"Dear EP" was sparked by Simon Bean of Omni Music requesting whether he could use two ambient tracks of mine on his Fly Machines Sessions Mix CD to be given out to a South Africa event's attendees. He wanted to go the extra mile and include some exclusive tracks, so I mastered these four gems of varying mood and sent them over to him.

They represent what I hold "dear" in the titles: "Muttley Theme" is about our family's surviving 16 year old dog and the passion he gives me, "De-Tuning" touches on my tendency and interest in playing different keys in the same track, often unexpectedly, and wrong/detuned notes (or what seem wrong on first listen but gradually reveal their place). "May I Walk On By" sheds light on my notable indifference and aloofness as something that isn't always a bad thing. The "Drumeo Gaga Mix" is one of my embellishments of using feedback and delay in tracks to give a certain fullness to the composition.

Reviews

"Sounding nice mate :D :love:" ~ Chris Wright, aka Eschaton, Omni Music label owner (www.omnimusic.org)

"Love this one as well, also love the simplicity of the title. It's fawn-tastic . . . doe! I feel absolutely deer-lerious.

All kidding aside, you have a very nice touch on the keys there sir :D" ~ MetaLX, Hawaiian (www.itstooloud.com) radio DJ and reggae and dub fanatic.

"Okay, I've played this a couple of times now and have decided I prefer them the other way about (i.e. 4, 3, 2, 1) ;) . I thought De-Tuning was the strongest piece, some nice clashing tonalities there. There are some good things in Muttley's Theme, but it sounds rather like work in progress, as though it's recorded live and overdubbed live, which makes it sort of doodly. I think it'd be better if it was composed, worked out completely and then recorded.

:wave:" ~ Jonathan Tait, Subvert Central Recordings owner and published The Wire magazine letters conttributor in concern of Meredith Monk (www.subvertcentral.com).

"Wow! So you're a pianist!" ~ Matteo Uggeri, composer of the excellent "Untitled Winter" LP on Scissor Tail Editions (scissortail.bandcamp.com) in surprise to playing "Muttley Theme" all the way through.

"I think I like nr 2 the most - it is darker and more mysterious and dark to listen to :). I´m weak for such things." ~ Peter Olsson, Swedish metal lover.

"I can deal with dissonance in my music, but for me to enjoy it, I need to have beauty to contrast with the dissonance, or at the very least structure to help create a coherent piece. These pieces left me feeling super uneasy, because they were not only mostly completely dissonant, but they also did not have many identifiable structural points to latch on to.

That said, De-Tuning was my favourite one of the bunch, because it felt like it had a point. The soundscapes are interesting for sure, although I'd prefer to have a bit more of a hint of organic dropped in there as well, because right now most of the sounds are quite fm-inspired and harsh. The points of beauty and sad emotion that come in later in the track are nice, but not enough after the sonic attack you experience throughout most of the track." ~ SpeaK, Subvert Central member and producer of the excellent ambient "The Once Nomadic LP" (2009).

"The standout track for me is "De-Tuning". It builds up enough to keep your attention but not so much as to be over the top. I could definitely see this being the score to an educational space program. All in all some unique sounds and ideas on this EP. :)" ~ J-Breaks, producer of the excellent "Drift" EP (Ohm Series 01 - omnimusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-ohm-series-j-breaks-drift-ep-ohm01 ).

"Listened to the whole piece this morning. Track 4, the Drumeo mix, was the highlight for me. Especially the sparse intro and the use of delays to create rhythmic patterns out of the drum hits." ~ Nic TVG, producer of "Her Name Is Marisa Tomei", a track in Thom Yorke's (Radiohead) top 10 list for a month in late 2013. (www.pineconemoonshine.com)

OFFER

Send me feedback after you've listened to mbucki07@hotmail.co.uk with the title 'Dear EP thoughts' and I will send you a free download!