David McSherry

Enter Calico Released

So, it’s finally out! Clear Notice’s debut album Enter Calico is now available on iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp.

Back in April (on April Fool’s day actually!), I was asked by my Twitter friend Kieron James if I’d like to contribute to a compilation album of Electronic music he was putting together. I’d not written any music for two or three years and I thought it would help me focus some ideas together for one of my MA portfolio pieces so I agreed to write something for it. I’m very glad I did too as it’s turned out to be such a strong album and one which Kieron has done a sterling job of compiling, promoting and generally making sure the whole thing happened. And, there’s still the iPad app to come with some very interesting videographers contributing.

I got a pretty good grade for my portfolio too

Composition Portfolio

My first three essays are done (and I’m really pleased with the grades: 70/75/80!) and now, to complete the first phase (Post Graduate Certificate), I must write 20 minutes of music. It’s been a while since I last made a serious attempt at composition and, as I want to try new approaches, I’ve moved over to Ableton (from Logic) as my primary tool. I’ve chosen to submit a hybrid portfolio, meaning the music in it has various functions. It can be an underscore for a film, for example, or simply a stand-alone piece.

My first piece is a soundtrack for an animation for an engineering company. This is a real-world brief that came to me through my job at the university (there’s no payment in it, unfortunately!) and the requirements are very, well, brief: ‘mainly bed with energy (not excessive) and with instrumentation to sit behind commentary.’ The animation is for corporate purposes and is a slow motion fly-round of a 3D model of an engine – the odd panel floats off to reveal what’s underneath. Exciting stuff.

My first attempt is at something quite neutral sounding in terms of genre (other than it’s an electronic piece). With its steady pace it is cold and detached but also quite hi-tech sounding. It is minimal with arpeggiators that float throughout the piece with a few glitchy random rhythmic elements. These could be interpreted as machinery coughing and spluttering – not what I imagine the client is hoping to evoke, I’m sure! I’ve not heard back from them yet so there may be a major tweak or re-write ahead.

16m 19s to go.

Engineering Animation Soundtrack (tweaked) by mandrill1