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Practical Mechanics Score and Parts
Sheet Music + Digital Album
Printed and bound copy of Practical Mechanics, including A3 full score which contains quotes and images which inspired the work, and a full set of A4 instrumental part booklets. Hand-made, numbered and signed.
Includes unlimited streaming of Practical Mechanics
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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Practical Mechanics Full Score
Sheet Music + Digital Album
Printed and hand-bound copy of the Practical Mechanics A3 full score, containing quotes and images which inspired the work. Hand-made, numbered and signed.
Includes unlimited streaming of Practical Mechanics
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Nonsemble is a chamber group which draws on eclectic musical influences to fill a space somewhere between the conservatoire and the underground. It tips its hat equally to Mogwai and Ligeti; Autechre and Philip Glass.
Formed in 2012 by composer Chris Perren (of Mr. Maps, lofly/hangar), Nonsemble features some of Brisbane’s most talented young players, including Hik Sugimoto on percussion, Sam Mitchell, on piano, Flora Wong and Sam Andrews on violin, Kieran Welch on viola, and Briony Luttrell on Cello.
In the short time since their inception the ensemble have performed at Restrung Festival at Brisbane Powerhouse with some of Australia’s top classical and new music ensembles, and were selected to play at Harvest Festival 2012 alongside acts such as Beck, Sigur Ros and Grizzly Bear.
Practical Mechanics is an ode to technological optimism, and playfully explores the belief that science can solve all human problems. The titles and text excerpts are taken from the tattered pages of vintage issues of Practical Mechanics Magazine, a home science and technology magazine published between 1933 and 1963.
The collision of hard scientific law with domestic human life, is reflected by the juxtaposition of mathematical and rule-based compositional approaches and the ineffably chaotic nature of human musical intuition. Practical Mechanics employs various rational and rule-based pattern-making techniques, including Schillingerian methods, list structures, additive and constructive techniques and others devised by the composer. This machine-like nature is especially prominent within the rhythm of the piece, and imbues the work with a complex yet controlled sense of mechanical determinacy. The harmony on the other hand is immediate and expressive, referring more to popular and folk music and reflecting the human needs central to the development and use of technology.
For more information go to nonsemble.com.au, or email chrisperren@gmail.com.
credits
released July 6, 2013
Composed by Chris Perren in Collaboration with Nonsemble
Percussion: Hik Sugimoto
Piano: Samuel Mitchell
Violins: Flora Wong and Samuel Andrews
Viola: Kieran Welch
Cello: Briony Luttrell
Guitar/Synth/Samples: Chris Perren
Recorded at UQ Nickson Room in December 2012 by Briony Luttrell and Chris Perren. Mixed and Produced by Chris Perren. Released on lofly recordings.
Australian Indie-Chamber Ensemble somewhere between contemporary classical and adventurous pop music.
Strings, piano, drums, bass, guitar and electronics.
supported by 5 fans who also own “Practical Mechanics”
I believe the last track was released as a single, and I remember listening to it while I had a terrible flu. It blew me away into a fever dream... in a good way? It was quite a somatic experience. I adore this album and recall the show at Knockdown Center a few years ago fondly. AD
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supported by 4 fans who also own “Practical Mechanics”
Kishi Bashi poured every ounce of his dazzling creative energy into this exultant gift of an album. His every instrument is a living thing, a reflection of the infectious joy within him. Lighght is precisely that: a source of light, a healing balm for the soul, a wondrous show of moving color, love, and hope. HK