Robert Scott Thompson

A solo work for piano from 2024.

A music lover in Germany wrote to me recently. He sent me a scrap of blank manuscript paper and a return envelope. He wanted me to sign the paper, and perhaps put a few notes on it. I did. I also composed this short work for him and sent him the score and recording.

This is blending of ambient, contemporary instrumental, new age, and avant-garde genres. Collaboration with Erdem Helvacioglu. From the forth-coming album of the same title (2022)

Underscore cue prototype for Somewhere Cold project (2021) Find the complete record ESCAPOLOGY at Bandcamp: https://robertscottthompsonswc.bandcamp.com/album/escapology Or: https://robert-scott-thompson.bandcamp.com/album/escapology

A study for current work.

The title of this acousmatic work comes from Lorca – and his poem ”Ode to Salvador Dali.” Musically, the composition is also influence by the abstract surrealism that framed so much of Dali’s work. Metallic sounds predominate and are extrapolated using myriad computer music techniques. The overall form of the piece is continuous and invites deep listening. The basis of the two large sections of the composition are spatialized in high-order ambisonics using Trajectory, Harpex and associated tools.

'Cello sextet from 1984. Score and parts finally being published this year (only 34 years later!) by American Composers Alliance (ACA). This recording was performed by Craig Hultgren. http://robert-scott-thompson.bandcamp.com/album/the-wind-at-beni-midar The Wind at Beni Midar was originally composed in the early 1980's and was subsequently entirely revised in 1989 and editorially revised in 1998. This work is inspired by the short story of the same title from Paul Bowles' "A Hundred Camels in the Courtyard." This book spans four tales of contemporary life in a land where alternative means are sought as a way out of the phenomenological world. The composition itself strains the notion of the phenomenology of time consciousness, as the materials of the work are largely framed in a moment-form scheme. Cast into two large sections, the 25 minute duration is first characterized by fleeting musical structures which emphasize both sound and silence in equal measure. The second part of the work is continuous in over all sound texture yet freely developing an elaborate morphology. Scored for six ‘celli, details of timbre and texture owe much to my work in the field of electroacoustic music. The cello is an instrument of remarkable versatility and the use of a sextet provides superb resources of sound. However, no processing of the sounds of the sextet was done, save the addition of reverberation. All of the sounds and textures are created out of the acoustic instrument. The other works on this disc are all related to The Wind at Beni Midar in various, elemental ways. Tagmeme (sentence slot: any one of the various positions in the structure of a sentence into which a word or phrase of a particular grammatical type can fit), is based entirely on a single sound fragment of cello that is elongated to express its total duration of nine and one-half minutes. Essay and Light is a Liquid both use 'cello source materials and The Gramophone (based on the poem of T.S. Eliot) adds computer processed vocal sounds and spoken text to other sound materials derived from cello source recordings. Re-mastered in 2007 and also in 2018 credits: Aucourant Records (BMI) released June 19, 2000

Testing for new work in progress. An exercise in granular spatialization.

A composition from 1993 originally recorded on analog equipment. Remixed and remastered in 2018. A musical tribute to one of my mentors, composer Joji Yuasa.

The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 by a group of atomic scientists. Originally, the clock was in reference to the threat of nuclear war and resulting devastation. In more recent years, the clock has expanded in meaning and now encompasses more expansive and perhaps daunting threats to planetary health and ultimate survival including climate change, disease, overpopulation and mass extinctions. From a musical perspective, 2 Minutes to Midnight (Grains of Sound Mix), is an acousmatic work that combines acoustic sounds and electroacoustic sounds. One of the approaches to its composition is the realization of sound spatialization using ambisonic techniques. The synthesis of materials was created using Csound and Metasynth. This work is a version of the original work which is 48 minutes in duration.

An etude - inspired by recent revision of the Doomsday Clock in 2018. This is a study in ambisonic spatial techniques and new software applications. Unpublished.

Ending track from the CD Telemetry - fall 2017. Featuring audio recordings from Saturn. https://open.spotify.com/album/7ETiQynSAUlxAXtcpNU57B?si=YMwAMAE5RsiSwhbZ4l5sug

Live recording. (afl, cl, tbn, vla, vc, pno, perc) Trieste Prima Festival Ensemble MD7 Steven Loy, Conductor Composed in 2016

Session mix out-take. 4/7/16 - See the Telemetric EP for variants. https://open.spotify.com/album/67lpc49kXyN3qWkUoWWJpY

Mock-up of a chamber work in memory of Pierre Boulez. Instrumentation: 2 flutes, violoncello, guitar, harp and vibraphone.

Resonance version of the original Melancholia - created in 2015.

