"A Tribute to the Slowness of Anxiety"
My Music for Controllers EP has recieved another thoughtful review via The Muse is Music
“A tribute to the slowness of anxiety, by Instructor of Music at California State University, Fullerton Paul Bailey. His introduction speaks of his distress over the current economic downturn, but the music itself is absolutely timeless.
A quiet, transcendent work, which the composer nearly forgot after concluding it was “a little too minimal.”
(Note to self, spend some time on this site.)
thanks fred!
got a great review of my Music for Controllers EP from marc weidenbaum at disquiet.com
“Probably the sole development that wasn’t a surprise, pleasant or otherwise, was that other musicians would use the Buddha Machine as a tool of self-expression. Among the latest is Paul Bailey, whose recent Music for Controllers album includes several tracks featuring the Buddha Machine (in this case, the Buddha Machine app for the iPhone and iPod Touch). The opening tones on the album’s opening track are familiar, their patient looping like waves brushing up against the shore, albeit in slow motion (MP3). But that’s just the start. Then comes a pitter-patter like some children’s wind-up toy acting up, and a tentative bit of melody that slowly, ever so slowly, over the course of nine minutes, finds a common sensibility with the looping tones, and insinuates its own drone-like hymn. In the process, Bailey manages to do what many Buddha Machine adopters have not, which is to once again relegate the machine to the background.”
are improvisations performed live using ableton live, korg/nanokey, buddha machine and srutibox (iphone), and korg kaossilator
Music for Controllers by paul bailey
Music for Controllers I
created using ableton live, buddha machine (iphone), korg kaossillator and nano-key
Music for Controllers II (coming soon)
Music for Controllers III and Music for Controllers IV
were improvised live using ableton live/ korg/nanokey, buddha machine (iphone), and the korg kaossilator
Music for Controllers V
improvisation post-whatever ableton, buddha machine (iphone), srutibox just-intonation drone
Music for Controllers VI (A Stable Job is an Oxymoron)
this track was based on a field recording i made of my last day of work before my “fall break” at CSUF (a one-week non paid work furlough). a few days later i improvised over the recording of my commute (from highland park to union station) with some materials of an earlier piece i made last spring (not getting fired is the new promotion). when it was finished i felt it was a little too minimal and forgot about it until about a week ago and when i listened to it again i realized it pretty accurately captured my dread of what this financial disaster has become in my life.
interestingly enough on that was the same day on my commute home the conductor on my amtrak route told me that she had lost about 75 daily commuters between san diego and los angeles from a year ago and it was pretty sad how so few of us were left. i know for me there aren’t many part time faculty left in the music department at CSUF and at this point it’s can get pretty depressing whenever i think about all of my friends who are out of work.
probably a little TMI, but yeah… i guess it is a bit dark.
Music for Controllers VI (A Stable Job is an Oxymoron) is spoken word piece based on twitter RSS feeds on the keywords “fired” and “job”. parts of this piece were originally contained in the piece “not getting fired is the new promotion” (2009) and was improvised/performed/composed using ableton live, novation launchpad, korg kaossilator, iphone (buddha machine, srutibox), text-2-speech, and a field recording (zoom H2) of my morning commute (metro goldline from heritage square to union station; los angeles, ca 10/15/2009 (10 min)
are improvisations performed live using ableton live, korg/nanokey, buddha machine and srutibox (iphone), and korg kaossilator
Music for Controllers I
created using ableton live, buddha machine (iphone), korg kaossillator and nano-key
Music for Controllers II (coming soon)
Music for Controllers III and Music for Controllers IV
were improvised live using ableton live/ korg/nanokey, buddha machine (iphone), and the korg kaossilator
Music for Controllers V
improvisation post-whatever ableton, buddha machine (iphone), srutibox just-intonation drone
Music for Controllers VI (A Stable Job is an Oxymoron)
this track was based on a field recording i made of my last day of work before my “fall break” at CSUF (a one-week non paid work furlough). a few days later i improvised over the recording of my commute (from highland park to union station) with some materials of an earlier piece i made last spring (not getting fired is the new promotion). when it was finished i felt it was a little too minimal and forgot about it until about a week ago and when i listened to it again i realized it pretty accurately captured my dread of what this financial disaster has become in my life.
interestingly enough on that was the same day on my commute home the conductor on my amtrak route told me that she had lost about 75 daily commuters between san diego and los angeles from a year ago and it was pretty sad how so few of us were left. i know for me there aren’t many part time faculty left in the music department at CSUF and at this point it’s can get pretty depressing whenever i think about all of my friends who are out of work.
probably a little TMI, but yeah… i guess it is a bit dark.
