Tag: Curious Automata

“Occasional Music” Turns Ten

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My solo acoustic improvisation album Occasional Music was released ten years ago today. It’s one of my favorite releases for a few reasons:

  • It was the multi-part solo improvisation I recorded—tracks 1-9 are a continuous set and are exactly as I played them.
  • 2016 was a high-point for me as an improvisor with Occasional Music, Graphite Addiction’s moody a second chance, years later…, and Snarky Anarchy’s improvised punk madness Indescribable Differences all releasing within that year.
  • The cover photo by Alexander Hope, from the EPA’s DOCUMERICA Program to Photographically Document Subjects of Environmental Concern, is striking and fits the leaving town mood perfectly.
  • It was the recording debut of my much-loved Collings OM2Hg, which is why the title abbreviates to “OM”.

To celebrate, it’s free for the rest of September at Subvert and Bandcamp, so download it or check it out on the streaming site of your choice.

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New Album: Six After Ten

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September 26th, 2024 was the 10th anniversary of my lesson studio at Boomer Music Company in Fort Collins. To mark the occasion, I recorded this improvisation that week in my lesson room on my usual teaching gear: workhorse instruments, practice amps, and a recording app on my business phone.

The two sessions have been edited slightly for time and there’s some studio reverb added for depth, otherwise it’s an accurate documentation of my typical noodlings while waiting to teach.

Give it a listen on CD or the music service of your choice, and thanks for listening.

-Vic

New Release: Music for Poochy Patrol

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“Music for Poochy Patrol”, the 3rd installment in my trilogy of instrumental guitar albums, is out today! I play or program every instrument myself, and this time I even had to sing a few tunes.

I started writing, arranging, and tracking an album titled “Music for Poochy Patrol” in early 2019. I planned for it to be a set of original instrumentals featuring some of my favorite musicians. And I was going to use my favorite photo of my dogs Rockett and Charlie (aka Poochy Patrol) on the cover. COVID changed those plans a bit. I instead played or programmed every instrument myself. Then, when Rockett died that November, I decided to instead dedicate the album to him and it became 2021’s “Music to Squeak By”. I still had unrecorded charts, and Charlie needed a cover spot, so 2022 saw “Music for Chasing Squirrels”. This album collects the last of the tunes so it’s finally time to use the original title and cover photo.

Since the start, I’ve watched Poochy Patrol and myself change. Rockett and Charlie made a host of new friends, some of whom are pictured on the back cover. I’ve made new friends as well, playing with a host of new musicians in new venues. So this project, instead of collecting the past, is about the future. There will always be new tunes to play, new places to see, and a host of friends to meet along the way.

Hope to see you along that path soon, and, as always, thanks for listening.

-Vic Dillahay

Analogues of Infinity turns 10

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My first Curious Automata release, Analogues of Infinity turns 10 today. It’s free on Bandcamp (and up on all the streaming sites) so give it a listen and try to figure out why the heck this is the most popular track:

Ellis Island Day Samper 2023

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Here’s a smattering of tracks from Curious Automata’s 2023 releases, including “Somewhere They’ll Find Our Pieces” off my album “What Was”. Richard Ellis has the other 5 tracks… that dude was busy.