Two Singles

2 new Singles for March...


Our Devonian Lagoon (EP005)

+


eTude 23 (EP006)

...with Updated notes.

The Notes area now includes a spoken description of the intention behind Singles and some RMusic versions of the pieces.
www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/PMusic-Singles.html
www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/PMusic-Singles_notes.html

The characters of these two Singles are dissimilar and represent my attempt to create two very different listening experiences.

The first, ODL, began with quite a clear image of what I intended to evoke - a sort of romance found in an unlikely source - for more see the ODL notes. It also proved difficult to complete and was begun over a year ago. The piece followed on from exploring the use of the guitar in 'Liquid Birdsong' - this time using long slowed phrases to collide and produce a kind of incidental melody stream. I found it quite difficult to not let everything move towards turning into a kind of muddy dirge - and on some playings I'm still not sure whether I have succeeded in this. On other playings however, when I relax about listening, it conjures the atmosphere I intended (such is the challenge of PMusic composition). About halfway through working on ODL I began to think of Roxy Music's 'Hula-Kula' (but I'm not sure exactly why).

The eTude however was produced within a couple of days and my starting point was to work from scratch, so to speak, generating ideas from the core sound of scratchy guitar picks (a reference to my improvising past). I also had in mind a photograph I had taken (quite coincidentally) of a skyline with roof and TV aerial. This suggested ideas of pastoral surroundings with modern communication and when I thought of the piece as a kind of drawing instead of a finished 'painting' the whole thing took off for me, suggesting more sounds to gather.

The vocals evolved from a failed attempt to replicate something I was hearing in my head - they were going to be crisp rather than rounded - but I came to realise that they provided a counterpoint to some of the other sharper sound pools. They also reflect the fact that I had been listening to (and enjoying) 'Blood, Muscle and Air' - the latest CD from the Sonic Arts Network, curated by David Moss.

I gained a lot in premiering a piece I had made so quickly and the Single presented has been slightly reworked in light of experiencing the 'live' version in Plymouth - see previous entry.

www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/PMusic-Singles.html