Music for Controllers VI (A Stable Job is an Oxymoron) is spoken word piece based on twitter RSS feeds on the keywords “fired” and “job”. parts of this piece were originally contained in the piece “not getting fired is the new promotion” (2009) and was improvised/performed/composed using ableton live, novation launchpad, korg kaossilator, iphone (buddha machine, srutibox), text-2-speech, and a field recording (zoom H2) of my morning commute (metro goldline from heritage square to union station; los angeles, ca 10/15/2009 (10 min)
Music for Controllers by paul bailey
New RSS and Bookmarks Feed
it seems that yahoo has pretty much given up developing and improving their delicious bookmarking service, so i’m now using tumblr as a way to share my more interesting bookmarks.
also my RSS feed has also been having problems and at the end of the month i’ll be switching over to the new one
"Relegate the Machine to the Background"
got a great review of my Music for Controllers EP from marc weidenbaum at disquiet.com
“Probably the sole development that wasn’t a surprise, pleasant or otherwise, was that other musicians would use the Buddha Machine as a tool of self-expression. Among the latest is Paul Bailey, whose recent Music for Controllers album includes several tracks featuring the Buddha Machine (in this case, the Buddha Machine app for the iPhone and iPod Touch). The opening tones on the album’s opening track are familiar, their patient looping like waves brushing up against the shore, albeit in slow motion (MP3). But that’s just the start. Then comes a pitter-patter like some children’s wind-up toy acting up, and a tentative bit of melody that slowly, ever so slowly, over the course of nine minutes, finds a common sensibility with the looping tones, and insinuates its own drone-like hymn. In the process, Bailey manages to do what many Buddha Machine adopters have not, which is to once again relegate the machine to the background.”
Music for Controllers by paul bailey
i actually found out about the buddha machine from reading marc’s blog and in the back of my mind i was wondering what he would think. it’s not actually posted on this site yet (it’s been a busy spring), but you can find it at archive.org (via blacksquare netlabel)
Retrace Our Steps (Emusic Review/John Schaefer)
i was very happy to see that WNYC’s John Schaefer wrote a great review of Retrace Our Steps for the E-Music website.*
“Composer Paul Bailey winningly describes his ensemble as an “alt-classical garage band.” With 4 singers (two of whom also speak), strings, winds, piano, electric guitar, vibes, and electric bass, it’s as good a description as any. Retrace Our Steps is his “secular oratorio in 4 acts,” and while the opening notes of Act I and of Act IV sound like they might have come from Arnold Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night, the dominant musical references are to Philip Glass and Michael Nyman. Bailey’s pulsing, tonal chamber music is married to texts by Gertrude Stein, Guy Debord and Jenny Bitner. All four acts are highly rhythmic affairs, but each has its own character: Act I insistent, Act IV a more reflective cousin (a neat trick since the rhythm seems to be the same); Act II with a stinging electric guitar part leading the way; Act III with an elegant combination of vibes and rocking strings and guitar. Rather than providing a narrative in a traditional oratorio sense, Bailey gives us a series of aural snapshots dealing with isolation, alienation, and the irony of modern communication (that when it is so easy to communicate, it is still so hard to communicate effectively). A further irony is that this message is carried by some immediately accessible music; if the message is that instrumental rock and new classical music are not so far apart, that message comes through loud and clear.”
and last week WNYC recently replayed the original show that featured my music.
*i’m not sure what is going on but it looks like Act II hasn’t been uploaded properly on the emusic site. If you have had problems and have downloaded an incomplete track please email me and besides giving you a link to Act II, i’ll also be happy to send you a special “surprise”.
and of course you can download the whole album right here for free at anytime
Retrace Our Steps, Act 1
Retrace Our Steps, Act 2
Retrace Our Steps, Act 3
Retrace Our Steps, Act 4
(download graphic libretto)
(download Graphic Libretto and Mp3′s)
The Pulse of Minimalism: WNYC New Sounds (June 9th, 2009)
it was great to find out that my Music from Summerland was recently featured on John Schafer’s WNYC New Sounds podcast this past june
“The pulsing rhythms of minimalism, as heard in the music of English composer Michael Nyman, and fellow Brit Jeremy Peyton-Jones. Plus there’s music from trombonist/composer Paul Bailey and the “alt-classical garage band” Paul Bailey Ensemble. It’s possible that we’ll also hear from guitarist Dominic Frasca and his takeoff of music based on Philip Glass, and more.”
