The latest edition to Boom Logistics' "Attuned to the Rainbow Faults" is the title track. Caveat: pre-mastering. This one features:

Steve Morgan: keyboards
Nick Reynolds: clarinet
Simon Hopkins: guitar, programming, voice

Boom Logistics: Attuned To The Rainbow Faults

Another Bach chorale, transposed and transcribed for string quartet. Notes here: https://www.dgmfsmedia.com/my_weblog/2021/09/alle-menschen-müssen-sterben-transposed-d-to-eb-for-string-quartet.html

JS Bach: Alle Menschen Müssen Sterben (transposed D To Eb, For String Quartet)

A brief sketch exploring dissonant interval classes in a diatonic context.
The piece is in A dorian, with no chromaticism. I've tried to use ICs 1 & 6 throughout to maximise harmonic colour; the over-ringing campanella guitar technique should bring this out. Rhythmic dissonance employed throughout.

I haven't had chance to learn and record the piece, so the audio is in midi and a little hokey; I'll post a recording here once I've got round to that!

A Dorian Guitar Etude (sketch)

Another Mmus week two composition sketch, exploring the use of all-interval tetrachords (AITs). The first half of the sketch is based on a Lydian Tetrachord on F; after a cadence at bb6/7, the piece continues on a Phrygian Tetrachord on E. The melodies are mostly based on the principal notes of the tetrachords, with passing notes. The piece isn't a strict canon, but the melodies are broadly imitative, with inversion and transposition. All notes are diatonic to C major, but the use of interval classes 1 and 6 suggests chromatic colour. Rhythmic dissonance is achieved through overlapping triplets (of varying length) and occasional quintuplets. The audio has rendered the arrangement as a string section rather that string quartet - I'm trying to remedy this for future exercises. I admit it's a little derivative (Pärt? Barber?)

All Interval Tetrachord string quartet sketch

Another submission for my "Studio Techniques" portfolio - a piece for strings and electronics based on a single bar of Takemitsu's string quartet "Landscape 1".

Eating The Medical Earth

A *very* early sketch for my collaboration with some of the Chinese students on my MMus course. Feat: Zhang Chaoran (piano); Yi Zhang (voice); me (programming/editing).

Butterfly Lovers Overture (Rough Mix)

My performance - warts 'n' all - of Reginald Smith Brindle's "El Polifemo de Oro" as a guest of the Sussex Musicians' Club at the Unitarian Church, Brighton, on Saturday, October 15th, 2022.

Thanks to the SMC's Hugh O'Neal for the recording.

Reginald Smith Brindle: El Polifemo De Oro

This is the first draft of a short brass quintet sketch I wrote while on a composition retreat led by Gavin Bryars in the French Pyrenees in June/July 2023

Casualties Of The Dharma

A brief experiment in re-harmonising a Bach chorale using quartal harmony. It's a little bit crude at the moment, and very "parallel", but as I say this is an experiment. Similar buggering about to come!

Christus, der ist mein Leben (Quartal harmonisation)

Another Bach re-harmonisation; a trickier one (for me!) modulating from the minor to the relative major and back, and in 3/4, giving it an odd harmonic rhythm.

Puer Natus in Bethlehem (re-harmonisation)

This is my arrangement for classical guitar quartet of Bach's famous aria "May Sheep Safely Graze". It needs attention to dynamics and tempi etc, and of course the midi guitar is a bit dodgy, but it's a start!

Sheep May Safely Graze (Guitar Quartet Arrangement)

A piece of semi-indeterminate composition based on clarinet improvisations by my good friend Nick Reynolds. Nick: "It's like having a nice warm bath but there might be something swimming towards you under the surface that you might not like..."

Soap Bubbles And The Forces Which Mould Them

My (hopefully!) final version of a guitar quartet arrangement of Bach's aria "Sheep May Safely Graze", which I've put together for the Brighton Guitar Quartet. Looking forward to trying it out with them!

Sheep May Safely Graze

This week's Bach harmonisation exercise (yes, it's been a slow week). Unusually harmonically static, but quite a long one, and it took a bit of work to make it sustain interest. Not entirely sure if it was successful... but here it is anyway.

Bach: "Aus meines Herzens Grunde"

Bach: "Lasset Uns mit Jesu Ziehen" (harmonisation exercise)

ULTRA rough mix of a piece from Boom Logistic's sixth album, or maybe an EP. And yes, BL 5 isn't even out yet...

Boom Logistics: Somerstown Dogfight

This is a piece I wrote for inclusion in an April 2024 New Music Brighton concert at the Friends' Meeting House in Brighton. This performance (its premiere, no less!) was given by my good buddy Paul Dallaway and myself, and recorded by Roger Harmar.

