Miami associate professor releases new album
Per Bloland worked for a decade on ‘Shadows of the Electric Moon’
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Published
Per Bloland, associate professor of Music Composition and Music Technology, recently released his latest album, “Shadows of the Electric Moon.”
Miami associate professor releases new album
•
Published
Per Bloland, an associate professor of Music Composition and Music Technology, has spent the last 10 years crafting his latest album, “Shadows of the Electric Moon,” which was released on Sept. 5.
Bloland has been praised for his work by the New York Times, which has described his music as “lush, caustic,” and “irresistible”.
Before becoming a composer, Bloland was a part of a rock band in college where he found his love for music. “After finishing my undergrad, before I had actually written any music other than rock songs, at some point I just said I have to be a composer. So I started studying composition on the side, even though my degree was music education,” Bloland said.
What sets this album apart is the use of new technologies such as the ElectroMagnetically Prepared Piano and MaxOrch. The ElectroMagnetically Prepared Piano utilizes electromagnets positioned over the strings of a piano. When those electromagnets are sent audio signals, they cause the string to vibrate, attempting to reproduce the sounds. The result is that the piano ends up sounding similar to a synthesizer. MaxOrch is a piece of software that uses orchestral instrument sounds to replicate any sound fed to it. The whole orchestra becomes like a synthesizer.
As a composer of concert music, Bloland writes notated scores for other musicians to perform. For the most recent album, he collaborated with pianist Keith Kirchoff, cellist Stephen Marotto, Unheard-of//Ensemble, percussionist Bill Solomon, and Wild Rumpus.
“Working with all the performers on this CD has been the best. They're all incredibly talented, and they've put a lot of time and effort into realizing my compositions. I feel very fortunate to be able to work with them all,” Bloland said.
To listen to Shadows of the Electric Moon visit the Band Camp website.
Bloland has been praised for his work by the New York Times, which has described his music as “lush, caustic,” and “irresistible”.
Before becoming a composer, Bloland was a part of a rock band in college where he found his love for music. “After finishing my undergrad, before I had actually written any music other than rock songs, at some point I just said I have to be a composer. So I started studying composition on the side, even though my degree was music education,” Bloland said.
What sets this album apart is the use of new technologies such as the ElectroMagnetically Prepared Piano and MaxOrch. The ElectroMagnetically Prepared Piano utilizes electromagnets positioned over the strings of a piano. When those electromagnets are sent audio signals, they cause the string to vibrate, attempting to reproduce the sounds. The result is that the piano ends up sounding similar to a synthesizer. MaxOrch is a piece of software that uses orchestral instrument sounds to replicate any sound fed to it. The whole orchestra becomes like a synthesizer.
As a composer of concert music, Bloland writes notated scores for other musicians to perform. For the most recent album, he collaborated with pianist Keith Kirchoff, cellist Stephen Marotto, Unheard-of//Ensemble, percussionist Bill Solomon, and Wild Rumpus.
“Working with all the performers on this CD has been the best. They're all incredibly talented, and they've put a lot of time and effort into realizing my compositions. I feel very fortunate to be able to work with them all,” Bloland said.
To listen to Shadows of the Electric Moon visit the Band Camp website.
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about the College of Creative Arts? Visit the website for more information.
