I love this track – Richard’s been working it for years.

We got a couple of hours to hang out last week – this is from the iphone mic / audioboo app in the room – sounding good…

We’ve been quiet for a week or so – projects, family, sickness – in no particular order. With some of these still ongoing – here’s a wonderful piece of music and video that I can’t stop listening to. A live version of their song Excuses by The Morning Benders.

Thank you to my brother Richard for hipping me to this

I’d heard a few spins of their other track “Promises” that is now featured over on Pitchfork – it’s got a killer guitar hook that you won’t forget – but I was blown away by this version of Excuses. What I love is the sheer musicality and joy that is present in the room.

In a time where production and story is everything

– where the brand is more important than the band –

watching a bunch of musicians create something so pleasing to listen to and watch – well – that’s why I’m in this game.

Excuses and promises are both on their latest release – Big Echo which I bought through eMusic here – but you can also find on iTunes and all the usual suspects. Strangely enough they’re using topspin widgets but not TopSpin’s ecommerce – which seems pretty odd to me – but then – what do I know!

The Morning Benders website

Christopher Chu (Vox) on Twitter

The Morning Benders on Facebook

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Summary

Playlist for thinkers to think to contains 5 tracks and over 77 minutes of music. Set up in a similar way to the Reader’s Playlist – the music is piano and string based and mostly inspired by people and events that get me thinking.

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Individual Tracks

Image Credit: Brian Hillegas

Following on from the early years, I was starting to get the idea of working with people as inspiration for the music: Paul was an attempt to get the strings to feel like a real violin, Vincent was an exercise in how to write a simple solo piano lullaby, Charlotte, Richard and Cassie were all examples of me sitting down and just focusing on the subject with piano tracks then string tracks and then whatever else came to mind!

Click on the track title for liner notes, longer streams and 5 minute sample mp3s.

Paul (21:44) Download audio file (paul2.5.mp3)

Charlotte (10:09) Download audio file (charlotte2.5.mp3)

Cassie (20:01) Download audio file (cassie2.5.mp3)

Richard (13:52)Download audio file (ram2.5.mp3)

Vincent (10:45) Download audio file (vincent2.5.mp3)

Join the music2work2 mailing list – get free 5 minute samples of all music2work2 tracks as well as a bonus 20 minute playlist.

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Now playing: music2work2 – People 1, 2006
via music2work2

Second Piano piece written for a friend fighting Cancer

An old friend was dealing with cancer so I wrote her some music. After sending it to her, I asked for her numbers and then produced this piece. When I’m writing for or about someone, I often ask them for a couple of numbers, I use these to denote the meter and beats per minute of the piece – I like the randomness of the process and the idea that the recipient is determining the musical outcome.

Emma survived and continues to Skipper her yacht around the globe – she’s an amazing lady. Having had the pieces for a while Emma and her husband Richard sent me the feedback below.

“The first piece makes me remember the moment all this shit began, the horrific nightmare and all its tricks.

Rich and I were talking and for us the piece takes us on a little journey from the beginning right up to the post-mastectomy stage. I feel aggression, hatred and fear at the outset and then the music lifts which for us denotes the next step – the positive move forward after the removal of the cancer – the brighter side of this nightmare beginning to shine through if you like, the positive rather than the negative.

The second piece of music takes on the treatment – tentative at the outset taking on the unknown – I can see myself treading carefully through mess, gently with each step, nervously moving forward – sometimes feeling delicate from treatment, sometimes charging forward with stubbornness – positive and almost light hearted, but each step with determination, all the time pushing, pushing to beat this.

This cancer is strange – whilst I have a cast of thousands around me each one supporting, helping in their own different way – I feel like a boxer – ultimately it is me that stands alone in the ring to deal with this, me that has to step forward and take the hit.

I write this as I listen to Emma’s Numbers – I can just see you sitting there, eyes closed, composing, thinking, feeling the music. We were having dinner whilst listening to my iPod last night, we had friends over, and they asked what we were listening to – the second piece – they loved it. Just thought you’d like to know that.”

I did – thank you Em!

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Now playing: music2work2 – Emma’s Numbers
via music2work2

Multiple strings over two distinct piano themes inspired by my brother, Richard.

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My older brother has his birthday every year on the same day, the 11th of December – it is the most normal thing about him. He is an amazing human being and I love him. This was written for his 41st birthday – the opening cadence was sung in my head, “Richard my brother,” and off it goes.

I experimented a lot with this track. the core piano theme came first and defined the structure. I then laid 4 different string voices on top, one pass after the other without listening to the previous pass. By then removing what didn’t work, I arrived at what you hear now; a piece for a string quartet with piano. This is another piece that I look forward to sitting down and developing if I ever get time!

It was Richard who opened a door to this magical musical world in which I now live and adore, I will be eternally grateful for his invitation.

The dramatic change in the piece at around six and half minutes is a variation on one of Richard’s creations. We have played music together for most of our lives and he is a terrific singer songwriter guitarist and musician. This is a variation on a song called “This Way Out” from the Stirling Brig years. I always loved his lyrics, they were always – and still are – from his heart – and “This Way Out” spoke volumes to me.

Coming out of that variation back into the core theme at ten minutes or so, I’m trying to create a sense of hope and optimism. Which is of course what I wish for him and his family.

If you like the track you can share it across your Networks – just click share on the right of the player.

Richard is part of The Thinker’s Playlist.

My computer broke last Thursday….

- All my music goes through my computer.

- I spend over 30 hours a week looking at my computer screen – actually – that’s a minimum, its probably double that

- this is how I make my living, so when the computer breaks – its a very, very big thing.

My computer had been put together for me by Richard, my brother – 5 years ago. He knows about this stuff and we built the best machine I could afford at the time ($1500:) big server case, loads of fans, fast motherboard, P4, gig of ram – it was fast and it worked, it was the best machine I have ever owned! Thank you Richard.

Its taken 5 days, but I have a new machine, new dual screen set up, new workspace, new capacities – and again; everything works!!!

Looking forward to posting new music – there is new track that Bowser owns – light piano and strings that should be up in the next week or so. I’m off to play…..