I don’t believe in ghosts… but then, I don’t believe in coincidences either. This is the third in a series of compositions inspired by the Berlin School of electronic music that materialized in the late 60’s and early 70’s. It is also influenced by the musique concrète and tape pioneers from earlier in the 20th century such as Pierre Schaeffer, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Tristram Cary. This composition is largely non-tonal and features experimental sounds and textures wrested from an array of virtual instruments, organs, samplers, and particularly features sounds from a modular synthesizer. Clusters chords, tape manipulations, Shepard tones, – it’s all here. Want to know a 5 string electric bass guitar sounds like when it’s suspended in air and played like a tympani? Of course you do. That’s here too. You may wish to put away the earbuds and power up the subwoofer for this one.

A psychedelic musical exploration of shifting beats and weaving harmonies. Layered lines follow their own rhythm but flow in the same direction. The “anti-melody” is inspired by early Tangerine Dream leads that must be improvised so as not to be considered bourgeoisie. There is no melodic arc. No carefully planned structure. Just pounding drums and and pulsing basses to propel the ringing guitars and rocketing synthesizers to an explosive zenith. Also: flanger!

Without explaining too much what’s going on here, maybe a summary of what this project is about is in order. First of all, it’s a “cover song”. “Because” – the beautiful Lennon/McCartney song that appears of The Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road is a great example of the fab four’s ability to arrange and execute vocal harmonies. In fact this project started simply as a study which ultimately lead to a vocoder experiment. This arrangement also features a study in canonic imitation which is… well, just cool and always fun and challenging to write. So then, what’s all this “Berlin” stuff about? In short, the idea follows a study of early electronic music which lead to a more specific study of the very influential “Berlin School” of music that flourished in the late sixties and early seventies in, you guessed it, West Berlin. Focusing on several distinct elements that make the music of, in this case, Tangerine Dream so distinctive, the objective was to re-contextualize these elements into new compositions rather than just emulating the sound of the band. So, over the next few projects, an effort will be made to incorporate some of these ideas into original compositions. Among the elements that may be explored are: the use of the analog sequencer, the nature of improvised melodies, and the exploration of electronic ambient music.

Nothing on Netflix? Close your eyes and make your own movie. Here’s the soundtrack. This recording from 2017 is inspired by early 20th century art and music: the result of modernism meeting nationalism when demagoguery and a sense of impending disaster loomed. There are eight parts to this composition: 1) Puzzle of Autumn, 2) The Voice of Space, 3) Blue Room, 4) Koan, 5) A Meeting in Asia Minor, 6) Roman Gates, 7) The Return of Mars, 8) Dimming

References: René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Igor Stravinsky, Gustav Holst, John Barry, Yes, Vangelis, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, etc.

I * do * love an underwater atmosphere! Probably comes from watching all the scuba diving shows on TV as a kid. This piece is about both remembrance and the future. It's the first recording I made since completing the build of my studio, "Hyperreal Overkill" in 2016. There were a lot of experiments and "learning the room" at this time. Add the dreamy, surrealistic painting of "Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom" by Ilya Repin and this is the result.

While writing and recording this piece in 2009, I became rather enchanted by the painting "Ophelia" by Sir John Everett Millais. A little dark, a little English, and a little emblematic of the immersive quality that I was trying to achieve in the music. The recording is meant to be listened to in one sitting but for the purposes of my own navigation, I've divided it into the following sections: The Sound of Vapour, Spooky Movement at a Distance, Barcarolle, Garden Staircase, Waterlilies, Boatman’s Departure, Through the Waterlilies, Into the Coliseum, Entanglement, Waterlilies at Twilight, Echoes of a Barcarolle, Spooky Movement at a Distance