tracks

With A Start
Moving On
Unconditional
Dreamalog
Dulcimusic
Persistence Of Time (2011)
From Without
Down Again (2010)
The Wish (2010)
Altered Currents
Passage
Peace

notes

Each song on this album had its own source of inspiration. I'd like to share some of that with you.

With a Start: It was with jolts and starts that the melody for this piece came about, thus the title of the song. It's a piano-centric, rather formulaic, melodic piece (formulaic in that it employs a rather strict A, B, A', C, A, B, A' form). I became somewhat enamored with the main melody (A, B, A'), and had to come up with a C melody just to break the monotony of the main melody. In any case, it's an up-beat rhythmic piano piece with a somewhat unique instrumentation that includes a (real) strummed dulcimer, sampled South African choral backing, sampled traditional drums, synthesized "pad" sound, synthetic harp, and (of course) the sampled piano.

Moving On: This is an up-beat New Age-like, piano-centric (as usual) melodic piece with sonically full instrumentation. The major tonality and moderate tempo are intended to inspire optimism and positive thinking... to encourage you to move past whatever may be bringing you down... to move on.

Unconditional: When putting this piece together, I was repeatedly inspired by thoughts of unconditional acceptance, unconditional love, unconditional kindness, and all the things we do for those closest to us, and that they do for us, without question.

Dreamalog began, as most of my compositions do, by accident. I was auditioning the analog synth patches in GarageBand and found the Moonbeam patch. I was very intrigued and began messing with it. I happened on a sequence of notes that sounded really cool to me so I recorded my performance. Later I imported it into Logic Express to work on it in greater earnest (and so I could use my external synths). The song reminds me of a dream montage sequence in an 80s movie. The sounds are mostly analog synth sounds (digitally reproduced with the Logic soft synth engine, the V-Synth and the Fantom-X of course). So the cheesy name came to be (dream + [an]alog).

Dulcimusic was a completely improvisational piece (thus the somewhat unrefined performance). It started with my experimentation on my newly acquired dulcimer. After recording a few takes of my dulcimer playing, I chose the best version, recording a continuous piano performance to go with the dulcimer. Both the strummed dulcimer and piano were performed without cuts.

Persistence of Time (2011): This is a complete re-recording of my original version, first released on the "Imagine!" album. This version uses better instrumentation (including a real electric jazz guitar) and removes the percussion track, making it more meditative, as was the original intent.

From Without: I created this song, like many of my compositions, while reflecting on my loneliness. At the same time, the song reflects not only the loneliness I often experience but also the gratitude for the things I do have. The title reflects the feelings "from (being) without" companionship but, secondarily, the not-so-easily-read behaviors "from without" (as opposed to "from within"). The song is a reflective, melodic, piano-centric piece with lush synth backing and light acoustic harp accents.

Down Again (2010): This is another re-recording of an older original. This one first appeared on the self-titled "Nathan Sheldon" album, though this version uses better, and more believable piano and string instrumentation.

The Wish (2010): Disappointed with the quality of the original version if this song, first released on the "Nathan Sheldon" album, I felt this piece was better served with updated instrumentation, including a realistic piano and real acoustic guitar. It's a short melodic piano piece.

Altered Currents: Here, again, is a melodic piano-centric piece. This is a slower paced song with major tonality. The mood is positive, but laid-back with a little syncopated rhythm guitar to keep the current moving.

Passage: The passage of time. The passage of opportunity. The passage of an inspirational text. The passage from a secluded atrium to the crowded streets. This piano-centric, free-tempo, contemplative, improvisational, melodic piece attempts to embody these and many other passages. It presages the coming end of the album.

Peace: The title piece of the album. On a close friend's suggestion, I endeavored to create a Veda-inspired meditative, contemplative piece. This is a long 8 and a half minute song. It's tempo is relatively slow and is not a high energy work. As with most of my songs, it's piano-centric. This piece utilizes a good deal of reverb to emphasize the spaciousness feeling. The melody is simple, but the form is not quite formulaic. Some nylon guitar, fretless bass, ethnic percussion, and synthetic pad sounds are mixed in to round out the song.

companies

Copyright (c) – Nathan Sheldon
Distributed By – CD Baby

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