Track by track analysis

1 - Fusion Forest

Fusion Forest is a track I recorded in May 2004. As it’s title suggests, it

is an up-tempo Jazz-Fusion piece. This is an unashamed guitar work-out
which I think shows off my skills fairly well, whilst still being on the
right side of tasteful. I used a drum loop by session drummer Steve Gadd
as the basis of the track. I then overdubbed Bass, Guitar and Saxophone.
The first section of the piece revolves around E Dorian mode, and
features a simple, blues-based melody which is played on Guitar and then
doubled on Saxophone. After the first Guitar and Saxophone solos, the
track then modulates to the decidedly darker sounding B Phyrigian
dominant mode for the main Guitar solo. After the solo, the track then
goes back to the original E Dorian mode. In harmonic terms, the piece is
relatively simple; however, I feel that the melodic versatility provides
enough interest. The track is long, but I wanted to have a form on which I
could ‘stretch’ out a little. Although I rarely play in this style now, I
remain pleased with the result. The track is heavily influenced by
Jazz-Rock artists such as Mike Stern and John Mclaughlin. I played
Guitar and Bass on the piece.
2 - Blood on my Hands

Blood on my Hands is a track which I recorded in May 2009. It is a slow

tempo alternative rock song in 6/8. The track opens with an electric
Guitar arpeggio figure. Harmonically, the chord progression is fairly
unorthodox as it features a strange key change:

Em9 - C add#4 - B flat #4 - Fmaj7 x2

G11 - F#11 - Fmaj7 - G11 - B flat7 flat 9

As you can see, the chord progression is strange, but it works due to the
strength of the melody line.
The structure of the track follows a fairly typical verse/bridge format.
After the last bridge section there is a repeated guitar/keyboard melody
line which outlines the chord progression.
My inspiration for this piece came from listening to Progressive Rock
bands such as King Crimson and Yes; although the end result doesn’t bear
too much resemblance to either of these bands.
I played Guitar, Bass, Keyboards and Drums on this track. I think it
demonstrates my arranging skills very well.

3 - I’m Moving On
I’m Moving On is a track I recorded in February 2009. I wanted a song in
the genre of country/folk. The piece opens with a Guitar figure which is
very reminiscent Roger McGuinn’s work with The Byrds.
Structurally, my piece is reasonably straightforward following a
verse/bridge/chorus pattern. The harmonic structure is also simple, with
most of the chords being diatonic to the key of A major. The only time
that this is not true is during the bridge, where the chords move from
F#m7 to B, the chord of B is borrowed from E major. The chord then
changes to Bm, bringing the scale back into B major. I felt the sound of
this modulation would give the track a lift, and to prevent it from
sounding too predictable.
As far as instrumentation, I opted for an acoustic and electric guitar, to
emphasise the folk feel.

I have included a full score for this song.

4 - Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn is a track I recorded in March 2011. It is a much more

experimental piece than the previous tracks. It is a piece for solo electric
Guitar.
The structure is hard to describe as it is fairly random, but themes and
motifs recur throughout the piece.
I decided to use a Guitar Synthesiser for the track, as it had a very
unusual sound which I felt suited the piece.
The title comes from a character in the Batman universe.

5 - Sour Kraut
Sour Kraut is a track I recorded in July 2011. As the title suggests, it is a
piece which is very influenced by German experimental rock bands of the
1970’s, such as Neu!, Can and Kraftwerk.
The piece begins with a solo Synthesiser solo, which then goes into a
very urgent sounding drum beat. I did this as I wanted to create a driving
song, which simulates a journey down the motorway.
Again, the harmony is very simple, based solely around a static chord
riff that doesn’t vary throughout the track. I wanted it to be as minimalist
as possible. Interest is created through the reversed Guitar which occurs
occasionally throughout the piece.

6 - Ritual

Ritual is a track which I recorded in March 2012. It has a very fast,

aggressive sound which was influenced by New Wave/Post Punk bands
such as PiL, Gang of Four and The Ruts. It is a very straightforward song
with Bass, Guitar, Keyboards and Drums.
I thought it might work well as an instrumental, with the Keyboard
melody replacing the vocal line.

7 - Crystal World

Crystal World is a track I recorded in April 2012. It is a piece which

features 5 Guitars playing separate parts.
I was heavily influenced by the composer Steve Reich, who is
renowned for his use of minimalism and repetition. This piece has a very
unusual 11/8 time signature, a tempo which is usually used in Progressive
Rock and Jazz-Fusion.
The title comes from Science-Fiction author J.G Ballard’s novel.

8 - Scarecrow
Scarecrow is a piece which I recorded in April 2012. It is something of a
departure for me as it is a techno piece, made up entirely of loops and
samples. I wanted to try something different and was pleased with the
result.

9 - The Kiwi

The Kiwi is a piece I recorded in April 2012. It features a sample of the

creature known as Bigfoot. Again, the structure is simple, as I wanted a
hypnotic feel to the track. Some may think the piece stays out its’
welcome, but I have always enjoyed repetitive music. It is essentially just
Drums and Bass, with a few samples and guitar motifs thrown in.

All of the compositons included here are the best representation of my

work thus far.