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Thank heavens there is still a form of popular instrumental music, and thank heavens people still go out and dance. The following are a selection of my dance/electronica tracks, some of which will be included on the album and I'd like to go on, planned for release in 2006.
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Trance- 145bpm- 4:56. This track opens with the voice of my grandmother, from a recording made in the early sixties. It has a unique sound that inspired the mood of the piece. The melodic theme is played on an instrument called a chanter, used by bagpipe players for practicing (it's basically the pipe without the bag). |
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House - 115bpm- 3:27. In 2003 I was asked to remix George Michael's "Freedom" as a demo for a USA Network promotional campaign. I am not sure of the exact details of GM's knowledge or involvement, but in the end he decided that he did not want to be associated with the network. Too bad, since I made old George sound real good with this one. I sped up the tempo significantly to make the track danceable and fun, and cut out a lot of extraneous verse and bridge material to keep things moving along. Everybody loves this thing, so I must have done alright. |
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House - 126bpm- 6:54. My wife asked me to write a contemporary disco track, and this is what happened (her voice is featured during the "feel the love" segment). My grandmother had just sent me a harmonica for Christmas, and I thought it would be interesting to use a harmonica in a dance track; it makes for an unexpected and unusual opening to the piece. I had also just recieved a trumpet, and this is my first recording playing that instrument. |
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Techno- 160bpm- 6:23. This was my first dance/ instrumental piece, composed around 1999. I had been inspired visiting dance clubs in NYC, who were playing music that changed slowly over long periods of time- like some of minmalist composer Steve Reich's pieces, whose music I've always admired and enjoyed. |
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Trance- 150bpm- 9:49. It was my intention to write a formal piece that made use of contemporary dance music idioms; this composition utilizes a basic sonata structure with an intro, two themes and a development, and then a recap. I am a huge fan of the music of Olivier Messiaen, and his influence manifests itself in various ways throughout the piece. |
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BigBeat- 160bpm- 5:34. Video editors seem to adore this track, as I have been asked to rehash it many times for various projects. It is based on elements from a track called "Good Intentions", an electronica/ blues, that appears on the Rock Stardom album (available via the "releases/buy music" link). |
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Trance/Chill- 120bpm- 5:52. Around 2000 or so I was hired to make dance loops for an online service, and a style that they requested was that of the talented Richard James (known as Aphex Twin)- specifically some of his mellow early to mid-nineties work. Using that aesthetic and sound palette as inspiration, I put this piece together and then chopped loops out of it (lots of them- I was getting paid per loop!). So not only was I able to get paid, I had a great track to show for myself as well. Double whammy! |
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BigBeat- 130bpm- 5:10. Written by Stephen Lawrence and Bruce Hart, and containing samples from "Sisters and Brothers" that appears on Free To Be...You And Me (Marlo Thomas and Friends, 1972). My wife had the great idea to redo the "Free To Be" record in a contemporary way; it was probably the biggest kids' record of its time. I treated this track to a Fatboy Slim- style remix: adding drums,bass and other elements, and extending the whole piece to more than double its original length. |
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Acid Jazz- 214bpm- 3:48. This track is constructed almost entirely from samples taken from the Elvin Jones album "Puttin' It Together" (1970), easily lending to the clever title. |
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120bpm- 7:13. Written by Lee Perry, Cedric Myton and Roy Johnson. If I was asked to pick a favorite album, it would have to be "Heart of the Congos" by The Congos (1977), produced by Lee Perry. The lead track on that album is the incredibly deep and mystical "Congoman"- part song, part chant, part dub. "Out of Africa comes the Congoman/ With drums and songs and voices/ Oh Jah". That particular track has been such an inspiration to me that I felt compelled to do a version of it, bringing in some other African influences like King Sunny Ade and Francis Bebey (whose album "Akwaaba" is a favorite of mine). |
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