Taking techniques from aleatoric composition, minimalist composers, dub, kosmische and adding them all together. Plus heavy processing and repetition welded to imaginative binaural mixing and effects use.

https://youtu.be/w-zRALwuVg8

patterns and accidents vol 2

set the machines rolling

Based on phase shifting patterns borrowed from early Steve Reich, this is a dub inflected piece with cycling percussion and vocals. The three-part vocal section is inspired by "Who Will Buy" from the musical Oliver whilst the bassline is an homage to King Tubby. Updated dub techniques are used throughout.

patterns and accidents vol 1

patterns and accidents

Taking Steve Reich phasing and welding it to a solid kick and polyrhythmic percussion - the music then builds to a climax with a guttural bassline and tremelando strings.

bow on string

Gentle piece of work combining piano minimalism with various mallet instruments. Tension and melancholy as well as harmonic movement comes in the form of a steam valve bass. Minimalist techniques are used to create an ever changing surface of rippling piano notes. Further sophistication comes with an ambiguity between compound and duple time. Heartfelt strings add another level of poignancy as does a drone derived from the piano surfaces.

dusty mechanisms

Ambient piece made of different length loops.

will o' the wisp

#pianoday2020 What would happen if every note in a piano piece were played on a different piano? A sort of piano-based ‘klangfarbenmelodie’.

every piano in the shop

Downtempo music featuring phasing piano chords, a chugging rhythm, foghorn bass and a twinkling, chorused melody played on a hybrid of guitar and piano. The piece is frequently interrupted by a train pass consisting of a distorted, doppler, orchestral swell but retains a dub-like feel and evokes a train journey.

by slow train

This track came about from a lyric in the song 'Me and Bobby McGee' about "windshield wipers slappin' time". That was the basis of the rhythm which was augmented with percussion tapped out on an acoustic guitar and loosely inspired by Steve Gadd's drumming on '50 ways to leave your lover.' The whole thing wasn't completely unoriginal - the piano and chordal background came from an unsuccessful attempt at another piece which was stretched and repurposed. The clarinet melody is an original length, which means the emphases in the melody fall in different places with each iteration. Finally the melody is processed to sound as if it is mediated by different technologies to reinforce the slight theme of nostalgia. These technologies move through time from AM radio to vinyl to data-compressed digital.

on our way home

A mixtape for the Spring. Featuring the poetry of e.e.cummings (some of it read by himself)and a miscellany of tracks both recent and from the vaults. The music is material that remained unfinished, didn't get fully developed or just didn't quite make the grade but in which there is something worthwhile. Some of the tracks are closer to edits than original pieces but the quoting is done with love.

the great dim deep sound of rain

With great apologies to Mr Steve Reich for paying homage to his amazing Four Organs with my Four Melodicas! There are two tempo feels going on here - the synth arpeggios are at 138bpm but the industrial style drums and bass are at half-time. Pseudo-random disruptions add an element of chaos and dub-type effects to the proceedings while the melodicas distract from the four beats to the bar by being in 13/8.

blaze (4 melodicas version)

Combining the acoustic with the electronic, processes with aleatory, dub techniques with minimalist compositional concepts, loud with quiet, close with far away, in-the-box with binaural recording and pattern with accident.

second violin

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