Nigel Mullaney is a familiar name for followers of the DiN label with his
early releases with label boss Ian Boddy under the name of Dub Atomica
as well as his album with Ray Sherwin, “Music By Mirrors” (DiN38) under
the moniker of Mazmoneth. More recently he has been working with Boddy
utilising modular synth systems at several venues including the recently
released download album “Schemes & Ruses” (DiNDDL23) recorded at
the Capstone Theatre in Liverpool.
It thus comes as somewhat of a surprise that “31 Days” is his first solo album on DiN. It’s genesis came about through a musical challenge he set himself to compose a track a day for the entire month of January 2018. In the studio and on the road he explored sonic improvisations using a range of portable modular synthesisers as well as a selection of analogue keyboards and vintage outboard gear. Essentially each of the tracks is a live recording with no overdubs or additional stem mixing.
This resulted in over 4 hours of material that Ian Boddy carefully listened through and curated into a track list which represents a 70 minute cross section of Mullaney’s 31 day musical odyssey. As with Boddy’s DiN iNDEX sampler albums the music ebbs and flows from gloriously cinematic orchestral textures through to wonderfully rhythmic drum and sequencer tracks laced with cutting edge sound design and first class production values.
To quote Mullaney, “as the days and weeks progressed I found myself connected with my music and art like never before. It simply flowed through me”. The music certainly reflects this with a fresh and vibrant feel that showcases a talented musician at the top of their game.
It thus comes as somewhat of a surprise that “31 Days” is his first solo album on DiN. It’s genesis came about through a musical challenge he set himself to compose a track a day for the entire month of January 2018. In the studio and on the road he explored sonic improvisations using a range of portable modular synthesisers as well as a selection of analogue keyboards and vintage outboard gear. Essentially each of the tracks is a live recording with no overdubs or additional stem mixing.
This resulted in over 4 hours of material that Ian Boddy carefully listened through and curated into a track list which represents a 70 minute cross section of Mullaney’s 31 day musical odyssey. As with Boddy’s DiN iNDEX sampler albums the music ebbs and flows from gloriously cinematic orchestral textures through to wonderfully rhythmic drum and sequencer tracks laced with cutting edge sound design and first class production values.
To quote Mullaney, “as the days and weeks progressed I found myself connected with my music and art like never before. It simply flowed through me”. The music certainly reflects this with a fresh and vibrant feel that showcases a talented musician at the top of their game.
credits
releases January 17, 2020
“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.”
Ray Bradbury
I’ve been told on many occasions that I think way too much…. After years of working on commissions and interpreting clients concepts of what music has to sound like I had found myself in a creative blackhole. Over thinking and over analysing music had separated me from the art of creative expression, improvisation and musical freedom.
I had a plan to fix this, a challenge I had contemplated undertaking for a number of years - to compose, programme, perform and record one track a day for 31 consecutive days. In the studio and on the road I began to explore sonic improvisations and soundscapes without any self conscious preconceptions, and as the days and weeks progressed I found myself connected with my music and art like never before. It simply flowed through me.
Essentially what you have here is a live album, using modular synthesisers, a selection of analog keyboards and vintage outboard gear. The music was performed and recorded directly into a Tascam Stereo DSD recorder with no overdubs and no additional stem mixing. After presenting Ian Boddy with over 4 hours of music he applied his expert critical listening and curated a track list which represents a 70 minute cross section from my 31 Day musical journey.
Nigel Christopher Mullaney 01.10.19
Special thanks to :
Jonathan Paul Jowett - Phoenix Creative Media Ltd
Ian Boddy - DiN Records
Jennifer Leggett
Wendy Carroll
Ben Wilson - DivKid Ben
Robin Rimbaud - Scanner
Dan Wahlbeck - DPW Design
Ickle Boo & The Boys
This one's for you Dad x
“Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.”
Ray Bradbury
I’ve been told on many occasions that I think way too much…. After years of working on commissions and interpreting clients concepts of what music has to sound like I had found myself in a creative blackhole. Over thinking and over analysing music had separated me from the art of creative expression, improvisation and musical freedom.
I had a plan to fix this, a challenge I had contemplated undertaking for a number of years - to compose, programme, perform and record one track a day for 31 consecutive days. In the studio and on the road I began to explore sonic improvisations and soundscapes without any self conscious preconceptions, and as the days and weeks progressed I found myself connected with my music and art like never before. It simply flowed through me.
Essentially what you have here is a live album, using modular synthesisers, a selection of analog keyboards and vintage outboard gear. The music was performed and recorded directly into a Tascam Stereo DSD recorder with no overdubs and no additional stem mixing. After presenting Ian Boddy with over 4 hours of music he applied his expert critical listening and curated a track list which represents a 70 minute cross section from my 31 Day musical journey.
Nigel Christopher Mullaney 01.10.19
Special thanks to :
Jonathan Paul Jowett - Phoenix Creative Media Ltd
Ian Boddy - DiN Records
Jennifer Leggett
Wendy Carroll
Ben Wilson - DivKid Ben
Robin Rimbaud - Scanner
Dan Wahlbeck - DPW Design
Ickle Boo & The Boys
This one's for you Dad x
Materiaal Series, Part XXIII
Performed and recorded live on October 6, 2018 at Orion Studios, Baltimore, MD, USA, as an opener for the legendary Soft Machine.
ECM recording artist David Rothenberg wrote Why Birds Sing, published in six languages and turned into a BBC TV show. He has written other books about making music with whales and bugs, has sixteen CDs out and his latest book, CD, and film is called Nightingales in Berlin.
www.nightingalesinberlin.com
Jay Nicholas, bass player extraordinaire and legendary studio engineer, has worked at Chung King Studios with the likes of David Bowie, Wyclef Jean, the Neville Brothers and the Wu-Tang Clan.
www.allmusic.com/artist/jay-nicholas-mn0001839831
------------------
watch the drop!
youtu.be/Z51wmigO9Qo?t=233
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Performed and recorded live on October 6, 2018 at Orion Studios, Baltimore, MD, USA, as an opener for the legendary Soft Machine.
