SEVEN BASIC PLOTS
My first album “From The Library” was released 31st January 2020, the day before my Mama passed away after many years of dementia. The next few days in all my emails there appeared a conversation thread that included old emails from her, as if she was communicating from the other side.
Rolling forward, a few weeks later the pandemic was in its early stages. I caught Covid before lockdown in March 2020 and then twice more over the lost years. Unfortunately, I fell under the spell of severe post viral fatigue, which was cruel and unpredictable and my recovery was intermittent until 2024, when finally the spectre lifted – a rebirth if you will. Brighton became my home for much of this time and post recovery I returned to London, it's like I never left – voyage and return indeed. The icing on the cake was that in 2022 I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, a shock piece of news whilst away in Berlin. The happy ending is that in 2024 after years of active surveillance it was time to take action and it’s all worked out well – Overcoming My Monsters – eh!
In an idle moment during lockdown with Luís we talked about orchestrating “Heart Of Darkness”, one of the pieces on “From The Library”. This quickly gained momentum and before I knew it, Luís had created an arrangement for a sixty piece orchestra. With guidance from many music people we eventually ended up recording in Prague, with the Czech TV Orchestra via Mikel Toms. I love this piece and its transformation from solo piano to orchestra.
The second album title “Seven Basic Plots” is a straight lift from the book by Christopher Booker – The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories, which I read in four days whilst on holiday in Goa in 2010, it stayed with me. Each of the plots is now a piece and in many ways the seven plots have been a metaphor for my life over the past few years – I guess that’s his point.
The “Seven Basic Plots” album was taking shape, lumbering along very slowly due to my compositional skills, pandemic isolation and my post viral fatigue. It had taken three years to write two pieces - Bonnie & Clyde, The Abyss. This had to change and from November 2023 we embarked on monthly writing sessions and by August 2024 the writing was completed.
Alongside Luís, who is always a huge part of the composition, I’m developing my compositional style and voice. With John - Paul’s guidance my playing technique is developing and I’m happy to report with daily practice it is moving inexorably towards conscious competence. I can assure you the well for improvement in music is almost infinite.
The “Seven Basic Plots” feels like another step along the solo piano journey and similarly to “From The Library” the creation of these pieces has been in unequal measures – magical, frustrating, surprising, endless and yet ultimately deeply enriching on many levels. The conjuring of something from nothing is mysterious.
I trust that the story, the artwork, the scores and finally the recorded pieces give you as either listener or player a sense of our lives as Seven Basic Plots.
These thirteen pieces were composed between 2019 and 2024. The album was originally intended to be completed by 2021, with everything that happened in the intervening years – it turned into an odyssey – or even The Odyssey in duration. The longer pieces and the interludes generally feel more pianistic than “From The Library”. For me the Interludes are simple ideas, a palette cleanser if you will between the Plots. Since listening to music from an early age and going to art school, titling pieces is extremely important to me as an additional framing device, in Seven Basic Plots you are rewarded with both titles and sub titles for all the pieces and interludes.
SCORES & SCOREBOOK
Scores for all pieces are available for download below
there is also a full scorebook with words, artwork and scores in the shop
Click Here
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The Abyss - There Is Only Rebirth
This piece was started during my post viral fatigue and really feels like the musical exposition of that time. It took forever to write between 2020 and 2024 – there are so many versions – I love the weight of this final version. Nietzsche’s words “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." completely resonate. Yet recovering and being back in the world for myself and all of us post pandemic then Rebirth feels most fitting.
Click for “The Abyss” Score
Interlude VIII - A Sweet Vulnerability
Sirens - It’s Never Only The Quest
Another of the 2024 session pieces, inspired by the Odyssey and specifically the story of the sirens. The sirens call, the tussle of temptation and the tools used to resist to enable the continuation of the quest.
Interlude V - A Quiet Sorrow
BONNIE & CLYDE – The Making Of Another Sublime Tragedy
This was the 1st piece written for the album between 2019 and 2021. It's a full narrative form piece taking in the story of Bonnie & Clyde from their first meetings, criminal activities to the final ambush. I love the lovers melodic voices. Stylistically it has much in common with episodic nature of Heart Of Darkness.
Interlude VII - A Distant Longing
Wonderland-Curious Voyage & Hasty Return
One of the 2024 session pieces. Inspired by the curious rabbit holes we venture through and return with new perspectives.
Interlude VI - A Warm Ecstacy
HIGH SOCIETY - First As Romantic Tragedy, Second As Classical Farce
This was one of the final 2024 session pieces. It's inspired by the film, the writing was tough as it felt like I was out of ideas, sometimes that’s a great place. So it turned out to be – channelling Satie, Scott Walker and a host of different styles this piece is a playful return to using narrative to inform the music.
Alienation - Overcoming My Monsters
This was one of the final works on the album, inspired by the feel of the Alien film, it went through multiple versions – each of the earlier versions being trashed save the accompaniment. It all came together over two sessions and musically it's complex with key and mode changes. At its core this plot for me is about the chase, the demons, the fears we all have and finally reconciling to ourselves.
Interlude IX - A Third Man
Raise The Red Lantern - From Lovely Rags To Poisonous Riches
Another 2024 Session Piece. Inspired by the film, which turns the idea of rags to riches from one of joy and triumph to one of madness and sadness.
