Name: A Thousand Cranes by The Shining Net in Electronic Gems
Duration: 4 min 19 s
Description: Another track from the haiku inspired song-cycle

gotta love bright mallets and plucked strings:)

This track is amazing! I like everything here: synths, rhythm, melody...

I imagined a busy street in Tokyo - watching the motion of the traffic and the people as they go about their business.

Wonderful to listen to this beautiful track on Sunday night, my friend! ;)

the percussion and those oriental sounds make a very elegant mix.

Hi

This playlist represents my favourite pieces in the genre of Electronic music that I have had the pleasure of discovering on Soundcloud over the last couple of months. I urge you to explore their work.

Love and light

Richard

Electronic Gems

In the spirit of World Piano Day, this piece was composed specifically for solo piano and my recording is a simple recital, played in 1 take, unadorned. 

The piece was inspired by the cover photograph by Helena Whitten taken at Forde Abbey, Dorset, England and forms part of a wider collaboration, an album of which is scheduled for release in the Autumn.

Helena specialises in motion blur photography where the slow shutter speed opens up the possibility of narrative and story-telling to the media. Gifts From Crows seeks to explore that narrative through evocative, neoclassical compositions.

A Resolution (Piano Day Recital)

Following the release of the debut album, I had the wonderful opportunity in February to record 3 of the pieces with the Northern Film Orchestra in Stoller Hall, Manchester. Hearing your own music played back to you by such wonderful musicians was an incredibly moving experience. I truly felt like I had broken into heaven. Thank you to Alexander Proudlock, Melvin Tay and all the musicians on the day who contributed with their brilliant performances.

You can now watch a video of the performance at https://youtu.be/wqp6Dvi608I

As Nature Returns (Northern Film Orchestra version)

You probably did not know this but I also compose songs and I am tentatively exploring how to manifest these in the context of the Gifts From Crows sound. The first of these is called 'Ancient Mariner', featuring the talented vocalist Bethany Grace. Even more intriguing though is the fact that it is going to be included in a soon to be released film by Phil Strongman.

HONG KONG BLUE is the first feature-length movie within the new 'Found Noir' genre - a genre based on using out-takes, found footage, narration, music and stills to create a compelling tale. Using only a handful of actors - usually just in voice overs - Found Noir takes film back to its original purpose; the direct telling of relevant modern stories. ..'

Lyrics:

I descend, the pathways of evening
To the silent shore where a small boat is waiting
I slip the ties of its moorings
See the cold rope slide into the black velvet water

If only I had loved you well enough
I could have saved us both from the sentence of living
If only I had cared enough
For your tender heart, each petal I tore apart

Cast adrift from your safe water haven
I don't know where I am, no reference, no bearing
All I know grows dark on the horizon
But upon the hill, a pyre still burning

If only I had shared enough
To tell you my dreams and not just my selfish fears
If only I had cared enough
To notice your tears giving rise to this boundless sea
That now I'm bound to sail upon
That I should ever hope to cross is just faith over reason
I only hope this bow is strong enough
To carry my broken love to the pale light of morning

Ancient Mariner (feat. Bethany Grace)

This is the key piece for the forthcoming album ‘Stories in Slow Light. It was inspired by a photograph taken by Helena Whitten at Poltimore House in Devon which depicts a solitary figure in front of an oval frame where a mirror used to be.

The track evokes the memory of our ancestors and imagines all the living souls who have passed in front of the now long gone mirror. The protagonist appears to be channelling these spirits out of the ancient walls of the house, at times contorted by the energy flowing through her and then flowing with serenity.

The piece was recorded at Swallow Studios in Smallwood and features members of the string section of the Northern Film Orchestra. 

The video for ‘The Empty Mirror’ was shot on location at Poltimore House but this time dancer and choreographer Kristine Berget reprises Helena’s role from the photograph and we follow her as she moves around the rooms and hallways of the crumbling mansion.

The video can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdQ92f0XSpA

The Empty Mirror (Strings) Studio Version

Reflections on childhood - as a parent and as a brother. Life is so much simpler as a child and yet, at the same time, we are barely even touched by it hence the title 'Dance of Unknowing'. The piece is a celebration of and a nostalgia for that innocence that we can never return to.

A remarkable video for this piece has been created by Stefania Buzatu and is available on my YouTube channel

https://youtu.be/JXbYd4Ji1bA

The video features archive footage of families enjoying fairground rides at Coney Island and other amusement parks in the 1950s. This recently found material was made by the US Government and restored by film-maker Rick Ray who kindly granted me the license to use it in this context.

The post-war exuberance perfectly captures the care-free spirit that I was hoping to express in the music. Watch the full video on my YouTube channel and listen to the track on your favourite streaming platform. All links in the bio

The photograph is another emotive masterpiece from Hengki Lee. Please follow this visionary artist on Instagram to see more of his work.

Childhood (Dance Of Unknowing) Studio Version

I am currently collaborating with artist and photographer Helena Whitten and this is the first fruit of our work together.

Helena uses the technique of slow-shutter exposure to capture the beauty and fragility of life in unexpected places. 

"The events and figures in her photos are almost living and breathing, they want to persist in the present and into the future. But the paradox of slow-shutter work is that these figures, with their disappearing arms, legs and heads, inescapably become ethereal and ghostlike, barely there and slipping away.