ECM recording artist David Rothenberg wrote Why Birds Sing, published in six languages and turned into a BBC TV show. He has written other books about making music with whales and bugs, has sixteen CDs out and his latest book, CD, and film is called Nightingales in Berlin.
www.nightingalesinberlin.com
Jay Nicholas, bass player extraordinaire and legendary studio engineer, has worked at Chung King Studios with the likes of David Bowie, Wyclef Jean, the Neville Brothers and the Wu-Tang Clan.
www.allmusic.com/artist/jay-nicholas-mn0001839831
------------------
watch the drop!
youtu.be/Z51wmigO9Qo?t=233
------------------
credits
released December 13, 2019
Bernhard Wöstheinrich: keyboards and virtual synthesizers, live-sequencing
David Rothenberg: clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone and iPad
Jay Nicholas: bass & wavedrum
Performed and recorded live at Orion Studios, Baltimore, MD, USA, October 6, 2018
Mixed and mastered by Markus Reuter
Artwork by Christine Kriegerowski
Video by Jefferson Ogata
Special thanks to Leonardo Pavkovic, Mike Potter, Joe Tracey and Chris Baker
www.orionsound.com
Bernhard Wöstheinrich: keyboards and virtual synthesizers, live-sequencing
David Rothenberg: clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone and iPad
Jay Nicholas: bass & wavedrum
Performed and recorded live at Orion Studios, Baltimore, MD, USA, October 6, 2018
Mixed and mastered by Markus Reuter
Artwork by Christine Kriegerowski
Video by Jefferson Ogata
Special thanks to Leonardo Pavkovic, Mike Potter, Joe Tracey and Chris Baker
www.orionsound.com
1.
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Cool Spring
by David Rothenberg, Bernhard Wöstheinrich, Jay Nicholas
1.
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Cool Spring
16:14
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2.
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Stick Insect Undisguised
04:40
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3.
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It’s All in the Cloud
10:49
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4.
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One Leap Takes You There
09:29
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5.
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Dystopia is Cheap
09:55
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about
David and Bernhard have been playing together for three years, and it happens whenever the two are in the same country.
Last October we found them both in the Hudson Valley of New York, where they were joined in the studio by bass player and producer Jay Nicholas in the village where David and Jay live, definitely a Cool Spring.
ECM recording artist David Rothenberg wrote Why Birds Sing, published in six languages and turned into a BBC TV show. He has written other books about making music with whales and bugs, has sixteen CDs out and is working on a book about the nightingales of Berlin and the musicians who play with them.
www.davidrothenberg.net
Bernhard leads his own solo project "The Redundant Rocker" and among others he has collaborated with Markus Reuter (in centrozoon) Tim Motzer, Ian Boddy, No-Man singer Tim Bowness, Conrad Schnitzler†, and Erik Wøllo. Bernhard elicits meaning from abstraction in electronic music and painting. He has studied graphic design and has created an eclectic body of work in both graphics and music. Using a compositional approach akin to his work as a visual artist, Bernhard usually begins by improvising abstract sonic structures which are subsequently developed into an increasingly detailed aural picture.
www.redundantrocker.com
Jay Nicholas, bass player extraordinaire and legendary studio engineer, has worked at Chung King Studios with the likes of David Bowie, Wyclef Jean, the Neville Brothers and the Wu-Tang Clan.
www.allmusic.com/artist/jay-nicholas-mn0001839831
Last October we found them both in the Hudson Valley of New York, where they were joined in the studio by bass player and producer Jay Nicholas in the village where David and Jay live, definitely a Cool Spring.
ECM recording artist David Rothenberg wrote Why Birds Sing, published in six languages and turned into a BBC TV show. He has written other books about making music with whales and bugs, has sixteen CDs out and is working on a book about the nightingales of Berlin and the musicians who play with them.
www.davidrothenberg.net
Bernhard leads his own solo project "The Redundant Rocker" and among others he has collaborated with Markus Reuter (in centrozoon) Tim Motzer, Ian Boddy, No-Man singer Tim Bowness, Conrad Schnitzler†, and Erik Wøllo. Bernhard elicits meaning from abstraction in electronic music and painting. He has studied graphic design and has created an eclectic body of work in both graphics and music. Using a compositional approach akin to his work as a visual artist, Bernhard usually begins by improvising abstract sonic structures which are subsequently developed into an increasingly detailed aural picture.
www.redundantrocker.com
Jay Nicholas, bass player extraordinaire and legendary studio engineer, has worked at Chung King Studios with the likes of David Bowie, Wyclef Jean, the Neville Brothers and the Wu-Tang Clan.
www.allmusic.com/artist/jay-nicholas-mn0001839831
credits
released March 18, 2016
David Rothenberg: clarinet, bass clarinet, contralto clarinet
Bernhard Wöstheinrich: keyboards and electronics
Jay Nicholas: bass
Performed and recorded on B Street, October 2015
Mixed and mastered by Markus Reuter
Artwork by Christine Kriegerowski
Special thanks to George "G$" Bley
David Rothenberg: clarinet, bass clarinet, contralto clarinet
Bernhard Wöstheinrich: keyboards and electronics
Jay Nicholas: bass
Performed and recorded on B Street, October 2015
Mixed and mastered by Markus Reuter
Artwork by Christine Kriegerowski
Special thanks to George "G$" Bley
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