Rough mix from the Andozie record - Pale Blue Dot. This is an alternate version (lighter in terms of textures and elements) than that album track of a different title.

Studio out-take, rough-mix for the upcoming Anodize release - for fall of 2015. Download NOW because the track will go off-line and become a rarity in the near future. This version is lighter and less complex than the album version.

Studio out-take from 2015 sessions. This track may not last long as a download and just might become a rarity. If you like it you can download it NOW for your own collection.

For the rM 2015 compilation recording "Orchid". Now published on CD - you can check it out online at the Relaxed Machinery pages. Enjoy! http://music.earthmantra.com/album/orchid-em-compilation-2015

Created with Kyma 7, Metasynth, Csound and associated tools. Musica Nova 2015, Prague.

An older studio session out-take...

An older studio session out-take...

On the CD Telemetry...

An older studio out-take...

An older studio session out-take...

This is an early studio edit version of the track that appears on Telemetry - the record. It is quite a bit different from the album cut.

A studio out-take from 2015. A cheap imitation for letting off some steam. Suggest a download as this mix of this rarity track will not be published elsewhere.

From the Anodize sessions: July, 2015 - Now released on the album of the same title - at Bandcamp - http://robert-scott-thompson.bandcamp.com/album/telemetry - eventually to iTunes and streaming. Audio updated 1/25/16. This recording is currently being mixed and mastered for CD release sometime in 2016.

Symbolist School demo instrumental version of Kissing the Emptiness from 1985.

Studio out-take from the Anodize sessions. 7/2/15 -- This track is still in the studio and is going through some changes to prepare for release - consider this a rarity "first version" as the materials are changing. May wish to download soon - as album release nears this track will be removed from download status.

Studio out-take from current sessions.

Studio rough-mix, out-take, from the current Anodize project currently being recorded for Fall 2015 release. Download NOW as this track may become a rarity when it goes off-line.

Studio out-take from sessions for the forthcoming Anodize record. (June 14, 2015) - Early version of this track - the actual album track is longer and more elaborate with new sections. The final version can be head on the Pale Blue Dot record originally published by Anodize. https://open.spotify.com/album/655HKMEsHY4tB5JQeWPogq

for the IFAR project...

On the CD Telemetry (2015)

Studio out-take alternate mix from the CD Morning of the World (2014)

From Cloud Gazing - Visual Music Works Volume I (DVD) - also featured in a different mix on the CD Morning of the World. Descanso Gardens is a famous camellia garden in Southern California - I love it there. This is what it sounds like to me.

An out-take from the new ambient project - Upon the Edge of Night (http://robert-scott-thompson.bandcamp.com/album/upon-the-edge-of-night). This track now appears in a slightly different form on the CD Morning of the World (2014) - http://robert-scott-thompson.bandcamp.com/album/morning-of-the-world

From the CD Sidereal - a new remix of the track Adrift.

Track for rM reBOOT compilation disc. Recorded in May of 2013 at the Resonance Observatory. Also featured on the CD Repeated by Dreams on Aucourant Records.

Mix from the CD Morning of the World (2014) - this is a work that is based on the sounds of Indonesia and it features prepared piano, synthesizers and found sounds.

Electroacoustic music for dreamers. Available on iTunes and elsewhere this is the title track of the acousmatic CD of the same title that also includes several other works composed in 2014.

Studio out-take from an upcoming project. Abell 33 is a planetary nebula located 2700 light years away in the constellation of Hydra. The composition features software synthesis and digital signal processing.

Bonus track from the CD Arcana - rM_039 - Relaxed Machinery (2014). This long-form ambient work is packaged together with the CD Arcana at the Bandcamp pages together with two other bonus tracks.

An alternate mix of the closing track from the CD Arcana. This mix is not the same as the album mix. If you like this composition you would probably love the CD! This download will become a rarity for collectors as the single of this track is not published.

Alternative mix of a track from the CD release on Relaxed Machinery - Arcana (2014) - released 4/18/14. Featuring Dr. Stuart Gerber, percussion. This mix version is different from the one on the CD.

Electroacoustic version of Metta (percussion and soprano saxophone). This work in its original form for percussion and soprano saxophone is now released on Centaur. You can find it here and there. Here: https://open.spotify.com/album/562UJsSVSPwgOPo7JwXEzC and there: https://www.amazon.com/Diamorpha-Bent-Frequency-Duo-Project/dp/B0722HTQLN/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1494079650&sr=1-1&keywords=Bent+Frequency%27 Released on May 5, 2017

...for Neda... An unpublished rarity track. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/13/iran-elections-neda-agha-soltan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan In peace.

Unpublished studio out-take from the later 1980's. Rarity from the back catalog.