cold with him, premiered by Red Note Ensemble at Noisy Nights - sound unbound, June 2021.

The opening line is a reference to The Juliet Letters, originally played by the Brodsky Quartet.

cold with him

UNSUNG II; even for a loved one was co-commissioned by sound Scotland and Red Note Ensemble. It was premiered in soundfestival; Sound Unbound 2021, and is the main body in a larger collection of works. 

Many thanks to both Sound and Red Note for their time and efforts.

UNSUNG II; even from a loved one

Commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society as part of their Composer's Programme, for Gemma Rosefield at Presteigne Festival, 2022.

"In the 13th century Llewelyn, prince of North Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, ‘The Faithful Hound’, who was unaccountably absent.
On Llewelyn's return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The prince alarmed hastened to find his son, and saw the infant's cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood.
The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound's side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog's dying yell was answered by a child's cry.
Llewelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed, but nearby lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert had slain. The prince filled with remorse is said never to have smiled again. He buried Gelert here."

to Gelert

From PLUG 2: Sonic Arts 2018 at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Pre-recorded drumming by Alasdair Dunn from Ashenspire, and pre-recorded and live vocals by Rylan Gleave.

Distinguished Guests

Six Weather Pictures was commissioned by Live Music Now Scotland for the Gelos Duo (Francisco Sanchez and Monika Palsauskaite) as part of the 2018 Kimie Composition Prize, presented in collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and funded by Kimie Trust.

Artwork by Angus Dunn.

Six Weather Pictures - We lay on the grass, in afternoon sunshine

From Diversions, 2019, at the Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. With thanks to the Hebrides Ensemble for their performance, and Drake Music Scotland and Ben Lunn for their support. Additional thanks to Alasdair Dunn for the inspiration.

Permanent Address

Played by Alina Horváth, with recording and mixing by Amit Anand. Artwork by Angus Dunn, tape featuring Alasdair Dunn. 

Written as an homage to my usual 11pm-3am!

Stolen hours

For Red Note's Noisy Nights go Digital series, played by Sasha Savaloni. With many thanks to Red Note and Sasha for the opportunity!

Unpitched skin

Commissioned by Jenny Gillies and Nevis Ensemble, for Jenny
Akroyd, as part of the Lochan Sketches project, 2020.
Broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland, 16/08/2020 in Classics Unwrapped.

winding through seaweed

UNSUNG II; Harbinger&Herald was commissioned by sound Scotland for Ruth Morely of Red Note ensemble, and Alistair MacDonald. It was premiered in soundfestival 2020, and is the beginning of a larger collection of works. CW for non-explicit sexual violence references.

UNSUNG II; Harbinger&Herald

Rylan Gleave (b.1997) is a Glasgow-based composer and vocalist whose music addresses intersectional identity, re-contextualised natural situations, and quiet, furious resistance. His musical practice is inclusive, and involves mending the unfeigned gaps in his classical study with the healings of imaginative neuro-/ gender-divergent kinship.
Re-emerging as a composer/performer, Rylan’s work explores the instrumental qualities of his late-breaking trans-masc voice through queer autoethnography, and autistic-specific notation. His music has been praised as ‘haunting’ by The Herald, and ‘rapturous’ by The Scotsman, who named him ‘One to Watch’ 2021, describing him as ‘one of the brightest lights in Scotland’s new music scene’. Rylan has recently graduated from an MMus Degree with Dr. Linda Buckley at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Composition prize and The Craig Armstrong Prize, after completing his BMus with David Fennessy, graduating with Honours of the First Class, The Dinah and Walter Wolfe Memorial Award, and The Kimie Composition Prize.

Rylan Gleave

Popular tracks