Music for the banal . .

Great to be back in Brisbane, and back in the recording studio (IMERSD) once again, following the first half of the year writing, teaching & travelling. This time, working with Con resident percussionist and musician extraodinaire, Dr Vanessa Tomlinson.

These studio sessions were originally intended to be somewhat of a 'warm up' for an album and a concert in September with Vanessa's pianist/composer partner Erik Griswold in their Clocked Out Duo. However, they've now taken on a life of their own, with some stunning improvisations from Vanessa. Look out for a new solo album in the near future, perhaps a parallel SAC-D release because this stuff is just made for surround.

The major work is  a 40-odd minute piece that features Vanessa using all kinds of 'ordinary objects' to make the most extraordinary sounds, rhythms and timbres. Entitled Music for the Banal, the Obvious, the Everyday, this piece moves in and out of all kinds of perspectives and harmonics - sandpaper, kitchen bowls, clay tiles, rice and bottlers, all played with a variety of sticks, mallets and techniques.

On a second, as yet untitled piece, Vanessa goes to work with water and percussion.

When we started, there were all kinds of ideas for post-production and re-interpretation in the mix. However, now its seems more like Vanessa borrows much from the electro-acoustic tradition yet performs this live. Therefore we've mic'd and recorded from a whole range of perspectives and sense that the final mix will involve more about changing perspectives in the performer's mind, and in re-interpreting this in a 'performance mix' of the piece.

Here's a few teasers. First , a section from a performance on everyday metal kitchen bowls (good for beating eggs, but also, for great percussion . . .)

Then there's playing on a whole range of trinkets: tiles, clay pot, bottles:

And finally, a small gong played in a tub of water:

Also great to see a number of student friends here: thanks to James Tonkin who has been working with us in terms of tracking the work as an ethnographic exercise. See if we can't understand a little more about the studio creative process and evolution. Also thanks to (recent PhD completion!) David Carter, who's ears and ideas are just outstanding.