The Pulse of Minimalism (June 9th, 2009)
at this point i feel very awkward on how to respond to these really thoughtful comments and reviews. besides a big thanks to john and caryn at wnyc . i think there are two bigger points that are worth making (and its that its nice to get a pat on the back when you are the least expecting it)
i’m starting to realize that although i might have moved on from a piece like retrace (i wrote in 2002) its pretty powerful and touching when somebody “gets it”. especially right now when the PBE is on hiatus and it’s going to be a while before we get out and perform again. i’m really happy that the music is out there. i guess i never had really thought much about music we weren’t currently performing (out of sight, out of mind?), but over the past few months i have really gotten back a lot from my friends about what the music and PBE means to them. i had never really contemplated that how some pieces take on a life of their own and means very different things to different people. amazing
upcoming radio interview and show
wednesday, february 27th
pbe with upopable and friends
mr. t’s bowl
10pm (free)
5621 1/2 figueroa blvd.
highland park 90042
(between ave 56 and ave 57; parking and entrance in back)
also as an added bonus i’ll be on the radio with martin perlich (kscn 88.5) next tuesday, february 26th from 4:00pm-4:30pm. we are going to talk about the retrace our steps ep and graphic libretto.
"Paul Bailey Ensemble at home in Fullerton" OC Register-Tim Mangan (2007)
thanks again to all of you who made our “home” show at csuf on tuesday night. it turned out to be a great evening; nice crowd, saw some old friends and made a few new ones. i’m kinda short on words today and humbled by tim mangan’s very thoughtful review of us in the oc register.
http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/music-bailey-composer-1852433-three-one
“On the FAQ page of the Paul Bailey Ensemble’s Web site (paulbaileyensemble.org) the group is dubbed an “alternative-classical garage band.” One wonders what that is until one hears it and wonders no longer. It’s a good description. This is a flexibly sized chamber ensemble, locally based, made up of friends and colleagues who have mostly studied at Cal State Fullerton. Tuesday night’s incarnation of the group, when it performed at Meng Concert Hall on campus, included an electric guitar, electric bass, keyboards, clarinet and trombone (the last played by the composer himself, Paul Bailey). It makes a funky, gritty sound, but it also capable of a warm euphony.
I would say that Bailey’s music is minimalist, with the proviso that the composer himself, like so many minimalists, doesn’t like that label. His favorite composers, though, include the minimalists Michael Nyman, Glass, Reich and Riley, as well as Satie, Monteverdi, Bach and Palestrina. His own music combines a minimalist’s interest in repetition, motion and simple harmony with Baroque bass lines. In fact, the passacaglia, a set of variations on a repeated melodic bass line, popular with Baroque composers, is Bailey’s preferred metier.
This style was perhaps most explicit in the opening number, “Cheap Admiration,” written in 2005 and based on a work by the 17th century composer Johann Pezel. A fuzz guitar got a little rhythmic riff going, a Baroque progression with a syncopated groove, and the other instruments joined in, layering and interweaving lines, spinning, turning and floating.
Bailey’s music doesn’t put on airs. It’s easy to listen to and to understand the first time. The composer seems to take joy in the simple motion of music, in plain harmonies and melodic scraps as ordinary as do re mi. The fascination comes from hearing it all spin around and work itself out, like a load of mixed laundry in a dryer, or flames in a fireplace.
His music does express something, though. His “Fearless Leader” had a Glassian hypnotic melancholy, a growing in tension, then release. “Eye for Optical Theory,” based on a Nyman theme, scampered along quickly and jazzily and was decorated with soulful trombone scoops.
“Life’s Too Short,” the second of an eventual trilogy, added three vocalists, who talked and keened a dryly witty, existential text, made more so by both its matter-of-fact repetition, lyrical limning and uneven meter. The trilogy’s finale will be “Life’s Too Long.”
