Archive for January, 2016

The New CD: Lessons From Vinegar Mother

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ALL NEW! LESSONS FROM VINEGAR MOTHER
 
Available Now at CD Baby! CLICK HERE
 
LESSONS FROM VINEGAR MOTHER
Ambient Compositions for Theremin

VM_ThumbLESSONS FROM VINEGAR MOTHER

You can listen to samples and download the FREE Vinegar Mother Booklet below.

“Ambient” music has undergone many incarnations since Brian Eno first coined the phrase in 1978.
Yet, it has its origins in composers like Debussy and, especially, Erik Satie, who referred to his
own works as “furniture music.” It is intended for the background, music that plays almost at the
edge of perception, blending in with the sounds of the immediate environment.

It’s in this tradition that Lessons From Vinegar Mother was created.

And who, or what, is the Vinegar Mother? From 4th century Norse culture comes the obscure and
nearly lost art of receiving lessons from the Vinegar Mother. Mother of Vinegar or Mycoderma aceti
(from the Greek μὑκης (fungus) plus δἐρμα (skin), and the Latin aceti (of the acid) is composed of
cellulose and acetic acid bacteria that forms in unpasteurized vinegar. Oxidation gives rise to this
gelatinous substance that can assume amorphous and even ethereal shapes.

It is these shapes that are “read” by a practitioner of the art. Bengta Stenlund is a tenth generation reader
or “Daughter” of the Vinegar Mother. All of the music on Lessons From Vinegar Mother was directly
inspired and composed using the text of ten lessons Ms. Stenlund imparted specifically for this project.

Put it on and let it flow. Soundscapes, familiar and unfamiliar. Meditative expanses evolve into
energetic passages that seethe with rhythms. Laughter, half-heard whisperings arise and hang in the
air. Melodies degrade into sonic textures and then reconstruct themselves. The ethereal voice of the
theremin, combined with the text in the Vinegar Mother Booklet, encourages the listener’s associations,
lending depth and personal resonance to the music…all in the background.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE VINEGAR MOTHER BOOKLET

Lessons From Vinegar Mother was produced on a very limited budget. As a result, its
accompanying 16-page booklet proved too expensive to print. Experience all of the Lessons from
Vinegar Mother
as they were meant to be experienced.


The Vinegar Mother booklet contains the complete text of all ten lessons, original artwork, and
extra background information. You can download the booklet, FREE, even if you don’t purchase the
CD! To view the booklet, just click on the link below. To download it, right click on the link
below and save the PDF file called: VinegarBook.”

VM_Booklet

 
Available Now at CD Baby! CLICK HERE
 
LESSONS FROM VINEGAR MOTHER COMPLETE TRACK LISTING:
(Click below for 60-second samples)
Lesson One
Lesson Two
Lesson Three
Lesson Four
Lesson Five
Lesson Six
Lesson Seven
Lesson Eight
Lesson Nine
Lesson Ten

 
 

2016 Just Begun — Me, a Theremin, and a New Movie

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The New Year is starting off in a way I could never have predicted. Award winning feature film maker, Michael Jason Allen
contacted me to ask if I would write the score for his upcoming film, An Idle Mind is the Devil’s Playground.

“Why me?” was my first reaction. Turns out, it’s perfectly logical; his lead character. Sid Kottler, is a theremin player.
It follows that a theremin would be part and parcel of the music for the film. Where there’s a theremin, there’s suspense,
and there’s the type of compelling music that made the theremin’s reputation in brilliant films like Billy Wilder’s The
Lost Weekend
, Hitchcock’s Spellbound and the original 1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still, directed
by Robert Wise. These films (all made before really cheesy SciFi turned the theremin’s sound into a cliché) featured music
by amazing composers like Bernard Herrmann and Miklos Rosza. While I’m hardly in that class of composer, this is going to
be fun.

Filming in black and white, Allen is both writer and director. Rather than go the routes of horror or SciFi, he’s
written a suspenseful psychological drama reminiscent of masters like Hitchcock and Serling.

I encourage you to take a look at Allen’s extraordinary body of work. He’s just recently won the Great Lakes International
Film Festival for his film, The Coldest Kiss. It also received nominations for Best Actor, Best Director and Best
Feature at the Trail Dance Film Festival. You can see more at his web site, He Said She Said Productions:

http://www.hesaidshesaidproductions.com

During our preliminary talks it became clear that I’m working with an intensely creative and passionate man. Jason and I
connected very easily; it seems we’re on the same page from the start and I have to say I am in awe of his energy, his
enthusiasm and his incredible openness to the musical ideas I’ve proposed.

As with any independent filmmaking venture, finances are key. At the last tally, Jason still needed to $3,375 to complete
his budget. And you – yes, you, (picture me saying this in my best TV infomercial voiceover) can make a donation of any
amount to help this film see the light of day. Just go to the link below for all the details about the levels of funding:

http://www.hesaidshesaidproductions.com/an-idle-mind-is-the-devils-playground.html

To top it all off, after seeing me on youtube, Jason eventually asked if I would be interested in appearing in the film.
Took me a while to get my head around that – I was already busy writing the music and I had to “surface” from that mindset
to take in what he’d asked. After thinking it over for a day or two… I’m in. I’ll be out in Phoenix for filming at the
end of this month.

All I can say is: this is going to be fun.

More as things progress. For now, go take a look at Michael Jason Allen’s films!