Sonic Architecture

[nickc]

I posted in the improv section but seeing as this is technicaly composed (pre meditated) and performed, I figured I'd post here also. It's not the usual forum fare but for pianistic reasons, at least check out track 11

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1) 0:00 Opening
This piece is exactly that, an opening statement. The organ is a subtle nod to the composer Camille Saint-Seans and his organ symphony)

2) 1:21 Let’s Go Techno
This one speaks for itself… have fun.

3) 4:02 Go Ye Forth and Find the Groove
I was asked to write one with only two chords… this funky beast came to life. It does modulate once though… chromatically from the key of C to the key of… C. Also, that bass line…

4) 9:12 Storm- A tribute to Vivaldi
I love Baroque music. This one is for you Vivaldi! This piece is dark and powerful, with a slight accelerando as it progresses.

5) 12:33 Just a Waltz.
First actual piano piece on this keyboard album. I just let loose and let the fingers do their thing.

6) 15:57 Space Jazz
The piece that doesn’t do anything you want it to do. My brother said “jazz in the future”. Space Jazz was born.

7) 18:20 A little Prelude For Mr. Bach
J.S Bach, what more needs to be said. A giant of music. I figured a little piece in his style would be a nice way to say thanks for all the beautiful music he has given the world.

8)19:27 Harmonic Rhythms
One of the first melodies I ever created when I began composing in 2015. Watching it change as I change is a neat experience.

9) 23:23 Chill
Ah.. it’s Friday night and you are in the garage jamming with your buddies. I consider this one to be a tribute to my Dad. Great guitarist and a wonderful father.

10) 25:23 Sunsets and Shores
The only acoustic piece on this album. The ocean on a late winters day.

11) 30:30 Pluck Away
This piece nearly killed me. Had to re-invent how I play the piano for this one to get the right effect. It’s a neat mix of Renaissance and Flamenco.

12) 32:17 Big Bossa
A nice and relaxing groove. Simple and subtle.

13) 35:40 Just a Minute
A short musical statement. I like this one which is rare as normally I hate everything I write haha

14) 36:34 Lomakatsi
Lomakatsi is the Hopi word for (Life in Balance). It’s for Bass, synth and flute. I find this piece to be quite magical. It let’s you drift away…

15) 40:21 Mekong Stomp
I traveled that part of the world when I was younger. I can remember the sounds of a lot of the music and thought hey… why not.

16) 43:21 Timo
The final composition on the album. This one is for my daughter. She has a stuffed monkey named Timo. She asked me for a dark and “spooky jungle” party piece. Oh yeah… in case you don’t catch the name of this piece… It’s Timo as you’ll hear (daughters request)

[frodo1]

This is not really my style of music - but I enjoyed track 11 and a few others.  Maybe track 11 also has a little Irish sound to it in addition to Renaissance and Flamenco? 

[nickc]

This is not really my style of music - but I enjoyed track 11 and a few others.  Maybe track 11 also has a little Irish sound to it in addition to Renaissance and Flamenco?

Yes it does!! Great observation. Thanks for listening. Funny enough, this isn't really my style of music either. I am a classical pianist and yet for some reason, this is how it ended up. My dad had a good chuckle... he sent me an earlier work that I did a few years ago. So different!

[frodo1]

Yes it does!! Great observation. Thanks for listening. Funny enough, this isn't really my style of music either. I am a classical pianist and yet for some reason, this is how it ended up. My dad had a good chuckle... he sent me an earlier work that I did a few years ago. So different!

Beautiful sounds here.  Piano is slightly out of tune - but not bad.  I will have a full listen to this tomorrow.

[nickc]

Beautiful sounds here.  Piano is slightly out of tune - but not bad.  I will have a full listen to this tomorrow.

Thanks! I appreciate that. That piano is 100 years old and at the time of recording, I didn't have the funds to service it. The tuning used to bug me but I find it works in that album. Almost like a message from a slighty different musical dimension ( that is how I justify being broke Haha)

[ted]

Good to see you here again and to hear your obvious development in your chosen idioms. I shan't comment on individual pieces until I have had a few more trips through the lot, but I can discern a marked fluency in the way phrases interact that is new. The waltz, for instance, though simple, if I am not mistaken reaches out into new improvisational territory and fluency for you. In particular, the way you constantly challenge the metre, even in baroque style, with unaligned syncopation lends a great deal of life to your music. For reasons I don't understand as I have never created this way, I often find this quality absent in the music of many who compose through combining tracks.

Is the gun to deter those who might interrupt the process of creation ?

[nickc]

Good to see you here again and to hear your obvious development in your chosen idioms. I shan't comment on individual pieces until I have had a few more trips through the lot, but I can discern a marked fluency in the way phrases interact that is new. The waltz, for instance, though simple, if I am not mistaken reaches out into new improvisational territory and fluency for you. In particular, the way you constantly challenge the metre, even in baroque style, with unaligned syncopation lends a great deal of life to your music. For reasons I don't understand as I have never created this way, I often find this quality absent in the music of many who compose through combining tracks.

Is the gun to deter those who might interrupt the process of creation ?

So wonderful to hear from you Ted, I have missed out conversations in regards to life and music. It's been quite the ride the past year...

The gun is a message to the people that keep barging in when I'm recording. They have terrible timing!

This album is only half of what it was supposed to be, originally it was near 2 hours but I decided to split that into Vol.3 (which I find to be even more divergent and mature then my other works). I think it's safe to say, I'm reaching my  "middle period" for lack of a better description.

[frodo1]

Thanks! I appreciate that. That piano is 100 years old and at the time of recording, I didn't have the funds to service it. The tuning used to bug me but I find it works in that album. Almost like a message from a slighty different musical dimension ( that is how I justify being broke Haha)

I listened to this a couple times.  It is so different from your current work, but very beautiful!  The piano is not much more out of tune than a CD I have of D’Albert transcriptions of Bach organ music performed on a 1906 Steinway D.  It gives the music a certain character.  Continue to go in the direction that your heart takes you. Keep up the great work!