After finishing my dissertation in 2008, I needed to work on a track that was pure fun. No delusions of profundity, just a fast track exploring some of the techniques I had uncovered while working on the last few projects. It’s almost like a study - when a painter paints a bunch of faces before painting the big scene using all of them.
Incidentally, it was programmed at a few festivals. Namely the Spark Festival in 2009. The track is free to anyone that wants to make a video for it - email sales@janthonyallen.com if your interested.
The Saturations series of pieces all focus on a very narrow “subject” and, similar to photography, saturates it with as much of the subject as possible. In Saturations III-A for example, I took a very short sample of a choir (singing an earlier piece of mine). The original sample was only a few seconds long, but through a number of software processes this complete work was made entirely from that original sample.
These pieces have been prorgrammed widely, including being featuring at the Society of Electro-Acoustic Music annual conference, International Computer Music Conferences, and at the Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Arts.
Please Note:
If you would like a full quality version, please email sales@janthonyallen.com after purchasing.
Dry Cell (for soprano saxophone and electronics) was originally conceived as a narrative: In a future dystopic world absent of humans, only the remains of our technology survive. With energy running out, the “batteries” are left gasping for power. The piece begins in the “old west” of this future age, and as it progresses (and builds in intensity) we move into the remains of our major cities and see the remains of urban sprawl and the batteries clinging to life. The piece is loosely inspired by Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us.
Dry Cell was premiered at the Third Practice Festival, Richmond VA in 2009. performed by Michael Straus.
This piece was made possible by the What are you looking at Commissioning Fund directed by Michael Straus in conjunction with consortium members Erik Rönmark, Jan Berry Baker, Vicki Purslow, George Weremchuk, Alex Sellers, Matthew McClure, Ryan Lemoine, Grif?n Campbell and Joey Trahan.
NOTE: Due to commissioning agreements, this piece will become available for sale in October, 2010. If you would like to pre-order a copy, please email sales@janthonyallen.com.
Kinesthesia: Music for String Quartet and Electronics.
Innova Records
This recording is made possible by the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative fund, with commission support from the the Jerome Foundation, Meet the Composer, American Composers Forum, and the Southern Theater.
The Saturations series of pieces all focus on a very narrow “subject” and, similar to photography, saturates it with as much of the subject as is aesthetically desired. Saturations III-C uses samples made on the UPIC (Unité Polyagogique Informatique du CEMAMu) system while studying at CCMIX (Centre de Création Musicale Iannis Xenakis) in Paris, France. Unlike any of my other Saturations pieces, this piece uses one additional sample - a single strum of an acoustic guitar.
In 2007 this work was choreographed by the Tulane Dance Department for ICMC 2007 in New Orleans.
The Saturations series of pieces all focus on a very narrow “subject” and, similar to photography, saturates it with as much of the subject as is aesthetically desired. Saturations III-B uses a single white noise sample with various synthesis techniques and rhythmic effects.
duration: 6:34
The Saturations series of pieces all focus on a very narrow “subject” and, similar to photography, saturates it with as much of the subject as can be aesthetically pleasing. Saturations III-A uses a single sample of a choir with various synthesis techniques to achieve an atmospheric environmental soundscape. Read the rest of this entry »
In the summer of 2009 I was in residence with the fantastic champions of new music Zeitgeist. As part of their “composer workshop” series, me and a few other composers (Abbie Betinis and Justin Merritt) had the opportunity to work with Zeitgeist and write a new piece for them. The catch was, we had to write it in 3 days.
I ended up with 2 short pieces. One entirely acoustic, and one entirely electronic.
I spent my first session with them just recording their studio (Studio Z). They had just moved in to this cool new space, and were in the process of remodeling it. Perfect for someone like me that likes to sample all kinds of banging on things. So I wrote this little piece using only sounds gathering from knocking on the walls, floors, coffee makers, trash cans, and whatever else I could find of their new studio.
Thing. It’s a track called Thing.
“Thing” is the working title I gave to the track while I was playing with it. I gave it to Andrew Linde at modernsextrash to write some lyrics, and see if he thought it might be a good fit for modernsextrash. The band liked it, and recorded it. They added some cool things to it, and gave it a nice production.
I asked them to come up with a better name, but it seems nothing can top the profundity of “Thing.”
After finishing my dissertation in 2008, I needed to work on a track that was pure fun. No delusions of profundity, just a fast track exploring some of the techniques I had uncovered while working on the last few projects. It’s almost like a study - when a painter paints a bunch of faces before painting the big scene using all of them. 
The Saturations series of pieces all focus on a very narrow “subject” and, similar to photography, saturates it with as much of the subject as possible. In Saturations III-A for example, I took a very short sample of a choir (singing an earlier piece of mine). The original sample was only a few seconds long, but through a number of software processes this complete work was made entirely from that original sample.
Dry Cell (for soprano saxophone and electronics) was originally conceived as a narrative: In a future dystopic world absent of humans, only the remains of our technology survive. With energy running out, the “batteries” are left gasping for power. The piece begins in the “old west” of this future age, and as it progresses (and builds in intensity) we move into the remains of our major cities and see the remains of urban sprawl and the batteries clinging to life. The piece is loosely inspired by Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us. 
In the summer of 2009 I was in residence with the fantastic champions of new music Zeitgeist. As part of their “composer workshop” series, me and a few other composers (Abbie Betinis and Justin Merritt) had the opportunity to work with Zeitgeist and write a new piece for them. The catch was, we had to write it in 3 days.
Thing. It’s a track called Thing.
