August Septembers

Folks, where to begin? I have decided to post monthly updates of all things music and life.

August was quite a hectic month. Not only did I move house at the end of July, but there were so many creative things going on.

Firstly, The Danger Ensemble's production 'Let Men Tremble', for which I was invited to do some composition and sound design.
It was a fantastic and groundbreaking piece of theatre: an antithesis to its inspiration of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel 'Scarlet Letter', where the show dismantled the suppression of stories and voices of women, queer, and non-binary people.

Doing theatre sound was something I had been wanting to do for a while, and this was a great first foray into that world. It was a real struggle trying to balance personal life, disabled life, and work life, what with the demands of theatre (10 hour days, high demand and short production times). And so I probably won't be entering that land for a while (unless it's just licensing already created music).

(recording mountain dulcimer with e-bow)

Here are a couple of tracks from 'Let Men Tremble'

The first being a little waltz of harp, strings and bass balalaika

And a 25 minute ambient electronic exploration 'Omni'

After that came a huge weekend where I performed at Globe Alley as part of White Night with June Jones & Geryon, and the next day played for 6 hours all up in Fed Square for Blakheart Festival.

Blakheart Festival was an amazing celebration of Blak Talent taking over Federation Square with live music, art, and design on full display. I was playing down in the Atrium with no signage a bit away from the main section. 
Playing for six hours is a gruelling process, and one that I had not prepared for correctly. Luckily I got a break in the middle and went to go see a vocal rendition of Julius Eastman's 'Joan Of Arc' for Supersense Festival.

Julius Eastman is one of my favourite composers. He came from a well-off academic background, but ended up dying starving and poor on the streets of New York. He was constantly self sabotaging in a world that struggled to understand his Blackness, or his Queerness. He was brash and in your face, and wrote pieces like 'Evil Nigger' and 'Gay Guerilla', which I suggest you listen to:





What next, I hear you ask?
I'm excited to be performing on a grand piano this coming Friday Sep 6 at Tempo Rubato, Brunswick. It's completely free entry with two sets starting at 7pm.
The set includes 'In A Landscape' by John Cage plus an excerpt of my developmental piece 'Djun Djeranga'. 
Facebook event
Tempo Rubato listing

Some more exciting news is that I've been accepted to play at Meredith Music Festival this December! I'll be playing first thing on the Sunday, so will make sure to bring loads of welcoming sonorous tones.

Also working on my next music releases, including a single and upcoming EP all about apocalypse and climate change.

And until next time,
Diimpa

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Metamorphica

Track By Track: METAMORPHICA

So, I released my debut album Metamorphica. You can buy it on Bandcamp, then come back and read this! I thought I'd take you all through the inspirations, processes and little tid bits, track by track. It's going to get dark. It's going to get personal. Without further ado, here we go!

1. Metamorphica

Let's talk about where Metamorphica comes from. When I first started creating the concept of the album, I had just written an epic song called 'Kcor Stel', based off a line The Man From Another Place from Twin Peaks says. Unfortunately it never came to fruition, but the idea stuck. From there I went on this strange Mind Path that led me to mountains and rocks and earth. I began researching crystals and stones and tectonics (shout out to Brendan Maclean who's just released his own EP), and knew the record would be a personal one. Eventually settled on Metamorphic rock, which are rocks that form under high pressure. And so this song was born: something vulcanous and rumbly and dark and electronic.

2. Neptune

Neptune began around the beginning of 2015 (which is where a lot of this album is based). I was dealing with a lot of things happening (we'll come to those later), and was feeling... disassociated. I've forever felt slightly distant and alien and ostracised. When you begin to notice people treating you differently every day for being introverted, overly shy or just plain weird, it takes its toll. With the sound of this piece, I wanted it to sound like radios or like Morse code trying to contact each other through space. Ruby definitely helped in every way to get what I was trying to achieve. Neptune was totally inspired by Philip Glass, especially The Hours soundtrack.

3. Üht

Comes from an Old English word meaning the restless grey time before dawn. Now, #sexual abuse and rape tw. 
This piece was angry. Again, around the beginning of 2015 I was raped. I didn't know what to do. I felt displaced. Furious. With myself and with him. This was what came out of those initial motions. It's an improvisation first on the C whole scale, then on G whole tone, and the name comes from the time that it happened. Told you it would get dark!

4. Brodyr

This one was inspired by a section of the Welsh mythology Mabinogion. It tells of a king who must have his feet by a virgin at all times unless at war. His nephews Gilfaethwy and Gwydion fall for this foot holder, so they steal magical pigs from the neighbouring kingdom so the king goes off to war. While he is there, the two brothers take advantage of the foot holder. When the king gets back, he finds out what has happened and turns the brothers into a pair of deer, pigs, and wolves for a year each, and each year they must mate and produce an offspring. This is represented by 3 key changes, plus an outro of Uncertainty.

5. Polarity

Polarity is another improvised piece. Inspired by Bartók and Stravinsky, the song represents my childhood, with child-like melodies and slamming bass parts for the domestic violence and alcoholism I grew up surrounded by.

6. Bachelor

Bachelor came out of my realisation and comfortability with being alone. In a way it's a companion to Neptune, which was about isolation in a negative way. This song is also a musical reply to Björk's Bachelorette, which talks of being made out a 'fountain of blood', and this is my reply asking her to come have a cup of tea with me and we'll try and talk things out. 
and so we begin the transition

7. Safe Space

Like Kate Bush's Hounds Of Love album, I wanted Metamorphica to have an A and B side feel, with the B side being more acoustic and positive. Safe Space was one of the first pieces I've ever written with an intent pre-purposed. I sat down wanting to create a soft waltz that's about the way I want to present my music. I want to create a safe space for queers, POC, the weirdos, and have a place to explore with them. Also considering the events that have surrounded the release of the album, Safe Space also has an unofficial dedication to the victims of the Orlando Pulse shooting.

8. Let Him In

Let Him In is a musical accompaniment to Üht. It's a testament to self love and learning to be yourself again. I even made my first ever music film clip to this song. It's also the first song I've written specifically for accordion. An improvisation on E.

9. Heart In Our Homeland

This piece is the oldest of the bunch: 4 years old! I wrote it while still trying to figure out where I belonged after I had just moved to Melbourne the year before. A little jolly ditty for you (and of course the title is based off a Patrick Wolf song)

10. Two Houses

Two Houses is an extension of my old piece Monday Morning, but instead renewed and about state of minds

11. Look Up

This song is the newest of the lot. I was going to end the album on a positive note, but instead wanted a circular ending (where it ends on the same key and instruments as the first song). Look Up is about being true, and it doesn't always have to be positive. I was lying to myself for years about have a positive outlook (hence the 'you wear shiny objects on your chest' sample of The Log Lady from Twin Peaks), but realised that a lot of my thoughts are inherently pessimistic, and that's ok. It's what you to do with it that counts.

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And that's Metamorphica! I hope you like the album. If you do, go buy it off Bandcamp. It would mean a lot.

The album was mixed, engineered and mastered by Andrew Markwell. All album art by Bodie Strain.