Ghost Rails (2021)

HIPSTER ZOMBIES FROM MARS
PIANO MUSIC FOR A POST-IRONIC AGE
Nicholas Vines, composer
Ryan MacEvoy McCullough, piano

Nicholas Vines presents HIPSTER ZOMBIES FROM MARS, his third PARMA Recordings album. This collection of three major piano works by Dr. Vines was recorded on location at Cornell University with artist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough at the piano.  For all of the flash one might expect from the album title, Vines bypasses gimmickry in order to capture something sophisticated.

Standouts include the four-movement Terraformation for pianoforte, inspired by Kim Stanley Robinson’s science-fiction novel “Red Mars.” Vines depicts the technology’s influence on nature by lifting traditional classical forms and acclimating them to a modernist viewpoint. McCullough captivates the listener with his careful attention to the futuristic timeline into which Vines’ tone clusters have been poetically mapped.

Indie Ditties: Twelve Scapes for Piano is a social commentary on the modern hipster movement. The multi-genre piano melodies are thoughtfully constructed, telling a story that is both interesting and musically complex.

Concentrating carefully, a keen listener will hear familiar incidental phrases in the most unexpected of places (hint: Movement III, Bad Appletude is not about produce). Vines describes his compositional technique as “ firmly rooted in the technical resources of the Western classical canon, while embracing sounds and ideas from an array of popular, experimental, Australian and non-Western traditions. This combination of rigour and pluralism gives rise to music at once vectored and kaleidoscopic.”

Popular media outlets have called the work of Dr. Nicholas Vines “exquisite,” “riveting,” “arresting,” “edgy, bright and entertaining as hell.” HIPSTER ZOMBIES FROM MARS does not fail to deliver on these accolades.

Release Date: July 13, 2018
Catalog #: NV6173
Format: Digital and CD

Hipster Zombies from Mars

Nicholas Vines - Terraformation: Soletta

Ryan interviews Australian composer Nicholas Vines about life, the universe, and everything (Nick is, after all, 42), but mostly about his newest album "Hipster Zombies from Mars," featuring the composer's complete piano output from 1999 to the present.

More information about the album here: http://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6173/

Interview with Nicholas Vines

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Contemporary classical composer
Check out www.nicholasvines.com for more information; CD available from http://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv5915/

Nicholas Vines’s compositional approach is firmly rooted in the technical resources of the Western classical canon, from plainsong and sixteenth-century counterpoint to recent advances in instrumental technique and electroacoustic technology. At the same time, every opportunity is taken to embrace sounds and ideas from an array of popular, experimental, Australian and non-Western traditions. This combination of rigour and pluralism – stemming from the composer's own heritage, his wide-ranging interests and the communities in which he lives and works - gives rise to music at once vectored and kaleidoscopic. Nostalgia, satire and farce often result from the inherent friction.

At their best, Nicholas Vines’ compositions evoke a sense of naïve idealism at loggerheads - for better or worse - with the realities of the world. Sometimes the music loses itself in innocent physicality or elaborate fantasy, doggedly avoiding the tendrils of cold, hard fact. Often, however, it can’t escape, leading to various states of self-denial, self-mockery, decay and decadence. This on occasion can make the listening experience uncomfortable, even frustrating. Nevertheless, it is hoped through such intellectual and psychological challenge, the music's essential moral and visceral beauty becomes all the more poignant.

Ghost Rails (2021)

Nicholas Vines

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