When I’m not making weird noises myself, I encourage others to make them. Actually, I “produce” music by annoying people until they give me albums to release. Here’s what that’s led to so far in 2018:
Solo improvisations on electric guitar from Colorado’s most befuddling guitar player.
2 releases that capture 3ology at its finest: live and up-close.
The lovely and talented Richard Ellis just released two new albums on Curious Automata.
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 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.
Graphite Addiction’s latest album a second chance, years later… Improvised in a single take, it’s a groove-heavy fusion of world rhythms, jazz harmonies, and melodic hooks. Now available for preorder at iTunes. Listen to the first half of Haley’s Comet via ReverbNation: Read more →
They’re just like the regular t-shirts except with a stylish neon orange print. Because we miss the 90s. Buy them at Curious Automata. Read more →
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 →
The music industry is in bad shape. Record labels are losing money. Naturally, I started a record label. The Catalog So Far: Thesaurus of Diatonic Sets — The book that started it all. Lots of numbers, and they only make sense if you’re used to pandiatonic composition. Still, Still, Still — The first audio release was a reissue of Aspen… Read more →
