torley – solo piano 2

» download the whole Torley – solo piano 2
(~196 MB)

» download individual tracks, thanx to the Internet Archive
(look for the "192Kbps MP3" links on the right) 

 
COVER ART:

 
SAMPLES:
"76" – a Mother's love for her Daughter

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"52" – tense moments recovering a downed UFO

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"60" – triumphant new day

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"81" – a time of faith

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LINER NOTES:
During my time, I've often been quick to weave and fuse disparate influences together. Where some see irrelevance, I see strong connections, perhaps not joined in a linear way, but linked nonetheless. Much as we have teleportation within Second Life, making a connection doesn't necessarily entail drawing a line from A to B — the trip can be much simpler.

Such is the story of my life, where I recently found myself reflecting on my childhood and music from an early age. I recall being too short to get at the pedals of my first piano, a Henry Herbert made by Mason & Risch upright, and I doubt the fiery strength of my ability to "get into the hammers" has subsided, though I've not practiced much in recent years.

As a child, I recall seeing music posters depicting a piano in a field, forest, or some other natural setting. I can't be sure if those were done without the aid of photo-manipulation, but I'm certain they brought out a lot of emotion in me. Now, the acoustics might leave a lot to be desired in open plains, but it's all too human to dream of the fantastic. Playing a white grand in the desert would've been my gig.

And perhaps then, it's suiting this is what you see: in coming up with several potential covers for solo piano 2 (lowercase please!), I went inworld to play with my collection of pianos. Among the names of treasured makers are: Sue Stonebender, Cottonteil Muromachi, Madame Thespian, Cubey Terra, and on this particular high-resolution cover art is a SZ Pianofabrik of a most elegant persuasion by Suzanne Zeluco.

It's so easy to trot a piano into the desert in SL! So I couldn't help but rez it and apply beauty. The dreamy glow was achieved mainly using optikVerve Labs' virtualPhotographer plugin. A free gem. And for the sake of simplicity, in my fave color scheme (pink-and-green), I ofted to use a rounded, stylized font called Brandish. The end effect is something I'm proud of and which I feel suitably complements the music itself — a rising sun on a dry land, with the piano a sonic oasis.

The music itself is an extension of my first volume of piano improvisations, and as such, continues with the numbering scheme of 45-onwards to 88. Like 88 keys on a standard piano. And in a variety of styles, from pointillist Baroque to smooth romantic flows to stark, minimalist treadings. There is both a great deal of consonance and dissonance — tension and the resolution of it. While largely improvised and given the benefit of spontaneity, I draw on my established background, and there are some cheeky nods in here. I'll let you discover most, but as an example, "53" bears more than a passing resemblance to certain collaborations by Ryuichi Sakamoto + Alva Noto, 'cept done without the benefit of sign wave generators.

In addition to the styles being diverse, so are the actual piano tones I've used; you'll hear meek grands, bold uprights, varied reverb spaces, and even some vintage lo-finess for that nostalgic touch. My goal was to "mix it up" while retaining a cohesive overall aesthetic and identity — namely, channeling a lot of my childhood memories of what is Good, Pure, and True while observing the digital beauty present in our online world. I was inspired by many builds in my travels, painting the tonal palette while watching the colors on my monitors. Like how Bartók collected folk music to compose his dances, I, too, have been paying much attention to the native sounds of Second Life.

It's my hope that through these performances, you'll feel as I do.

Without further ado, please listen and enjoy!

Tagged as: Audio, General, Ideas, Pictures, torleymusic