First, I captured a diverse library of real-world sounds. Using several different WAV-editing programs and DAW's, I then manipulated these sounds into their current form.

Special thanks to Hannah Klepper for designing the cover art!

Medicine

I thank the Goddesses every day that my roommate learned to play the drums￼￼.

Wind Waker in the Basement

A product of my second crack at Logic Pro X. Tuvan throat singing was an inspiration for this piece (it is also my final project for my Music as Global Culture class). I wanted a hybrid electronic/throat singing beat with a meditative feel. All tracks/sounds used were created by manipulating sounds I made with my body (except for the little melody/sound effect toward the end).

Fundamental

The title of this piece comes from a text message I sent to someone very special; she was on her way back to St. Louis for break, I was in my room composing, and suddenly it started snowing. 

(Unfortunately, there's a little static in this recording.)

Ensemble:
Ramakrishnan Kumaran, flute; Hannah Johnsrud, oboe; Yani Quemado and Margot Kenagy, violins; Daniel Moore, viola;  Blake Kitayama, violoncello

It's Snowing for You Outside, Just in Time

I was inspired by Northern Indian classical music.
(Objects such as paper, glass rods, clothing, and books were placed inside the piano to alter its sound.)

Performers:
Cello - Matthew Liversedge
Prepared Piano - Aidan McCarter

Performed/recorded in April of 2016.

Self-effacing Nebula

There are three sinks in the men's restroom at The Pub at Overcup Oak.
The first two faucets sound like typical faucets.
But the third faucet has a beautiful singing voice.

The Pub Faucet Melody

This piece, written for solo piano, is about symmetrical auditory reflections and playing with their sound.

I got the pitch material in this piece from a palindromic, 7-note scale. This scale is used in two specific transpositions at the piano (key centers D and G#), both of which have visual palindromic symmetry to match their auditory symmetry. The melodic motifs in this piece were written in accord with this concept and are often mirror images of one another. The overall structure/form of the piece also conforms to this theme, as it too is roughly palindromic. 

Performers:
Piano - Spencer Channell

Scales used:
[D, Eb, F#, G, A, Bb, C#]
[G#, A, B#, C#, D#, E, F𝄪]

FUN FACT: The combined pitches of these two scales—the tonics of which are a tritone apart—only comprise 10 out of the 12 total chromatic pitches. The residual two pitches, F and B natural (also a tritone apart), appear in the penultimate rising phrase of the piece, completing the aggregate of all 12.

[Written summer of 2016, performed December of 2016]

Mirrors

Is this intruder new, or has it always been inside me?

[Early release version from our (The Candy Band's) upcoming album "Cynthia"]

Cymbeline [almost final version]

This song is dedicated to my truest friends—old, new, and those I've yet to meet.

Lyrics:
"You give me that feeling you have on a breezy summer evening, when it's not very humid and the sun's on its way out. Your bud is beside you, and you're scrapin a stick in the dirt and kickin rocks as you walk home, in absolutely no hurry. You might be sayin nothin at all, cause you don't need to; the day was full, and it smells like heaven. The air seems carefree, relaxed, peaceful, but beneath everything there is still an electric hum——an excitement to see tomorrow, to keep greeting each coming moment as a friend you've known for lifetimes."

"Friend" (No EQ)

I arranged this old folk tune to be sung at my cousin Katie's wedding. The lyrics were adapted slightly by my cousin Lauryn to better fit the occasion.

Red is the Rose

It's the Lord of the Rings.

I've got a cough, and my dad's best friend died today, but the Dead will sing us to sleep tonight.

Rest in peace, John Zahn.

I Bid You Goodnight

Rebecca's Romance

Heart-on

The Fix

Synth Organum

New Old Girl (Rough Draft)

Based on/inspired by the call of the White-Throated Sparrow. I've been hearing their music since I was a wee babe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL_YJC1SjHE

Special thanks to Rama Kumaran for playing this piece so beautifully and soulfully!

Aidan W. McCarter

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