mysterious, vital sound with a pull all its own” – L.A. Times

MORE INFO:
www.dawnofmidi.com · www.erasedtapes.com


Follow us: @dawnofmidi on Twitter (https://twitter.com/dawnofmidi) | Dawn of Midi on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DawnofMidi)
Dysnomia Album trailer: https://vimeo.com/dawnofmidi/dysnomia