luminous & abandoned by dead lizard grin

luminous & abandoned

“Mark Hollis” wears its inspiration openly. The piece was first performed live on a cold January Saturday; six weeks later, Hollis passed away.

At its origin, the piece was simply about the pleasure of hearing a bare piano in a live room—stark notes and phrases moving through space, hinting at half-forgotten songs of distance and memory. It was created in anticipation of Piano Day 2019, but after Hollis’ death, it inevitably became something else: a haunted, inadequate memorial.

“Luminous & Abandoned” takes its cue from the brief supporting instrumentation at the end of “Mark Hollis.” Stripping away the piano, I followed those textures to see where they might lead, allowing them to expand into their own form.

Together, the two pieces form a diptych—one organic and acoustic, with only a subtle synthetic foundation; the other its synthetic descendant, evolved from the first.

“Requiem,” completed in late March 2019, was assembled to close this cycle with finality: not as an answer, but as an exclamation point.

I grew up in the Midwest of America. I've lived in the remote Manu'a Islands in the South Pacific and Southern California.

My youth was experienced through the sonic lens of '70s European electronic music, the ambient sounds of Eno, and the darker side of '80s new wave, post punk, and new romantic.

Today, I create the soundtrack for my life; an accompaniment for the existence that I've known.

open.spotify.com
music.apple.com
YouTube
listen.tidal.com
music.amazon.com