Centaur by Harlan Mark Vale
This album was inspired by the work of microtonal music theorist Ervin McDonald Wilson.
It is recorded using only iPad musical instruments recorded as audio directly into my DAW, Reaper. The compositions range from duets, trios, quartets and quintets.
Each song is based upon a different microtonal musical scale. From there, an improvisational piece was constructed using that scale to navigate the new tonality layout with a traditional piano keyboard.
The result was a musical work that is somewhat reminiscent of the time I spent at The Evergreen State College Electronic Music Studio 1 using the Buchla and experiments that I did at my home studio at the time, The Inlett in Olympia. During the mid 1980s I had purchased a Roland D-50 synthesizer. I borrowed a PG-1000 editor module from Dennis Hastings and began programming patches that explored the deeper capabilities of the D-50 which included layered temperament alterations.
In Centaur, the two iPad instruments are voiced as a Roland D-50 (AudioKit Pro DigitalOne) and a polyphonic analog synthesizer (AudioKit Pro SynthOne). Each virtual instrument can accept microtonal scala (.scl) files to control them in ways that are outside of the standard 12 tone Western scale. To the best of my knowledge there are at least 4000 different microtonal scales to choses from on the internet archive compared to that of the static 2048 scales in a 12 tone system.
Tracklist
| 1. | The Descenders | 4:41 |
| 2. | Forgotten Stories | 4:07 |
| 3. | Tide of the New World | 5:50 |
| 4. | Whispering Beans of Miniona | 7:17 |
| 5. | Melted Wings | 6:12 |
| 6. | Old Kafi Trail | 3:31 |
| 7. | Lalit Raag | 8:42 |
| 8. | Centaur (Constant Structures) | 5:13 |
| 9. | Under Cover (Constant Structures) | 6:15 |
| 10. | Harmonic Series (Constant Structures) | 12:09 |
| 11. | Madhubanti | 2:41 |
| 12. | Incandecence | 8:24 |
Credits
Centaur
Harlan Mark Vale
01 The Descenders
02 Forgotten Stories
03 Tide of the New World
04 Whispering Beans of Miniona
05 Melted Wings
06 Old Kafi Trail
07 Lalit Raag
08 Centaur (Constant Structures)
09 Under Cover (Constant Structures)
10 Harmonic Series (Constant Structures)
11 Madhubanti Raag
12 Incandecence
Dedicated to Ervin McDonald Wilson
Harlan Mark Vale - All Composition, Performance and Production
Realized Sept 28, Sept 30, Oct 1, Oct 3, Oct 4, Oct 14, Oct 15, Oct 16, Oct 25, 2020
Gloria Studio, Prescott, AZ
Mastered November 01-02-03, 2020 v1
Remixed February 22, 2021 v2
Remastered February 23-24-25, 2021 v2
iPad Apps / Wilsonic v1.8.5, AudioKit Pro Digital D1 v1.7.1, AudioKit Pro SynthOne v1.7.1
Samples courtesy Freesound on track 07
180461_philip-goddard_birds-high-up-in-woods-above-fingle-bridge-with-river-teign-far-below
Cockos Reaper v6, iZotope Ozone 6, DSP-Quattro 4.4
Nektar Impact LX61MIDI Keyboard Controller
Presonus AudioBox 1818 VSL, AKG K 240 MkII headphones
Tannoy Reveal 501a Monitors, Mackie 402VLZ4 Mixer
Apple Mac Mini (Late 2014) (OSX 10.10.5 Yosemite)
iPad 9.7” (6th Gen)
total time 75:04
cover - HMV
© 2021 Pillars of Light Music / HMV (ASCAP)
PLM 098
paypal.me/HarlanVale
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License
All rights reserved.Tags
Harlan attended The Evergreen State College in Washington State, where he studied 20th Century Composition, Electronic Music and Audio Engineering.
Harlan plays piano, synthesizer and percussion.
Harlan has been an independent composer / performer since 1974. He releases his own music through his own recording label, Pillars of Light Music.