7x7By7 by Brian Lynch

The number seven is mystical, magical, prime, and cardinal to our world. From the seven days of the week to the seven degrees of the diatonic scale, this number is ever present, both in life and in music. Bearing connotations of luck and completeness and representing the delimitation of the memory span, seven is truly a number to conjure with when applied to creative work.

Composed during the time of the pandemic, the music on this album was conceived as a septology made up of seven pieces performed by seven musicians. Each piece was composed with shared attributes (sectional form, time span, and tempo relationships) that make possible the exchange of ensemble sections and individual parts from any one piece into any other of the seven. Each track on this album is also exactly the same length, seven minutes flat of music. The music was recorded in a fashion that enables the seamless reassembly of elements from each and any composition onto a single timeline.

Shaped by these attributes and their constraints, this work has the potential for endless variations of realization through selection, juxtaposition, and even chance. As part of the overall project, some of these alternate realizations will be released online throughout the life of the project, including remixes by guest artists. Another objective of this project is to workshop a novel format for improvised music creation through a hybrid performance meant to engage both musicians and audiences. Interaction between live musicians and recorded audio/video from these sessions manipulated by an operator (‘DJ”) in real-time will be a hallmark of this presentation.

Another layer of sevens applied to this album is revealed in the titles. From my twenty-first (7x3) through my sixty-third (7x9) year, each seven-year signpost in my life is memorialized in the title of one of the seven tracks. A short description of what was happening in my life that year accompanies (and partially explains) each title.

I had a lot of fun putting this project together, and now I’m looking forward to seeing what else I can pull out of this music in the studio and on the bandstand. I’m certainly happy about how the tunes turned out in the original form you’re hearing here. Due to the skill, creativity and diligence in the studio of the six other musicians, both old friends and newer ones, we could say something musically while working within the project’s parameters.

The music on this album is far from esoteric. Its melodic contours, harmonic moves, and rhythmic grooves are well within what listeners familiar with my music might expect. If you’re new to my music, I think this album will also be a good introduction to it!

I invite you to experience the sound of seven, as played by and made for seven—7x7by7.

Brian Lynch