A timely first episode for the ones anticipating the long autumn nights ahead. "Soleil des Loups" alludes to the moon, our evocative celestial body for a series of reflexive mixes that are both gentle and subtly dark 🌛🎻


꧁ Tracklist ꧂

Mhm, Mhm - More finishes other things
Robert Bleeker - Glowing Trombones
Zeynep Ağcabay - Gelecekten Anilar
Anadol - Ay Çürüdü
Magda Drozd & Nicola Genovese & Yui Beck - Destabilized
Geographic North House Band - "Chapter 2: Howl at the Crypt's Entrance"
Cremation Lily - Radiance And Instability
Gi - Cipher (feat. Abby Sundborn)
Yair Elazar Glotman - A Year
Ben Frost - The Carpathians
Helen Money - Midnight
04NB - The Watcher
Autechre - r cazt
Jessica Moss - Distortion Harbour
Cucina Povera & Ben Vince - Sumu Puistossa
Dedekind Cut - Descend From Now
Elori Saxl - Surfaces
Fadi Tabbal - The New And Improved Guide To Birdwatching Vol . 1
Tim Hecker - You Never Were

Soleil Des Loups #1

Commissioned by Arraymusic with support from the Toronto Arts Council

Premiered on April 20, 2023 at the Array Space, Toronto
This excerpt from the live recording of the second performance on April 22, 2023
Matt Legge, House & Production Manager

Array Ensemble:
Sheila Jaffé, violin
Bryan Holt, cello
Colleen Cook, clarinet
Stephanie Chua, piano
Michael Murphy, vibraphone

ex harmonia, for small ensemble (2023), began as an homage to my former teacher, the late James Tenney, to whom this work is dedicated in memory. The title, literally “out of harmony,” suggests several possibilities of interpretation: a reference to Tenney’s Harmonia series (and other pieces of his such as Chorales); a search for an intuitive, non-functional harmony that emerges from experimental, traditional, and not least, popular forms; and in a darker, figurative sense, a reflection on modernity.

In the final three minutes of the 15-minute work, what had been a drifting texture of canons generated by pitch rows layered into kaleidoscopic harmonies begins to coalesce into a slow, steady groove, with a clear modal, melodic identity.

Music and composer’s notes copyright Bruce A. Russell 2024

ex harmonia

HALLOWTIDE (2024) for symphony orchestra takes its name from the Western Christian holiday season triduum of October 31 (Hallows’ Eve, or Holy Evening), November 1st (All Hallows’ or All Saints’ Day), and November 2nd (All Souls’ Day). 

"Allhallowtide" is an Old English word, hallow meaning holy and tide meaning time. My work for orchestra features many different layers of motion analogous to the many Saints’ and souls that this holiday honors and respects. I wanted the feel of the orchestra to be intense but with a sense of reverence and mystery.  I’ve always been interested in how holiday music (usually from the Christmas season) has transformed through the years, from Renaissance hymns to Mariah Carey.  Seeing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra live as a kid core musical memory from my youth. 

I wanted to expound on this idea, taking inspiration from textures from electronic music to reimagine what holiday music can sound like. In addition, I’m fascinated by the more cryptic, frightening nature of Christmas: Charles Dickens’ "A Christmas Carol" in all its many forms (notably 1970's "Scrooge" the Musical with Albert Finney) and of course Tim Burton’s "A Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993) with its iconic score by Danny Elfman.  

Indeed, I would have never studied composition in adulthood had I not heard the Elfman score from this film in my youth.

Hallowtide (2024) for orchestra

For Ash (2019-21) is a short, three-movement work for solo piano dedicated to my friend, Ash Mistry. In contrast to some of my earlier piano music, there is greater focus on melodic design and variations in harmonic voicing and less on structural symmetry, balancing lyrical and systematic aspects.

Each of the three movements explores a melodic line in two parallel voices, mostly in intervals of a third in the first movement and fourths in the other two. In the third movement—"78"—a three-note pattern rotates through pairs of notes then is layered upon itself, expanding as the harmony develops.

https://elmahboob.com/2025/03/16/78-for-piano/

Composed March 2021, recorded March 2025, Roland digital piano

Photo: 5:48 a.m., June solstice, 2021, Toronto

Music and composer’s notes copyright Bruce A. Russell 2025

For Ash, III. 78

"Now or Now" (1990) is a song recorded late at night at York U. It appeared on Home, a cassette that was part-album, part compilation which I shared with a small group of friends.

I played through the song structure on an out of tune acoustic with no click, added sampled instruments, then sang tired, also out of tune vocals. Rough sketches with flubs were fine with me — I was discovering my own playing and composing style, and the next idea was always calling.

It's a weird blend of proggy quirkiness, minimalist melo-rhythm and 80s band roots. The lyrics were sort of absurd, channeling fears of 21st century, authoritarian dystopia and collapse.

Composed, recorded and mixed to cassette March 6, 1990
upright piano, Roland S-50 sampler, Roland DEP-5, TASCAM 8-track 1/2 inch reel-to-reel tape
Cassette first transferred to digital 2017, audio unmastered

Photo: performing at McLaughlin College, April 1990

Music and composer’s notes copyright Bruce A. Russell 2025

Now or Now

Fittingoff-Zaroslov-Bolotin

The ominous harmonies and trance-like rhythmic patterns suggest to me perhaps some kind of ritual or incantation. Feel free to imagine your own imagery! The structure is a kind of continuous variation on motives and harmonies introduced in the first minute and a half.

Incantations

Performed by 3/4 of the Sunrise String Quartet at the Washington International Competition held at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on May 25, 2025.  First prize winner of the Washington International Competition for Composition. 

Hallow (2025) for string trio

Miniature for piano. Lyrical postminimalism

The Glare

Gait

Was born in 1983. Graduated from the Saint Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts; media-artist, musician, photographer, curator of international exhibitions.

New & vintage compositions / lo-fi / analog

Climate refugee from Russia touring around Europe. I use this account of mine for uploading "bootlegs". Please follow the links below for official releases

Bernie J. Walasavage (b. 1989) is a composer whose music explores the intersections of vulnerability, ritual, and transformation. His works have been performed internationally and across the U.S., with a growing reputation for emotionally resonant, psychologically charged chamber music.  Walasavage’s music often arises from a personal process of healing and recovery, and he views composition as a vehicle for connection, catharsis, and change. He is currently studying Addictions Counseling at Saint Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA)  where he plans to integrate his artistic practice with therapeutic work.

I am an amateur composer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I've been an avid choral singer for many years, including most recently with The California Bach Society, an early music chamber ensemble. I studied some composition and musicology in college, but only recently got back into composing as a hobby. So far, I've been writing only for "virtual" performers, using Finale and its sound samples, but I hope to branch out someday. In my day job, I work in higher education.

New tracks tagged #postminimalism