SCP #181: No Run To Save The Varnish
SCP #181: No Run To Save The Varnish

I can't quite believe it, but I have made it to the end of six months.  I should write a proper update about how I'm feeling, but for now here's a song.  My starting theme was slow, and branches of a mind map led me to the lyrics.  The melody is mostly improvised save for a little hook, and a few questionable notes snuck their way in and will need to be plucked out when I finally get time to revisit all these songs and do something exciting with them.  What that something might be, I have no idea yet.

Read More
Song-Chain Project, Coffee, Domestic Songs, Free ImprovisationsErica Bramhamvoice, loop pedal, domestic life, coffee
SCP #179: The Cause Of Your Calluses
SCP #179: The Cause Of Your Calluses

Hands was my starting point for this piece, and I found it quite meditative to both compose and perform.  This is only the second piece I have performed on electric mandolin.  The other attempt was interrupted by flooding, which was about the time this project really started to challenge me.  I haven't even thought about what to do when it all ends, but I suppose I should watch everything back through from start to finish.  Although each piece of music is not exactly a journal entry, they will certainly reflect my mind and life in that particular moment.  If I can bear to sit through twelve months worth of videos I am curious to see how the music I have made has been shaped by the life I have lived alongside it.

Read More
Song-Chain Project, Anatomy, Night Songs, Domestic Songs, The Warm Side Of Love, Both Sides Of LoveErica Bramhamvoice, mandolin, modal, folk song, domestic, domestic life, electric mandolin
SCP #175: Somewhere That Isn't Here
SCP #175: Somewhere That Isn't Here

A song! As much as I have been enjoying playing around with light it also feels nice to spend time on some composition.  I was woken very early the other morning, and sitting waiting for the sun to rise I began daydreaming about being on a plane to somewhere else in the world.  I took light as my theme from the previous piece and spun that together with my travel imaginings.  I was originally playing this on piano, but something about it sounded too much like musical theatre so I rearranged it for vocal loops and bass.  I was back to late night recording, so everything is played very quietly.

Read More
Song-Chain Project, Domestic Songs, Wishing & WonderingErica Bramhamvoice, bass, loop pedal, light, sky