
This piece was written between April and May 2025
It was performed and recorded by Ben Smith on the 2nd June 2025

Shadow Piano In A is all about the relationship between a live piano and an electronic one, or a shadow one (as the title suggests). In the strict boundaries of only employing a seven-note chord, we're gradually introduced to more notes over time changing our perception of what the tonic key is. As well as this, the shadow piano grows more present before surrounding the space with lydian, electronic, shimmery bliss. The piece was an experiment to try and capture the post-minimal technique of gradually altering the harmony over a long duration by changing individual notes, but in the space of five minutes instead of thirty.

Shadow Piano in A

for 4 players and sampler

This piece was written between September and November 2024.
It was first performed on the 28th November 2024 by Lara Ali (flute), Teah Collins (clarinet), Ima Kirkwood (horn), Kia Lares (percussion), and Jack Murray (sampler).

This piece was written as a response to Hurricane Beryl that occurred in early July of 2024 that significantly damaged the Grenadian island Carriacou. Throughout the piece there are references to the storm via field recordings and witness statements. As a Grenadian myself, i felt it was extremely important to research and explore the folk music of Carriacou and the rest of Grenada in the piece. Each of the three movements is based on a different type Carriacoun funerary song including a 'Big Drum Song', a 'Nancy Story', and a Christian hymn. Alan Lomax's "Saraca, 'Funerary Music Of Carriacou'" was a major resource I used when constructing this piece.

Movement 3 - a little place, a bead in a string of islands

Music by F. Hoyos-González
Libretto: Trip Venturella

Workshop premiere of The Other Ghost by Prof. Julie Gunn's Opera Scenes class at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - School of Music.

CAST:
EMILIA: Jena Dinkeloo
IZZY: Cyanne Chan
MARIA GRACIELA: Mia Love

ENSEMBLE:
Conductor and vocal coach: Andre Ivanov
Violin I: Dante Freund
Violin II: Wei-Ting Chen
Viola: Alivia Gaskins
Piano: Ming Kim
Electronics: F. Hoyos-González

Stage Direction: Gianna Casanova and Molly Jennings
Stage Manager: Mary Lewis

Live Audio: Grace Aumiller
Audio Support: Xavier Davenport
Live Electronics Design and Programming: F. Hoyos-González and Victor Zheng
Pre-recorded violin sounds: Athena Carson

The Other Ghost - Electroacoustic Chamber Opera

(first) performed by Mako Hirota (Bassflute) and Timo Wallna (Live Electronics), 27.5.25

Text by Paula Köhlmeier (excerpt):
Ich glaube an Spinnen, die im Badezimmer zu Feen werden

Spinnen zu Feen

recorded 7.6.25

saxophone: Marko Dzomba
live electronics: Timo Wallna

touch grass

stardust (2025)
for organ and live electronics
2-channel binaural

first performed at the St. Ursula's Church, Vienna
june 11, 2025

performers:
	• organ (Hradetzky-Orgel): Valeria Lanner
	• live electronics: João Pinto

recording: Karlheinz Essl
post-production: João Pinto

special thanks to Karlheinz Essl and Jeremy Joseph

"stardust" is an improvisation-based piece for organ and electronics that explores light, space, and texture. wide, flickering chords on the organ build a luminous harmonic field that seamlessly blends with the electronics, which—entirely derived from live sampling of the organ—zoom in on its surface. fragments are stretched, granulated, and layered in real time, creating a spectrum of textures: from vast, resonant masses to delicate, dust-like noise with no pitch left.

the title reflects this dichotomy: the monumental and the microscopic, the radiant and the fragile. organ and electronics merge into a single entity, forming a sound world larger than the instrument itself. one that hints at the vastness of the universe, full of invisible particles and distant life waiting to be discovered.

painting: Untitled #1, 2016 (Vija Celmins)

stardust (2025), for organ and electronics

20 minutes of industrial and oscillator improv, for advanced meditators ￼￼

Spectral Drift

äänimeditaatio (sonic meditation), for cello & live electronics (2024). composer by lucía broto.

"focus on the space. listen to the room; the sounds around you. be aware of your breathing. // feel your feet on the floor; connect with the ground. listen to the sound of the earth. // remember the first sound you heard; picture it as accurately as possible. let it wander through your mind. // imagine your favorite sound. focus on its pitch, duration, and timbre; how it makes you feel… // now, blend these three sounds with the room. place them in the space, and let them resonate within you."

Carla Artigau, cello
Lucía Broto,  live electronics

Premiered at esmuc on November 29th 2024.

äänimeditaatio, for cello & live electronics (2024)

In this episode of Poducer, recorded live at Summer’s End Smokeout, we sit down with Manic Focus. The genre-bending producer who has built a reputation on soulful beats, heavy grooves, and an unfiltered approach to storytelling through music.

From his first concert memories to the dynamics of working with his brother as both manager and creative partner, Manic Focus opens up about the honesty, trust, and tension that shape his art. We dive into his unique production style, how he avoids chasing trends by designing sounds with swing and swagger, and the lessons he’s learned from years of performing on stage.

He also speaks candidly about living with bipolar I, how music serves as his medicine, and why being open about mental health matters not only for himself but for the wider community of fans and artists. Along the way, we touch on his biggest live inspirations, creative rituals, and what it means to keep growing while staying true to your sound.

🎧 Listen to Manic Focus: https://manicfocus.com
📲 Follow Manic Focus: https://www.instagram.com/manicfocus
🎙️ Follow Poducer: https://linktr.ee/poducerpodcast

Chapters:
00:00 – First Concert Memories (Pretenders & B-52s)
01:12 – Working With His Brother as Manager
04:23 – Early Inspirations & Making Beats
05:42 – Sound Design, Wobbles, and Avoiding Trends
10:41 – Music, Mental Health & Bipolar I Journey
12:40 – Game-Changing Concert: Moby’s Play Tour

The Podcast for Producers

Watch Video

Summer's End Smokeout 2025: Manic Focus

Exploring the contrasting worlds of sound through an abstract approach that blends improvisation, field recordings, and live electronics. Transcending classical background, employing graphical notation that confronts conventional approaches in music. By integrating graphics, electronic equipment with traditional instruments, experimenting with meaning-creation, pushing the limits between sound and space to achieve abstract live musical forms.


for more artistic content follow me here:
Ig: @mikolajnizegorodcew

His work as a composer stands out for its versatility in different fields of composition and interdisciplinary arts projects: from opera and chamber music, to films, videogames and art installations.

Meditation, Medicine, & Strange and Psychedelic Music

The Podcast for Producers



Watch on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCijzViDaoVljjDXyEPTIwyQ?sub_confirmation=1

Art by: www.henryfeldman.com

Composer, Arranger and multi-instrumentalist from London

i dont believe in art, i believe in artists. (M. Duchamp)

New tracks tagged #liveelectronics