This photograph was taken at Hestercombe House and is titled, "Beyond the Frame".

A remarkable video for this piece has also been created by Timon Mahony and is available on my YouTube channel

https://youtu.be/8jQAf3rfYiM

The video itself was made using only the above photograph as raw material and guides the viewer on a microscopic inspection of that one frame throughout the whole 3 and a half minutes of the track.

To see more of Helena's stunning photography and our collaboration, follow our Instagram accounts:

www.instagram.com/helewhitty/
www.instagram.com/giftsfromcrows/

Beyond The Frame (Studio Version)

A cross between the sound from my math rock EP Equations and my 2020 album Them Hybrid Folk.
Both those releases now FREE on Bandcamp-
https://moodexhibit.bandcamp.com/album/equations
https://moodexhibit.bandcamp.com/album/them-hybrid-folk

This could be launching point for next album………to be continued

Mood Exhibit - Coordinates

This is the first track I've created after wrapping up my new album “aes.thet.ics”. There is always uncertainty as to what I want to work on after releasing a collection of material. (or if I need a break)It's a combination of relief/fulfillment, mixed with self imposed pressure as to needing to come up with ideas for future work.

Going back to minimal piano remains a comforting direction. For me it's always a rewarding emotional release. 

**more tracks to share soon from "aes.thet.ics"

Mood Exhibit - Klid

This piece was originally composed for solo piano and explores the way in which our subconscious minds influence our waking lives. A persistent dream can be a positive hope but also a fear or an omen. This version was arranged for 2 cellos, piano and double bass and tends towards the latter mood.

In many cultures across the world, birds of the corvid family such as ravens and crows have long been signifiers of loss and foreboding, and yet their symbolism is complex. As talking birds they can also represent prophecy and insight connecting the material world with that of the spirits.

Johanna's beautiful image perfectly captures this mythological interpretation and I am delighted to present her work as the cover art for the new release.

The orchestral version of the track is also now available on all streaming platforms.

A Persistent Dream (Ambient)

Inspired by Spaceschneider (Rogalist Records): https://soundcloud.com/spaceschneider

Ocean Moon

Spaceschneider - Ocean Moon (adra edit)

Taken from the EP Mech Garden, you can find it here :) There are some free codes on my Bandcamp page so help yourself.

https://crestofthesyndicate.bandcamp.com/album/mech-garden

Here are some free codes:-

8cp3-ktre
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vqan-we29
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ajlc-kqvp
r9sq-gzt2
a24f-3zuh
kvpv-gca3
kg97-uxrs
ut3d-evcl
lzve-78se
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eukn-bams
blym-xnyd
wsk6-jenh
sj3k-yb5v
sfdt-7x78

Mech Garden (free)

y Garden

Back in 1992, The Shining Net were commissioned to compose music to a video of Fractal Animations by Richard Tucker. The fractal images themselves were generated using a then, state-of-the-art piece of software called Fractools. Richard would then painstakingly develop fly-throughs of these fractals, bouncing the rendered images down to video, one frame at a time.

This particular track was recorded in a single 10 hour session that started at 7pm one evening and finished at 5am in the morning. When we had finally got the mix we were after we went out into the back garden in time for the morning chorus of birds and the sun rising.

The 40 minute video was called Fractal Dreams and was published by Duet (Catalogue no. Duet 006. It won an IBM animation award the following year.

Fractal Dreams

Strange Attractor

Another track from the haiku inspired song-cycle

The Shining Net

A Thousand Cranes

Another track from my current album “Astray”- https://moodexhibit.bandcamp.com/album/astray

Mood Exhibit -Flora

Back in the late 80s / early 90s a collective of progressive musicians in the north of England pioneered a new sound under various names, one of which being The Shining Net. Inspired by the post-punk artistry of labels like Factory Records, 4AD and ECM, the band recorded 3 albums - The Shining Net, Listen and Dream Into Being for Mandala Records.

Selective tracks from these recordings as well as stories from their time together will be released exclusively through Soundcloud in the coming months.

#seahorses

Richard Laurence is a composer of neoclassical and ambient piano music with a colourful background in post-rock and electronic studio projects.

Working under the name, ‘Gifts From Crows’, Laurence released his debut album, “Holding a Thought Forever”, in February 2021, a hauntingly beautiful collection of piano instrumentals augmented with samples, electronics and string arrangements. 

This was followed by a solo piano composition, ‘A Resolution’ which was released on Piano Day 2021 and also the E.P. ‘Northern Film Orchestra Sessions Vol. I’ which featured 3 tracks from the album arranged for a 20 piece ensemble recorded at Stoller Hall in Manchester.

The 2nd Gifts From Crows album, ‘Stories in Slow Light’ is a collaboration between composer Richard Laurence and photographer Helena Whitten. The project consists of 12 compositions all inspired by and composed around the themes depicted in Helena’s photographs. The album, along with 4 accompanying videos will be released progressively between now and February 2022.

The music of Gifts From Crows has been featured in Headphone Commute, Stationary Travels, York Calling, Music Dances When You Sleep and CutCommon Magazine. It has also been played on Classic FM, Scala Radio, Jorvik Radio and featured on the official Spotify playlist, Classical New Releases.

A Thousand Cranes

The Shining Net

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