Tag: Curious Automata

Two from Richard Ellis

The lovely and talented Richard Ellis just released two new albums on Curious Automata.


Songs Found Under the Couch


CD: $15.00

First up is Songs Found Under the Couch. This collection of Richard’s introspective songwriting demos is the first Curious Automata release with vocals on every track. I really dig its dark tone and Richard’s guitar and vocals really shine, despite the somewhat lo-fi quality of the original tapes. It’s definitely music that deserves repeated listening.


Play One Song


CD: $15.00

Play One Song is an in-depth instrumental exploration of Richard’s song Sixteen Roses, featuring Louis Carrillo on percussion and Kendal Crews on bass along with Richard on electric guitar. Over 72 minutes of continuous music, the trio finds darkness and light in one of Richard’s best compositions. Listen to the original demo with vocals off Songs Found Under the Couch, then check this out to hear how great musicians can bring new depth to songs.

A quick note: as executive producer I shortened Play One Song by 10 minutes so it would fit a single CD. This is the most corporate thing I have ever done. I have become a suit, mea culpa.

Index of Movement Cover

Another Big List: The Index of Movement in Diatonic Sets

My previous book, the Thesaurus of Diatonic Sets, describes the relationships between the content of the subsets of the diatonic or other seven-note scales. It served that purpose well, but I soon found a basic flaw in its approach to pandiatonisim. It is careful about the set content but woefully lacking in concern about how sets move, treating all sets… Read more →