THE SITTING
• a collection of sound paintings 1988 & 1992 •
Since the mid 1960s I have been painting with sound using ambient recordings, spoken word, along with various instruments both acoustic and electric, plus whatever else happened to feel like it should included. This was my first collection these works I’ve chosen to share with the outside world. I do hope you enjoy these little vignettes of happy accidents many of which are like dear old friends of mine. May I suggest finding a quiet place to just relax and enjoy the journey. I’m always happy to hear from folks as to what their listening experience is like so feel free to drop me a cyber note at: mikailgraham @ gmail.com
Namaste, may we all find peace within & without…
Mikail Graham
TRACK LISTINGS
A Moment of Thought - 1988 5:45
And The We Left? - 1991 8:32
Christine - 1988 2:35
Clouds Over Skiathos - 1988 2:08
Eva's Dreaming Again - 1988 2:51
From the Old Home - 1988 3:38
Miles to Ayne - 1988 2:58
Nicky's Playground - 1988 2:43
Overtones Of Nature - 1998 6:26
Rydomin - 1992 3:00
Sally's Island - 1988 2:10
Snake Of Manatube - 1989 3:07
The Faith In Between - 1988 2:20
Tropical Night Cries - 1988 3:57
Waiting - 1988 2:26
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VIRTUAL SCULPTURE SOUNDTRACK • 2001
Composed for J. Michael James digital imagery, this work was on display at several galleries and shown at various New Music festivals. I hope to have some video clips from the DVD version posted on the Film & Video page here soon
Introduction 1:37
Infinite Condors 3:22
Fractal Fish 2:37
Chameleons Of The Julia Set 4:06
Chameleon Deconstruction 1:29
Scarabs In The Trees 3:38
Serpenski's Snake 4:31
Arterial Wolf 2:43
Gallery Tour 2:5
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MESSE GRUVS MIX
a series of groove beds for soling over and doing demos of Antares & Bias Music Software Products at the 1998 Frankfurt Messe with my old pal Gerry Basserman
AmbiFloater 4:25 1998
a floating bed of grooves featuring a middle eastern
ethnic twist midway into the form and a heavier vibe
at the end just for fun
Phat Mang 3:33 1998
what the title says and then some, churning and semi-
suspenseful with a series of key change and a great
groove to solo over
Route 160 3:45 1998
fast and sweeping with a groove that proved harder to
solo over than I had thought ;) clearly its tripping hard
with a space walk kinda' vibe
Stone the Sweeper 3:28 1998
a sparkly semi ethnic, funky kind of pop groove like thang
that we would just hammer out solos over and talk about
life while it bubbled in the background
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MR FILTER & THE OBSCURITANS
some of the more odd pieces here, these works quite often used sound bites from films such as John Huston's Wiseblood, spoken word snippets from Jack Kerouac, Andy Warhol poetry, along with various voices mixed with odd sound & music that almost had a quality of angst or heightened energy dealing with semi political or religious ethics and often times a humorous bent. I hope there will be more pieces from these folks in the coming years
A, Oh Ah, ie - 1980 1:01 (spoken word: MR Filter)
Excerpt From A - 1977 2:59 (spoken word: Andy Climax)
Come A Long Way - 1979 2:14 (spoken word: Brad Dourif)
I Never - 1980 1:18 (spoken word: MR Filter)
In August - 1982 2:37 (text: George Parsons • spoken word: John Deaderick)
Mental Fatigue - 1992 5:42
San Francisco, SF - 1988 1:43 (spoken word: Jack Kerouac)
Shipyard Angst - 1991 1:29
Shipyard Songs - 1991 5:28
Show Me The Way Out - 1979 2:08 (spoken word: Brad Dourif)
Take Me - 1980 2:00 (spoken word: MR Filter)
What Do I Need Jesus For - 1979 2:59 (spoken word: Brad Dourif)
Your Touch - 1988 2:39 (spoken word: Lorena Bee)
MY WIFE THE AMPHIBIAN Soundtrack • 2003
My Wife Part 1 12:09
My Wife Part 2 6:40
These two tracks are from the soundtrack to the first film that Menlo Macfarlane and I made together called "My Wife The Amphibian", video clips of which I hope to have soon on the Film & Video page
BREAKFAST WORK VOL 1 Soundtrack • 2007
These two tracks are from the soundtrack to two other films that Menlo
and I made together for the 2007 NCCC "Sound & Vision Fest"
I hope to have video clips posted soon on the Film & Video page
Breakfast at the Monastery 8:47
Breakfast In America 5:59
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NCCC WORK
From The Cradle To The Grave 4:52
Composed for a 2007 spring NCCC "Meet The Composer's" event entitled
"Death & Taxes". This is a work about the struggle and beauty of life in the free-will zone we call planet Earth featuring vibes, bass clarinet, xylophone, prepared soundscape and narration.