The New York-based trio Real Quiet (cello, piano, percussion) were guests on the program and joined the PBE for Bailey’s “Principal of Sufficient Irritation,” a piece that features a short ostinato riff tossed all around like a hot potato. The work morphs and builds (at one point finding itself in a quasi Bo Diddley groove) and is one of the composer’s most ambitious and engrossing.
On its own Real Quiet added three pieces, by Annie Gosfield, Phil Kline and Marc Mellits. Somehow, I found these pieces, accomplished and polished though they were, less satisfying, perhaps because they took themselves so seriously. Gosfield’s “Wild Pitch” encompassed aggressive allegros, lonely dreams and quarter-tone decoration. Kline’s “The Last Buffalo,” a three-movement homage to Hunter Thompson, juxtaposed long-arched cello solos with a motoric central movement in a heavy tread. The three of the four movements performed of Mellits’ “Tight Sweater” seemed mere etudes in hopping and grinding minimalism.
But then came the grand finale, Frederic Rzewski’s 1969 “Les Moutons de Panurge,” which requires a touch of explanation. Both ensembles joined in for this ebullient gambit, written for “any number of musicians.” “Panurge” consists of a single melodic line of 65 notes which the players are instructed to perform in additive fashion, first 1, then 1-2, then 1-2-3, and so on until the end. They begin together but invariably get off, the composer instructing, “if you get lost, stay lost.” Also, the tempo continuously accelerates. The result is a kind of mad “Row, row, row your boat,” of canons gone wild and off track, of “Bolero” on steroids.
It’s not mayhem, though, the instructions providing for the relentless rewinding of the melody with a single note added to it each time; the listener is in a space where the music dances around him like so many bouncing atoms. To my knowledge, there’s not another piece quite like “Panurge” and these musicians had rollicking good fun with it. So did we.”
RealNewMusic Review: Tim Mangan/OC Register (2006)
tim mangan (oc register) has a well written review of our performances at the realnewmusic festival. his descriptions of the evening and performances were spot-on. it was not one of our better shows, but i’m real proud of how the group handled it. in the middle of the show we ran into a buzz saw, on some nights a tear like that can ruin the rest of the evening but we ended with a strong performance of my modular piece 11/25/05.
i’m pretty dissapointed at my reaction to the performance (more introverted than extroverted). i talked it out and know that every night is not going to be perfect. my drug of choice is a good show and nothing puts me in fowl mood than falling short. on a performance like saturday night’s i have to find ways to temper my frustration. i’m really happy with the direction of the group and wouldn’t change a thing. being able to write, rehearse and perform is a great alternative to the infinite sadness of life.
tonight we are playing at the scene in glendale around 9pm with pruitt igoe and the hearers. what could be better than having a drink with the pbe?
mention the blog and get free ringtones!
btw…tim is also a blogger. you can view his latest pictures and comments of the construction of the orange county center for the performing arts new segerstrom hall.
Ensemble's Mix Is A Classic Alternative: Josef Woodard/LAtimes (2005)
Los Angeles Times, January 21st, 2005
(Copyright (c) 2005 Los Angeles Times)
“After his concert at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Paul Bailey spoke to the audience about his ongoing adventure, the Paul Bailey Ensemble — an “alternative classical garage band.”
Fair enough: The cheeky description points to the group’s self- reliant, can-do spirit and its intention to mix high and low culture, art and pop. Fittingly, the setting was the casual Sierra Room, where the audience sat at tables as if in a new-music cabaret.
A balanced grouping of strings, woodwinds, guitar, bass, keyboard, vibraphone and sometimes vocalists, the ensemble consists of classically trained and impressively focused players who create an appealing, collective sound. Bailey, a trombonist, educator and composer, formed the group in 2002 as a do-it-yourself forum outside the usual and limited channels of classical music presentation.
Stylistically, the ensemble is very much locked into the Minimalist groove. The Cerritos concert was well-stocked with repetitive lines, easygoing tonalities, and undulating cascades of eighth notes, reminding us of the comforting, even old-fashioned, charm of the Minimalist style.
In the concert’s first half, instrumental pieces from Bailey’s suite “Summerland” and guitarist Sean R. Ferguson’s “Chopping Tool” offered their rhythmically chugging energies, more about ensemble machinery than melodic or thematic development. These fed directly from the inspirational trough of such classic Minimalist recordings as Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” and Philip Glass’ “Glassworks.” The inclusion of electric guitar ( Ferguson ) and bass (Matt Menaged) nudge the sound more toward a rock aesthetic, thanks to our associative connection with those tools.