From the programme notes:

"This electric guitar duet began life as something of an homage to the composer and multi- instrumentalist Reginald Smith Brindle, in particular the opening of his celebrated solo guitar work “El Polifemo De Oro” and his less well-known known guitar duet “The Pillars of Karnak”. Taking in Smith Brindle’s approach to both structure and harmony, I asked myself, “how would it sound if played by the British progressive rock group King Crimson?” Tonight’s performance may or may not answer that question."

My sincere thanks to Paul for putting in a huge amount of work in prepping this very tricky piece and for such a fantastic performance on the day, to Roger for his excellent recording, to New Music Brighton for the opportunity to contribute to a great concert, and to all my friends who turned out to listen.

The Pillars of Hercules (Lost Soho No. 1) for 2 electric guitars

This is my first "formal" composition for piano, composed potential inclusion in a New Music Brighton concert later this year. From the programme note:

"This piece is something of a conceit, bringing together melodic materials from "The Witches' Dance" and "Hellhound on my Trail", supernaturally-themed pieces by two very different Robert Johnsons, the English Renaissance lutenist and the great Mississippi bluesman. The main “verse”, played three times, is built on the I-IV-V structure of “Hellhound”, albeit with harmony that’s more Bartók than blues. The slow middle section lays interpolated melodies from the lute piece across a minor blues vamp. The feel of the piece is somewhat improvisatory, taking many of its rhythmic cues from Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau."

This version is a midi-rendering, but does the job for now, hopefully!

Johnson & Johnson

A piece Frank and I wrote as a submission for my Master's programme at Surrey. Featuring David Kaplowitz on saxophone.

The Water Knife (feat Frank Hopkins)

Here's the next iteration of my solo piano piece written as a gift for my children Joe, Frank and Lily to commemorate their shared very difficult year.

A Prayer, Offered Lightly (V2)

Karen Kingsley performing my piano piece "Johnson and Johnson" in concert at the Friends Meeting House in Brighton on October 5th, 2024.

Audio recording and production: Roger Harmar.

Johnson and Johnson, or Blues in E (for piano)

Shaun Bullard, Paul Dallaway and me performing Dyens' beautiful trio at a rehearsal at mine a couple of days before performing it in Brighton in December 2024. Thanks to Shaun and Paul for their great playing!

Roland Dyens: "O Trio Magico"

A brief performance of James Aker's rather lovely arrangement of the famous William J Kirkpatrick Christmas carol, with a couple of minor edits by me. Happy Christmas, everyone!

William J. Kirkpatrick: Away in a Manger (arr. James Akers)

I wrote this piece at the tail end of 2023 for Jon Rattenbury's Brighton Guitar Group to perform at a New Music Brighton concert in the summer of 2024. This version features me playing all the parts.

The Level at Midnight, for classical guitar sextet

The first movement of Andrew York's set of 4 pieces "4 in A in 4".

Andrew York: Awake

The second piece from Andrew York's "4 in A in 4".

Andrew York: Away

Another short piece from Andrew York's "4 in A in 4".

Andrew York: Alike

In the spirit of sharing work in progress here's V1 of the latest outing from my Abyssal Labs project, very much a sketch at this point. The piece uses a single piece of midi from a passage from my piano piece "A Prayer, Lightly Offered" as its sole source material.

Abyssal Labs 7: An Unanswered Prayer (sketch)

Possibly(!) the final version of my latest Abyssal Labs outing. Currently only very crudely mastered.

Abyssal Labs: An Unanswered Prayer

I'm currently working on a sketches for a potential installation collaboration. I won't say anything about the overall proposed project yet, not least as it we've a long way to go, but in the spirit of sharing work in progress, I'll be posting the sketches here.

The Birds (Sketch 1)

The second sketch for a potential mystery collaboration

The Birds (Sketch 2)

Another rough mix/pre-master from the next Boom Logistics album (now tentatively called "Attuned to the Rainbow Faults"). This one has gone bit 70s jazz rock. I think.

Steve Morgan: keyboards
Mark Lord: bass
Nick Reyolds: clarinet
Chris Jones: guitar
Simon Hopkins: other stuff, editing

Boom Logistics: Velocitas Eradico

This is part of my entry for this year's Springboard competition in Brighton (strictly virtual this year, of course!) It's the Prelude from Bach's Prelude, Fugue & Allegro (BWV 998), transcribed for guitar by Frank Koonce. This being a competition entry, it's a single take, warts and all. It's taken from Koonce's book of Bach's Solo Lute Works: https://amzn.to/3uMJA1w

Simon Hopkins

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