'I the Storm'
Simon McCorry
See Blue Audio SBA 045

1. The Earth's Sorrow for All Things That Pass
2. Misericordia
3. These Scalding Tears
4. The Ever-Evolving Reflecting Mirror

Release date: 22 September 2023

lnk.to/SBA045

See Blue Audio: ambient / electronic / beatless / cinematic / downtempo / eclectic / introspective… Shade rather than light...

As summer fades and the nights draw in, our collective consciousness can take a turn towards the melancholic. We may feel this cyclical change at both a micro, individual level and as part of a greater cosmic dimension, but its presence is undeniable. We can find ourselves in the eye of a storm, and that storm could well be within us. This is the theme of the forty-fifth release on See Blue Audio: 'I the Storm' by Simon McCorry.

Mixed ethnicity, part-British, part-Indian, and "cellist sound-sculptor of ambiguous environments", this is Simon's third release on See Blue Audio. It follows a prolific couple of years of releases on respected labels on the ambient music scene like Oscarson, Shimmering Moods, Whitelabrecs, Hidden Vibes, Rusted Tone Recordings and Polar Seas. As with Simon's first release on See Blue Audio, the 'Nature in Nature' EP from 2021, where the title track was created for a short film featuring Japanese contemporary dance artist Satoko Fukuda, so 'I the Storm' began its life in the theatre. All four compositions were written while collaborating with choreographer Travis Clausen-Knight on 'I the Storm', part of the Fabula Collective production 'Momentum'. Although not originally intended for the show, they ended up using 'These Scalding Tears' in its entirety alongside other original music from Simon, with 'Momentum' receiving its premiere at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London in September 2022.

Another important component in the backstory to 'I the Storm' is the serious health issues and periods in hospital Simon experienced at the end of 2021. As disharmony in the body can also lead to disharmony in the mind, this became a time of deep personal confusion for the artist. Seeking spiritual answers, 'I the Storm' is largely influenced and indebted to the sacred music of the 12th century Benedictine writer and visionary Hildegard von Bingen, even though it has a veneer of contemporary sonic landscapes.

'I the Storm' consists of four beatless compositions of varying length based around asynchronous live looping with the cello, a method Simon has been experimenting with for a number of years. This new work takes the process in another direction as all the loops remain 'open' in overdub mode. Five loops of five different lengths always recording and adding new material as the older material slowly fades away on each repeat. Sounds cascade and circle around each other in a network of loop and delay; sometimes like a call and response, sometimes like reverb or an audio smudge, or a choir of cellos, or dense string orchestration and harmonisation. There are moments where the music is on the edge of going out of control and tipping into chaos; a tightrope is being walked.

All the tracks on 'I the Storm' were played and recorded in one sitting. The chaotic nature of the method means this is the only way, but each piece also exists as its own dramatic whole, while contained within are smaller sections or movements travelling through different emotional states and spaces.

'I the Storm' was not conceived or executed as background ambience; this is not linear or gentle listening. Nothing is hidden, all emotions are raw, and it was designed to be experienced by the listener as such. As the track titles show, ours is a world of tumult and turmoil, of agitation and upheaval, and where the storm that's within us all ebbs and flows throughout life.

Mastered by Taylor Deupree at 12k Mastering.

Image: the Sound Camp.

I the Storm

'I the Storm' (preview) – Simon McCorry (See Blue Audio SBA #045)

"I'm a mellow artist, ageing 69. I love and release eclectic music, from post-classical to drone. My fave instrument is the Mellotron."

Così, sinteticamente, di solito mi presento.

In genere compongo musica partendo dal suono delle tastiere, ma il mio vero strumento è il registratore.

O i software di registrazione.

"I was made for loving and making recorded music."

Confido da sempre nel potere evocativo e orfico della musica, nella sua capacità di riconsegnarci a mondi più veri e più giusti, più belli di quelli in cui di solito viviamo.

"Ich bin ein kosmische Kurier"

I'm using these tools: Mellotron micro, Waldorf Blofeld synthesizer, Behringer Crave, IK Multimedia Uno synth, Roland Juno synth, Volca keys, Casio digital piano, micropiano Korg, Manetron (iPad app), iTampura (iPad app), Eko 11 (...) string acoustic guitar, electric violin, Orla analogic expander, tenor, treble and descant recorders, soprano and tenor tin whistle, Akai, Roland, Alesis and Arturia controllers, upright piano, Squier 3/4 electric guitar, melodica, Bubble Harp (iPad app), Schoenhut toy harp, soprano ukulele, Eko acoustic guitar, Peavey Composer acoustic guitar, Kurzweill micropiano, Boss and JamMan loop stations , Behringher multi-fx, Olympus portable digital recorder, Phonic, Behringer and Yamaha mixers, Audacity, Paulstretch, various players and plug-ins .. (that's all, folks, I think ..)

latest releases:

https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/the-book-of-dreams
https://chitrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/lieder-ohne-worte 
https://ambientologist.bandcamp.com/album/suggestiva
https://ambientologist.bandcamp.com/album/venusia
https://hibernate.bandcamp.com/album/as-riddled-as-the-tide

for further works please go to my bandcamp page
https://marcolucchi.bandcamp.com/

and to 
http://webbedhandrecords.com/
http://www.laverna.net/home/
https://silentflow.org/

iTunes and Spotify as well ..
feed and share ..
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1TRilVaDaQw0ksGqU5tuCh?si=zXD-0xFWS-2yrUs542SH9A

SoundCloud è la piattaforma musicale che preferisco perché è soprattutto il regno degli ‘amateurs’, di quelli che fanno musica per sé e per gli amici .. come quando da ragazzi si condividevano con gli altri le invenzioni e le creazioni .. io sostanzialmente sono rimasto lì e così .. non sempre, ovviamente, ma spesso ci trovo delle cose che valgono altrettanto - se non di più - rispetto a quelle più affermate e conosciute

Naviar is a music community and label. Through regular publications, open projects and events, we explore the connection between experimental music and traditional Japanese poetry.

To join the Haiku challenge, visit https://www.naviarrecords.com/about/naviar-haiku

https://kompakt.fm/artists/mufo


Andrea Di Francesco aka Ten Atmospheres is from Vasto, a little town in the south of Italy, "Ten Atmospheres" is a music project started in 2018. 

Born and raised as a drummer, he played beats for many years until one day at “Ten Atmospheres” depth, he lost the 4/4.

He creates his music by blending the recorded sounds and playing synths in the studio, bringing a perfect marriage of his two passions. 

Always experimenting with new things, never limiting his inspiration for discovering a different way of making music.

Dutch sound artist with long standing interests in transcending conventional instrument approaches and the use of non-instrumental organic and homemade sounds. If you would like to stay informed about new releases please subscribe to the Martin Hoogeboom newsletter mailing list on my website
www.martinhoogeboom.com

If you have questions regarding my work or you want to collaborate on future projects, please use the following email-address: m.hoogeboom@wxs.nl.

An intimate frontier.  A melody lost on waking.  A memory from childhood.  A hope for forgiveness.  A season ended.  A photograph of a moment you don’t remember.  A treasured object found and lost.  A thought interrupted.  A mirror in an empty room.  The dust of an evening.  An incomplete equation.  A discussion with possibility.  A missing adversary.  My impression from our last meeting.

Additional Music and downloads available on Bandcamp: 

https://softlands1.bandcamp.com/

On Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5YG49h7BY6wDxSpnDZpHDo

never change my originality...
this is not the enD👻