This could rightfully be referred to as a catch-all for anything atonal or, perhaps, just strange. I was never a fan of true
avant garde, although I did listen to it for a few of my college years, and I "got" it.
Most of the material here is not true avant garde, but rather experiments that ultimately don't belong anyplace else.
I may one day create one or two "genuine" tracks just so listeners unfamiliar with the genre can better learn what it's like.
Place and Time
Released 12 February 2022 | 5:55
Ever been someplace and, owing to the sounds, images and or feelings you have just then, you fall into a trance, and
recall that moment clearly for life? Here is a time and place that's as vivid as yesterday, yet it took place decades ago
and hundreds of miles away. The rigger, in this case, was the sound of a distant plane passing, while I was sitting in
a canoe on the edge of a lake in New Hampshire. I just happened to have a tape recorder running at the time and captured
the sound. For this track, I cleaned up the cassette recording and embellished it with new sounds and subtle musical elements to
build a whole "aural experience."
Angina
Released 14 February 2022 | 6:27
This track is hard to listen to. It was an experiment in making a musical representation of a physical
condition; in this case, an angina attack. There are some "literal" aspects of it, e.g.
heartbeats, but also harsh synthetic sounds that recall the pain of such an attack, plus effects to suggest
the emotional ride. You have been warned.
Stay Calm
Released 26 August 2022 | 7:27
The origins of this track have been lost, not that it matters; it's a patchwork quilt of beats and textures.
Pleasant Uncertainties
Released 4 December 2024 | 3:27
It was a tossup whether to put this in Avant Garde or Electronic. I picked the latter because I thought it had a decent beat.
Scratchpad
Released 4 December 2024 | 1:09
Here's another one that's a tossup between Avant Garde or Electronic. I picked the latter because it sort of held together
as a (very short) tune. It came about as a consequence of editing: as I cut a track, I'll push (temporarily or
permanently) disused loops into the corner of the file. So happened this little pile was rather musical, if brief.
Is What It Is
Released 11 June 2025 | 11:18
Landed here for the same reason as "Wormhole.".
SPEV
Released 11 June 2025 | 4:04
Don't ask me what SPEV stands for, as I've long since forgotten. Way too strange to fit anywhere else, so here it be.
I think of it as two newborn speech synthesis computers learning to talk.
Wormhole
Released 21 October 2025 | 5:09
Not quite random or atonal enough to be considered true avant garde, "Wormhole" is nevertheless
"ugly" enough to get kicked out of all those "nicer" music categories. At its core is a pair of
mangled, heavily-processed Shepard tones laid over each other. Yes, some people call this "music." It
does have rhythm...
Nine to Five
Released 1 November 2025 | 4:28
All of the percussion sounds—all 20-some tracks of them—were made by me and assembled hit by hit. Bass and other tonal
sounds were sampled from a Japanese vocal work and heavily processed, with a few mangled synthetic voices added for good measure.
Nothing much to say except that it's four minutes and twenty-eight seconds of your life you'll never get back. Definitely requires
an open mind and adventurous spirit.