The Lost Tango 4:35
Composed for an early 2006 winter NCCC "Meet The Composer's" evening where each of the NCCC composers composed a Tango. Mine is not a classic tango by any stretch, in fact I find it to be rather disturbing in places like a surreal nightmarish tale full of a loose and abrupt musical madness, and in many ways perhaps a reflection of where my own mental and emotional state happened to be during the time of its conception and subsequent execution
enjoy or don't, clearly its your choice ;)
Lying In The Wake 9:54
A composition that looks at the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster from several viewpoints including various film excerpts (see the Film & Video page for more info on the visual aspects) mixed with music & a spoken narrative.
Film creation & music score - Mikail Graham • text & narration - Menlo Macfarlane
Mein Funny Valentine 5:10
Another composition for a 2005 NCCC "Meet The Composer's" evening where each of the NCCC composers came up with their version of this classic staple of modern pop jazz. Mine is a tad bit bizarre with some odd instrumentation and vocals by Babs & Londa, two crazy gals who I always wanted to hear sing together along with an intro and outro sung by the late Chet Baker, ah the joys of modern times & tools.
Lust Graham 1:07
Lustoleum* 4:43
(*contains language that some humans may find objectionable)
These two sister pieces are separated by about 8 months times wise, but still very relevant to one another. LUST was composed for a 2004 NCCC "Meet The Composer's" evening where each of the NCCC composers created a 1 minute piece that described musically, their feelings of what Lust meant to them, this was mine. Its full of chaos, humor, angst and a little bit of the erotic passion that almost always presents itself when this energy arises in my body at least.
Lustoleum took the original and expended it further and was composed for the Studio 131 Xposed show that dealt with "what turns the sacred profane" and includes a wider palette of audio and musical ideas as is found in the former piece. Kind thanks to George Carlin and Deep Blue Throat for their aural contributions.
Comet 9:54
Actually Called "Falling From A Comet Into The Sea".
This was composed for the NCCC 2003 Festival Of New Music and featured extensive choreography by Menlo Macfarlane. It was performed live once and included a Chinese flute solo by Bill Douglass. I hope to have a video clip excerpt of the piece for you to watch soon. Essentially a musical odyssey describing the experience of falling from one reality into another, kind of like being born into this crazy world of ours including the chaos, beauty and enlightenment we all encounter moment by moment.
Invisible Life no text 11:26
Composed for the NCCC 2002 Festival Of New Music. This piece featured both a spoken word text performed by John Deaderick as well as the instrumental only version heard here in this edited excerpt. The inspiration for this piece came from hearing an NPR story about a restaurant in Europe where those with sight dine in darkness and are served by wait people who are totally blind. It was and is an amazingly vivid picture in my mind about what this world would be like without sight and more to the point, how much of our own daily lives are lived in more darkness with eyes wide shut then we probably care to admit. For more information about Dining In The Dark check out a follow up to the NPR story that first inspired me here: Dining In The Dark or do your own search, I think you will be amazed at how fast this idea has caught on.
Mikail Graham NCCC 8:17
This is a sampler that was created for yet another NCCC "Meet The Composer" event featuring various works of mine dating back to 1982
(see below)
The Weight Of My Heart (excerpt) 1989
Christine (excerpt) 1988
My Wife (excerpt) 2003
An Error In Judgement 1998
Rumi with John Deaderick 2002
The Grace Of Sorrow* 1998 *from the film An Error In Judgement
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OTHER WORKS 1975-2002
These pieces are work that fell between the cracks and have never been released or only given to friends on the rare occasions. All of them hold a dear place in my heart and I plan to add more as time goes by. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of them that resonate with your tastes
A Presnt For Kara – 1988 4:24
Angels In The Air – 1988 5:42
Break the Chains – 1993 4:58
Dirge Of The Night Dollies – 1994 4:57
Dream of the Traveler – 1987 10:34
In the Memory of Tomorrow – 1987 4:18
Just Want Your Love – 1989 3:34
Letting go of the Pain – 1993 2:53
Night Ice Mirror – 1990 6:17
One Of The Places – 1992 5:21
Rosin & Wind – 1990 2:35
Sarah's Waltz – 1990 2:17
Stephen R – 1989 1:58
The Chairs - 1976 2:22
The Dead Cafe - 1993 5:13
The Innocnets – 1989 3:29
The Weight of my Heart – 1990 2:21
Through The Body – 1986 6:04
Tradgedy or Victory? – 1991 3:01
Twisto-Rama – 1994 3:30
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AN ERROR IN JUDGEMENT
Composed in 1998, these tracks for my old friend Aaron Lucich's short film of the same name. I hope to have a video clip excerpt of the movie for you to watch soon
Judgement-Discovery 1998 :42
Judgment Intro - 1998 1:20
Judgment-1st Transition 1998 :44
Judgment-Greedy Fuck 1998 :15
Judgment-Marty Got Fired 1998 :15
Judgment-Outro Idea 1998 1:20
Judgment-Paper Bag 1998 :43
Judgment-Phone Booth 1998 2:28
Judgment-Transition #1 1998 :41
Judgment-Transition #2 1998 :44
Judgment-Vladimir 1998 :17
Judgment-Won't Happen Again 1998 :16
Judgment-Your So Good 1998 :32
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