1997+25 urfunk etude

urfunk etude (1997) is for solo piano with or without electronics. In terms of the sequences of minimalist canonic material and the parallel alignments of pitch, rhythmic structure and register, it is a precursor to my string quartet Madra (1999) and other works. It also builds upon a particular piano technique that worked around my limitations as… Continue reading 1997+25 urfunk etude

1989+33 Void

“Void” (1989) is an art pop song from my student days. One of my weirder, nerdier numbers, in it I still sought to be groove-based. It was recorded quickly along with other songs in a late night session, and included on my DIY album Sleepdancing. “Void” posed an existential question that required a complex musical answer.… Continue reading 1989+33 Void

1992+30 Prepared Piano Piece No. 2

Prepared Piano Piece No. 2 (1992) is an unscored, improvised work combining live performance and experimental tape technique. It was created and recorded the day after Vermilion. Both pieces are part of a set of short works for prepared piano(s) which, as it would turn out, were created three weeks before the death of John… Continue reading 1992+30 Prepared Piano Piece No. 2

1992+30 Vermilion

Vermilion (1992) was originally a song for two voices, two prepared pianos and household-object percussion, part of a set titled “Four Home Dubs” from my early 4-track cassette efforts. This instrumental presents the two prepared pianos on their own, digitized from the original master cassette 20 years later. The recording was made during a stay… Continue reading 1992+30 Vermilion

Chaos

“Chaos, Part II” was recorded through the condenser mic on a boom box in my family’s living room, thus the wildly uneven volume of the opening. It’s a barely finished sketch meant to be part of a suite on an impromptu, DIY, “pause-record” cassette album; by default, juvenilia. This was my musical childhood. I was already 18, but… Continue reading Chaos

Interview with James Tenney

Recorded at The Music Gallery, 179 Richmond Street West, TorontoMay 3, 2000 Paul Hodge, audio engineer This interview was the result of my wish to have a final conversation with Tenney before he and his family left Toronto for California, where he was to resume teaching at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) after… Continue reading Interview with James Tenney