Peter Nickalls 2021 Showreel

Other Worlds - Oliver Patrice Weder

For a JRPG-inspired Dungeons and Dragons campaign!

This soundtrack features medieval instruments, strings, brass, and woodwinds.

Overworld Map (JRPG-Style Dungeons and Dragons Campaign)

Written as part of a collaborative module with Dance students, during second year of university.

(Taken from original course notes)


The main collaborative project gave us a better chance to work collaboratively with the dancers.  The required length for the task was to be between 4-8 minutes, and it could either be a live performance, a recorded performance, or a proTools session.  I decided very early on that I would be writing for live performers, as I felt that it would provide a physical element to the final performance that would be lacking were I to create a piece with proTools.  The dancers had no objection to this, and also requested that the piece would make use of at least one cello, as they liked the timbre of the instrument.  I decided, as there were three dancers that I would write for a cello trio, as I felt that the visual impact created by three cellists and three dancers would be quite striking, adding to the overall effect of the final piece.  We also decided on a rough length of 5 minutes.

	The dancers began by exploring some of the ideas they had developed in the previous tasks, including the visual stimulation from photographs and the use of repetitive phrases.  They also began to explore overlapping and intertwining lines of movement, which began to echo my own musical ideas, which also saw me experiment with layered textures and repetitive musical motifs.

	Early on, I decided that I wanted to use the celli as percussive instruments (with the player striking the body of the cello like a drum, rather than playing with a bow or plucking).  I often play the cello in this manner when trying to figure out various rhythms, and I felt that the resonant sound and this unique use of the cello would provide interest to the piece.  I began to develop an opening to the piece which would create a deceptively complex interweaving rhythmic texture using this ‘drum’ technique.  In part, this was inspired by John Cage’s ‘Clapping’ (which was used in one of our joint workshops), but was also inspired by the large percussive sections in various pieces written by Bear McCreary in his score for the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ television series.  I also felt that a rhythmic percussion section such as this would be a good way to begin a dance, providing a sure sense of the piece’s time signature, and also helped me to instantly give the piece an energetic feel.

	I also developed a short one bar phrase, which was repeated and imitated throughout the piece, creating the majority of the musical material in the first half of the piece.  Inspired by the ‘drop-in, drop-out’ of the dancers, I decided to have one of the cello’s play a long musical phrase which would soar over the fast paced rhythm of the other two instruments.  I had written this first half of the piece in 6/8 time, but the material the dancers had developed was largely in 4/4 time.  As a result, I began to write a 4/4 section which continued the texture and energetic feel of the first half.  My largest problem was how to facilitate the transition between the two time signatures.  Initially, I experiemented with a technique I had heard in James Horner’s theme to the film ‘Bicentennial man’, in which the music gradually speeds up to such a degree that the change in time signature is almost seamless.  Though I was able to replicate this effect to some degree, altering the repeated motif, the transition between the two sections was difficult for the dancers to perceive, and they could not tell when the 4/4 section began.  As a result, I placed a one bar pause immediately before this section began, which in-fact enhanced the piece.

	Another concession to the dancers was the structure of the 4/4 section, which directly reflected the structure of their choreography.  At the dance leader's suggestion, I structured the section with several repetitions of a phrase, made of three four-bar sections.  To create interest, I changed the pitch and key of these sections which altered the mood of the piece.  It was also becoming clear that, as the piece was not yet completely finished, I would be unable to practice the work with the other two cellists to a sufficiently high standard.  As a result, it was suggested that I record all three parts my self, and use proTools to layer these tracks.  Myself and the dancers still wanted the live element we had initially hoped for, so I decided to play the 1st cello live, whilst the 2nd and 3rd cello parts would be played over the studio speakers as a backing track.

	The dancers made use of several repetitive and imitative devices, and they used the piece as an abstract means of exploring the concepts of shape and space.  Both the music and the dance have similar overlapping textures, and towards the beginning of the work, the dancers use their bodies in a percussive manner, slapping their thighs.  The compliments the percussive section of the music.

	One major problem towards the end of the task concerned length.  I wrote a piece that was roughly 5:30 minutes in length, a time which I felt achieved our desired length.  Unfortunately, until the last week, the dancers had only 3 minutes of dance.  It was suggested that I cut the piece, which I did by removing one of the repeated 12-bar phrases, shortening the piece to 5:15.  However, when it was again suggested that the piece be cut, I refused, feeling that any further cuts would disrupt the structure and balance of the piece [n.b. reading this after three years or so, I honestly don't even remember this... I sound like a bit of a diva, eh?] .  The dancers’ lack of material also made me suspect whether they had actually listened all the way through my rough synth recordings of the piece.  This issue was, however, resolved, and the dancers were able to create enough material.

	For the final performance, it was decided to mic my cello, in order to compete with the resonance of the recorded backing track.  The dance and the music performance went very well, though we were slightly thrown by a mechanical fault with the CD player.  This led to the wrong backing track being played, which created the effect of the 1st cello being doubled.  However, despite this we continued and finished the performance to a high standard, and received great applause and several positive compliments.  Overall, I was very pleased with this performance, and have very much enjoyed this module and the collaborative and creative opportunities it gave me.  I and my group had very few problems, and the collaborate aspect of the tasks gave me the chance to write music with a purpose.

© Alexander T. Stobbs 2011

Dance No. 2 (For Three Cellos & Three Dancers)

The debut single from Deane Ogden's sophomore world music release "KWELA" on TABCO/WMG Records.

Available everywhere digital music is sold, including:
iTunes: bit.ly/kwela-i
Amazon: bit.ly/kwela-a

For complete information on the project, visit http://deaneogden.com

Download at iTunes

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