On April 20 and 22, 2023 as part of Four New Works, the Array Ensemble premieres ex harmonia, in memoriam to my former teacher, the late James Tenney. There have been a few big firsts for me as a re-emerged composer in the past three years, and this is perhaps the one closest to my… Continue reading ex harmonia World Premiere
Category: Experimental
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
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
1991+30 Indigo Pool
“Indigo Pool” is the first song from my 1991 DIY cassette album ōo, in my lo-fi, high-concept early period. The song was composed as it was recorded, layer by layer, beginning with the rhythmic pattern in 11/8 played on two empty plastic water cooler bottles anchored by an abandoned ride cymbal I found in the… Continue reading 1991+30 Indigo Pool
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
95/25: Uhuru
Uhuru is a self-released album which was completed during the winter of 1995 and released in the fall. I had originally hoped to release it on CD but was unable to secure sufficient funds, so it arrived in a run of 100 cassettes. The program was over 70 minutes long, comprising mainly songs and instrumentals… Continue reading 95/25: Uhuru
5 Questions to Anaïs Maviel
My interview for I Care If You Listen.
Best of 2019
Layale Chaker & Sarafand Inner Rhyme Flying Lotus Flamagra Shafiq Husayn The Loop Kaytranada Bubba Anne-Sophie Mutter / John Williams Across the Stars Anderson .Paak Ventura Caroline Shaw / Attacca Quartet Orange Solange When I Get Home James Tenney Changes: 64 Studies for 6 Harps Dwight Trible Mothership Honourable mention: Marvin Gaye You’re the Man
5 Questions to Bushra El-Turk
My interview for I Care If You Listen.
Best of 2018
Brandon Coleman Resistance Tigran Hamasyan For Gyumri Zaki Ibrahim The Secret Life of Planets The Internet Hive Mind JACK Quartet Everything That Rises (John Luther Adams) Kuniko Drumming (Steve Reich) Kukuruz Quartet Julius Eastman Piano Interpretations Kendrick Lamar/Various Artists Black Panther: The Album Kelly Moran Ultraviolet Georgia Anne Muldrow Overload Steve Reich/International Contemporary Ensemble/Colin Currie Group Pulse/Quartet Esperanza Spalding… Continue reading Best of 2018
EL MAHBOOB 