This program’s main attraction came after intermission, with the world premiere of Bailey’s ambitious “Retrace Our Steps,” ostensibly written for mezzo-soprano Nicole Baker. She sang key parts in the four-movement work, with text that included cryptic poetics by Gertrude Stein and socio-philosophical tracts by Guy Debord and Jenny Bitner. But Baker ultimately became a team player and folded into the democratic mesh of the ensemble’s conjuring of nine instrumentalists and four additional vocalists.
One unsettling aspect of an otherwise engaging concert was the canned texture of sound processed through microphones, allowing acoustic instruments to compete with electronic ones. Then again, that is a hallmark of Minimalism, which borrows from pop’s sound palette and equipment list on the path to a new classical paradigm. In short, the Paul Bailey Ensemble is out of the garage and on the way up.”
"Let's Burn that Puppy Down" Rex Reason/OC Weekly (2005)
OC Weekly January 13, 2005 By Rex Reason
“Paul Bailey saw a lot of space between pop art and high art and decided to fill it, rather than just rant about it over fish tacos and soda—although he does a pretty good job at that, too. The jovial, articulate composer/trombonist/bandleader is just as likely to talk about Wes Anderson or Love & Rockets comics as elements of the baroque chamber music his nine-piece ensemble—two violins, cello, vibraphone, synthesizer, electric guitar, bass guitar, clarinet and trombone, augmented by vocalists as necessary—draws on. It’s classical instrumentation and architecture, but the amplified guitars are front and center, enough to scare off the furs-and-tiara set. And that’s fine for Bailey, who’s proud of a distinctly un-academic—though definitely not uninformed—take on classical composition, something between Weezer and Wagner. With many of his musicians coming from Cal State Fullerton, his ensemble is familiar with gigs at local art galleries, churches and other impromptu performance spaces; this month, however, Bailey will debut Retrace Our Steps , a work based on writings by Gertrude Stein, Guy Debord and Jenny Bitner that was commissioned by the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in what Bailey describes as a happy accident.
OC Weekly : So you left Kansas to become a professional musician in California, and you ended up . . . at Disney. How was that?
Paul Bailey: It’s Disney. Anything anyone else has said? It’s true. I was trained to be a musician, I practiced very hard, and I got there, and I basically had to make farting noises on my trombone and play show tunes. At Disney, you don’t have a choice. We played the same 12 songs for four years.
Is that what drove you to become a teacher?
Being a teacher is the only way I can be a composer and a musician and not have my soul taken out of me. Being paid to play trombone or being paid to write music, I have to worry about who’s going to pay me next. Now, in a sense, I have no filter. I can write whatever I want. It can be shitty, but at least it’s what I want.
So explain why you want to do what you do.
I’m 36. Are people my age supposed to listen to pop music their whole lives? The whole music industry is set up to please a 17-year-old kid. I don’t mind listening to that stuff, but am I supposed to live my life through the eyes of a 17-year-old?
But you told me earlier how much you like Weezer.
I love Weezer. They’re one of my favorite bands, but it would be false of me to write pop songs or rock songs. Is rock and pop music the only way you can express yourself in today’s culture? If I had drums, we’d be a rock band. Right now, it’s very deliberate—I’m not a rock band, although I use rock instruments
So is this something closer to an orchestra?
Fuck the orchestra. Let’s burn that puppy down and start over. The orchestra’s proper place is the museum. The idea you’re getting some cultural experience that’s going to make your life better and it’s going to expand your mind is total bullshit.
Then how do you reconcile the two forms?
There’s the technical aspect where I can say, academically, we’re not modernist music. We believe in stuff that has the same chords as Weezer, the Beatles or Radiohead. I’m choosing to deal with music I grew up with and that interests me. But I don’t want to make people go through all these things to decide whether they like it or not. In my latest work (Retrace Our Steps), there might be a message, but the actual music takes very little to understand. You don’t need to listen to Michael Nyman or Steve Reich or Phillip Glass to listen to my music—although it’s based on them. You don’t need to understand hundreds of years of music history in your mind to listen to stuff I write.”
