"Gravity" started out as an experiment with Cakewalk Dimension Pro, but it evolved into a full-blown track.
In some ways it's quite a simple track, due to the melodies repeating a few times. However, it's very different to most of the tracks on "A World Beyond". There's more going on, and it's almost totally electronic.
Feedback would suggest that opinion is very divided on "Gravity". It seems to be a love/hate affair, with no middle ground. Some people suggested using different instruments; others loved the stark contrast to my earlier tracks; and some people just couldn't stand it.
Overall, I'm pleased with how it came out. It's extremely experimental, but I think there's a good melody in there.
After writing so many ambient tracks for "A World Beyond", I wanted to try a totally different style. So, I wrote an upbeat track in the form of "Nebular Dreams".
The brief piano interludes add more substance to the piece than the earlier piano-only tracks that I did; the main melody and bassline are really catchy. Definitely one of those tracks that sticks in your head!
The middle is a bit of a show-off on the main melody, as I very much doubt I could play an instrument this fast - so I've abused the opportunity to use the computer to play the music for me. It's moderately interesting but it's really just to accompany the piano.
The key change builds on the earlier melodies, while the ascending synth melody that leads back into the main theme explores one of the strengths of this instrument - its wavering, lingering effects creating a slightly ominous edge to the track.
As this track ends, the piano is all that remains, repeating the same chord-based riff until the last moment. It leads well into the third track of "Besidewalk Plight".
This track has been through a few different versions. In the second album's early days, this track was originally called "Left, Right and Centre" - and so was the album. Prior to that, it was part of a track called "Flat Harmonies", which was a fairly slow and unexciting piece - but the part that became Jumpstart was by far the best bit. It's a lot better without the intro that came before.
Much like Nebular Dreams, Jumpstart is an upbeat track. It's got a similar balance of synth and piano, but with a heavier drumbeat. It's hard to choose between the two tracks - I think they're both very similar and very different at the same time.
The repetitive notes played in octaves at the start of the track are later played on the piano as chords. This strengthens the main theme and soon leads back into the original melody.
This was originally written for Suzy, a wonderful American girl who I met online in 2002. Sadly, she died before we had a chance to meet in person. This track is dedicated to her, as is the whole of my second album (hence why it's the title track) - although not all of the tracks were originally intended for her.
Suzy and I often amused each other with our language differences. Suzy said sidewalk and I said pavement. The title takes sidewalk and combines it with "beside" and "plight". The meaning of the title is basically a way of saying "I am beside myself over the plight of our language differences", jokingly of course.
The track began as a piano-only composition, not dissimilar to older tracks such as "Meadow", "Raindrops", and "Circular Finale". However, I decided to add to it after someone commented that it sounded like one of my older tracks and the first half wasn't very good. Someone else had said it sounded like an older track with drums. Both comments made me rethink the piano-only approach.
Pizzicato strings feature quite lightly but continuously throughout the first part of the track. They add some particularly nice chords to the piece, and generally make it a lot more interesting.
The latter part is from a totally different piece called "Stars and Stripes", which I added to make the piece sound a bit more playful. I think the two go well together, and the ending tops it off nicely.
This is a very old piece indeed. It's the second track I ever wrote (the first is Waiting for the Sun). Originally with vocals loosely based around "From a Window" by The Beatles, I decided to remove these as they were really dull.
The version I finished for this album is a very catchy melody, much more so than the original version I wrote. In fact, this version is much closer to how I'd heard it in my head. As with the vocals, the original melody was very boring.
I've tried to keep the listener's interest by including a number of different instruments and a few quirks here and there. Most people thought the first version went on a bit, but I think it grows on you, so maybe it takes time even now.
I can hear a lot of "old-style" writing in this piece, but there are plenty of opportunities where it shines. I particularly like the variety in the percussion.
"Silhouette" started out as an experiment with Cakewalk Dimension Pro, but it evolved into a full-blown track. The same is true of "Gravity".
However, there's a bit more to this. There are several short melodies in here, each of which plays a number of times. Also, a couple of the melodies are played by more than one instrument.
The drums are one of my favourite things about this track. The piano gives it a brief diversion from the electronic sounds, harking back to my earlier works. We learn and grow, but we don't totally change.
Despite the similarities with "Gravity", "Silhouette" has had much better feedback. Also, it is currently the track with the most downloads.
I can see that the two pieces share many similarities, but "Silhouette" sounds more solid.
Twisted Vision appears on the album "Besidewalk Plight".
"Twisted Vision" is my first venture into the world of dance music. It doesn't necessarily mean that I'll be doing a dance/trance album in future. I'm just trying to write across a wider range of styles.
Originally I wrote this track in 2003. But I didn't feel the track was complete. It wasn't structured too well, lacked depth, and didn't end properly.
To my ears, this updated version resolves all the problems with the original. The original sounded a bit hollow - there were times when not much was going on. Now, the track has a lot more depth, with a set of instruments that work well together, and subtleties that have been added to give the piece more character.
The Last Ones comes from a lot of short tracks that I merged together into one long track, then split into three parts.
Phase 1
I think this is the most accomplished of all the parts. The first theme is really nice and the instrumentation works well. However, the second theme doesn't work so well - it gets boring.
The Last Ones comes from a lot of short tracks that I merged together into one long track, then split into three parts.
Phase 2
This is a bit of a mess to be honest. The opening isn't that good, but I like the bit with the drums. I think that the section with the drums links with the other themes well, but unfortunately the other themes just aren't all that good. After the drums, it gradually gets less and less interesting before meandering to a lacklustre conclusion.
The Last Ones comes from a lot of short tracks that I merged together into one long track, then split into three parts.
Phase 3
You can tell that this track was intended to flow immediately after Phase 2. It links well, and I quite like this first section, but it needs something more. The end is a bit that I do like, but it's a shame it was rather slow and boring to get to it.