Irene - 13 minutes 49 seconds

Piano and dramatic strings, written for Irene

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I love writing music about people; I find it to be one of the most stimulating approaches to composition. People touch me in so many different ways, they create emotions and memories, they are complex and my perception of them unique. Tapping into that part of my brain when I’m playing has always been a rich creative vein.

This track was written as a thank you to my Aunt Irene for looking after us when we were in Paris. My Uncle Dominic had passed away the previous year and it was the first time we had seen her since the funeral. The piece starts off incredibly sadly and yet by the midway has become dramatic and full of life – just like my wonderful Parisian Aunt.

The melody that comes in around 9 ½ minutes is possibly one of my favorite string passes in the entire music2work2 catalog to date.

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Heath - 27 Minutes 59 Seconds

Classic music2work2 - pianos, strings, alternating time signatures and themes - oh, and it's long.

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2007 was the year that music2work2 really started to take shape. I was working with a Korg Triton and my recording and mixing chops were getting better. New gear is funny - there is just something about sitting down at a new toy and playing with it - experimenting with what sounds good and what doesn't. As usual the piano track was played first and then subsequent voices recorded on top - you can hear strings, electric pianos and even some funky frequencies as I got deeper into wave forms - Ooooh!

There are a number of different themes going on in this piece - Heath was a guy I met through the Kelli gig - he was a freelance template developer who also happened to be a musician. We collaborated on a couple of things musically but the tech work would get in the way. I learned a lot from Heath including how to manipulate photoshop and how to freestyle on beat tracks - it was fun while it lasted but we eventually went our separate ways.

There's a theme that comes in around 17 minutes - it's called "Andy The Barman" and is a theme that I have promised myself I will develop further. It reflects a particularly bizarre time of my life when I was indeed working a bar in London - strange times but all good grist for the creative mill.

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Heath is part of The Reader’s Playlist.

Annelise - 14 minutes 15 seconds

Piano, Strings - ebbs and flows with a Tasmanian twist

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One of the newer sessions on music2work2.com is Annelise.This is an interesting musical piece in that it seems to me to have three distinct parts. The first is slow and rhythmic, the strings and piano combine in a calm and harmonious way.About one third of the way through the session, the rhythm becomes faster and the feel is more one of expectancy or urgency. There are changes in tone, and rhythm – it has a jazzy beat. The third part returns to the slower rhythm and tone, at first still not as calm and peaceful as the beginning, but then ends in a slow, softness.

An image that comes to mind when I listen to this session is the development of the human being, the recognition of self and an acceptance of and satisfaction with who we are. Ones early life, childhood, is most often a time of harmony, joy and wonder – innocently being whoever we are.Growing into adulthood brings questions of purpose and identity, a hunger to experience all that life has to offer, an urgency to find answers to the meaning of our existence.As adults and later in life, hopefully there is a realization of who we truly are, and an acceptance and joy in living the life we were intended to live.The calm, slow ending of Annelise signifies to me that such a realization is possible.

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

Annelise is part of The Reader’s Playlist.