Music for fun

My music section!  I’ve recently revamped this page and brought it up to date.

I play in several bands, ranging from a percussion group performing traditional Colombian folk songs, to a space disco/Herbie Hancock in space/warp fusion party band.  (I’ll admit that this last one is still under development, but looking good!)

However, this all things I’ve made myself using electronics, namely keyboards and computers.

I have a Soundcloud page here showcasing a wide range of different pieces that I’ve written over the past ten years or so.

I’ve divided this section into two parts – music I’ve made generally for fun (most of it), and music I’ve made as part of my degree (which was also fun – and involved smashing up a piano into tiny pieces using a sledgehammer at one point!)  I’ve not put everything up from my Soundcloud, because there’s quite a lot of tracks and I like some more than others.

This is stuff I’ve generally made for fun.  You can listen to my degree compositions here – they’re quite different too, I may add.

September (2011)

More about this particular track on my blog post.

Snow (2010)

It was snowing, and I just started playing this.  Some cool space delay in there.  Really gentle.  One of my faves.

Conundrum (2008)

Featuring drums, clavi, Rhodes and bass, all played by me. Clavi, Rhodes and bass played on my Nord Electro keyboard. (Wish I could afford the real things!) Drums recorded by Graeme Allen at the University of Leeds’ ProTools 5.1 Studio.

Sounds and Colours (2005)

One of my first tracks that I made entirely consisting of sampled material, which I made when I was 19. Most came from old records my mum had in a drawer. I was inspired by ‘In/Flux’ by DJ Shadow and tried to make something from a similar perspective.  I think this is one of the best songs I’ve ever made.

Tracks sampled in order of appearance (to satisfy your interest):

Procol Harum – “Pandora’s Box” (Chrysalis, 1975) (marimba)

Art Garfunkel – “Kehaar’s Theme” (CBS, 1978) (strings)

Fausto Pappetti – “Love’s Theme” (Sexy Slow with Cynthia, Durium, 1975) (drums)

Manfred Krug – “Wenn Der Urlaub Kommt” (Du Bist Heute Wie Neu, AMIGA, 1975) (drums)

Jackie Wilson – “Whispers” (MCA, 1969)

Dialogue from “Seeing Colours, Tasting Sounds”, BBC Radio 4,12th November 2002

Procol Harum – “The Piper’s Tune” (Chrysalis, 1975)

Bill Haley and his Comets – “Rip It Up” (Brunswick, 1956)

The Mustangs – “How Funky Can You Get?” (Jetstar, 1969) (drums)

Pleasure – “Bouncy Lady” (Fantasy, 1975) (drums)

The Alan Parsons Project – “Voyager” (Pyramid, Arista, 1978)

Dialogue from “Seeing Colours, Tasting Sounds”, BBC Radio 4,12th November 2002

Pink Floyd – “One Of My Turns” (Harvest, 1979)

Ohio Express – “Zig Zag” (PYE International, 1968)

The Blue Effect – “Sluenčný Hrob” (Panton, 1969)

The Specials – “Ghost Town” (Two Tone, 1981) (siren)

Rich Shapero – “Wild Animus – A Novel” (Too Far, 2005)

Motherlode – “Soft Shell” (When I Die, Buddah, 1969) (sax)

Electric Light Orchestra – “Fire On High” (Jet, 1976)

Dialogue from “Being Bugged”, BBC Radio 4, 26th May 2004

The Blue Effect – “Sluenčný Hrob” (Panton, 1969)

Dialogue from “Seeing Colours, Tasting Sounds”, BBC Radio 4,12th November 2002

Ravi Shankar – “Dawn To Dusk” (Raga (Original Soundtrack), Apple, 1971) (Indian instruments)

Electric Light Orchestra – “Poker” (Jet, 1975) (overdriven guitar)

Dialogue from “Being Bugged”, BBC Radio 4, 26th May 2004

Harold Alexander – “Mama Soul” (Sunshine Man, Flying Dutchman, 1971) (flute)

The Alan Parsons Project – “Nucleus” (I Robot, Arista, 1977)

Dialogue from “Being Bugged”, BBC Radio 4, 26th May 2004 (Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon on telephone)

Motherlode – “Soft Shell” (When I Die, Buddah, 1969)