Release Date: September 14, 2018
Catalog #: RR7997
Format: Digital
21st Century
Avant-Garde
Chamber
Electroacoustic
Electronic

Mind & Machine, Volume Two

Organic And Electronic Works

Tom Prescott composer
Corey Fant composer
Joshua Tomlinson composer
Lou Bunk composer
Julius Bucsis composer
Jennifer Bernard Merkowitz composer
Joshua Harris composer

MIND & MACHINE VOL. 2 is the second electro-acoustic compilation to be released on Ravello Records. Each of the seven composers featured on MIND & MACHINE VOL. 2 offers his or her own striking exploration into the means by which technology can be used to alter time and form to create entirely new musical experiences.

This diverse assortment of composers have all taken different paths to reach that goal. The sounds of nature are manipulated or integrated into pieces such as Tom Prescott’s The Singing Forest and Jennifer Bernard Merkowitz’s Les Crapauds de la Fontaine, while Joshua Tomlinson’s Convergences utilizes the natural elements of metal and wood. Julius Bucsis takes as his source material the work of renowned composer Igor Stravinksy for Some Writings of Spring, using Schenkerian analysis and various audio processing techniques to reinvent The Rite of Spring. Cory Fant deliberately worked outside of the studio to create the sounds in his Vox Ballet without using synthesizers, while Lou Bunk’s Cut and Joshua Harris’ a tiny fleck of blue crying light into the void both each use pianos – albeit very dissimilar ones – in their individual manipulations of time and space.

If there is one common trait that the works on MIND & MACHINE VOL.2 share, it is their ability to capture the immediacy of sonic experience and, regardless of context, to subtly create an entirely new musical narrative, again reinforcing the limitless possibilities inherent in the realm of electro-acoustic music.

Listen

Hear the full album on YouTube

Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 The Singing Forest Tom Prescott Tom Prescott 8:47
02 Vox Ballet Corey Fant Corey Fant 4:54
03 Convergences Joshua Tomlinson Joshua Tomlinson 8:21
04 Cut Lou Bunk Keith Kirchoff, toy piano 6:01
05 Some Writings of Spring Julius Bucsis Julius Bucsis 3:34
06 Les crapauds de la fontaine Jennifer Bernard Merkowitz Andrew Kovaleski, bass clarinet 7:09
07 A Tiny Fleck of Blue Crying Light into the Void Joshua Harris Joshua Harris 11:00

The Singing Forest
Recorded at Keele University Electronic Music Studios, Keele, Newcastle, UK

Vox Ballet
Recorded October 18-20 2017 at SB Studios in Tuscaloosa AL
Performed, designed, produced, and engineered by Corey Fant

Convergences
Composed Fall 2015 by Joshua Tomlinson at the University of Oklahoma’s Catlett Music Center in Norman OK

Cut
Recorded December 18, 2012 at First Parish in Brookline MA
Produced and engineered by Lou Bunk, Keith Kirchoff
Edited and composed by Lou Bunk

Some Writings Of Spring
Recorded, performed, and composed by Julius Bucsis

Les Crapauds De La Fontaine
Recorded May 4, 2016 at Otterbein University in Westerville, OH
Produced and engineered by Amy Gadd

A Tiny Fleck Of Blue Crying Light Into The Void
Recorded, performed, and composed by Joshua Harris

Executive Producer Bob Lord

Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Marina Altschiller, Brandon Macneil, Chris Robinson

Vice President, Audio Production Jeff Leroy
Mastering Shaun Michaud, Lucas Paquette

Design & Marketing Director Brett Picknell
Design Edward Fleming, Ryan Harrison

Artist Information

Tom Prescott

Composer

Tom Prescott is an electroacoustic composer, researcher and software developer. He studied computer science and music technology at Keele University. He then went on to an MRes in music which investigated the application of interactive genetic algorithms to the control of granular synthesis and spatialisation techniques. This was followed by a Ph.D funded by the Keele Research Institute for the Humanities which involved the development of compositions and software that investigate a range of approaches to the application of interactive genetic algorithms to sound design, composition and performance. His compositions are inspired by nature and focus on explorations of the formation of planets and the evolution of life on Earth.

Corey Fant

Composer

Corey Fant (b. 1989) is an American composer, producer, recording engineer, and performer, who has studied at the University of Alabama and Belmont University. Fant is currently studying composition at the University of Alabama under Dr. Amir Zaheri, and he has also studied with Dr. C. P. First. Compositionally, Fant is engaged in a numerous collaborations with his colleagues ranging from acoustic to electroacoustic works for a large variety of ensembles.

Joshua Tomlinson

Composer

Originally from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Joshua Tomlinson is a composer, sound artist and teacher specializing in electroacoustic music and technology. His background is in rock music with subsequent classical training in voice and guitar, and his compositions incorporate a range of musical styles, instrumentation and media. Joshua serves on the steering committee of the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival and he has participated as a composer and audio technician at NYCEMF since 2012. His compositions have also been performed at the PARMA, NSEME, SEAMUS, and EMM music festivals.

Lou Bunk

Composer

Lou Bunk (b. 1972) is an American musician inspired by many forms of experimental artistic expression. Educated in classical composition, and deeply influenced by the noise and improv. scene in and around Boston and New York, Lou’s music occupies a space between and among concert halls and fringe performance spaces. His sonically rich and intricate music investigates sound and silence through extended instrumental techniques, microtones, amplified found objects, electronics, and generative approaches to texture and form.

Julius Bucsis

Composer

Julius Bucsis is an award-winning composer, electric guitarist, and visual artist. His compositions span a range of genres and include works for acoustic and electric instruments as well as computer generated audio and video. Since 2011 his works have been presented at almost 200 events across the world. His compositions have been included on albums released by Ablaze, Ravello Records, RMN Classical, and Soundiff. He received a Doctor of Arts degree from Ball State University.

Jennifer Bernard Merkowitz

Composer

Jennifer Bernard Merkowitz (b. 1981) is a composer, pianist, and violist whose diverse inspirations have included liturgical chant, basketball games, the growth patterns of plants, and frog calls. Her music has been performed in national and international venues such as the Society of Composers, Inc. National Conference, the National Flute Association Convention, the International Computer Music Conference, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Recent commissions include And The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon for percussionist Joseph Van Hassel, which has been released on Soundset Recordings; Brothers and Sisters for Otterbein University’s Concert Choir; and The Best of Both Worlds for the Ohio Music Teachers Association.

Joshua Harris

Composer

Joshua Harris holds degrees in music composition from Appalachian State University, Brigham Young University, and a Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. He began his career teaching high school band and choir before turning to composition full time. He is currently on the music faculty at Sweet Briar College in central Virginia. Previously he taught at Southeastern Oklahoma State University (2012-13), the University of North Texas (2009-2012), and Brigham Young University (2006-08).

Explore more albums in this series