A solo cello opens Volume 2’s Epilogue on a homespun, even slightly crude A there’s no vibrato on it, barely any reverb. Incidental noises, environmental sounds, and intrusions that could be considered “imperfections” were encouraged. Clay deftly turned these gulfs in production values into yet another musical parameter to be considered, toyed with, and emotionally charged. In some contexts this could be considered undesirable, if not downright unworkable, especially when recording so many tracks in isolation for a studio album. In contrast to Volume 1, the recordings from the chorus members and conservatory instrumentalists range broadly not only over instrumental timbres, but also sound qualities, recording techniques, and acoustic environments. The duo also acted as stewards of the piece’s oral tradition, coaching and guiding the students in their interpretations. Once a track began to reveal its overall shape, The Living Earth Show recorded still more material, but this time in a supporting role, adding layers of musical substrate to fill out textures and add harmonic richness.
Music For Hard Times Volume 2 emerged as the collective product of hundreds of hours of recordings by these scattered forces.Ĭlay constructed Volume 2 like a generative collage or puzzle, first pairing sounds he felt related to each other, then layering them, building outward from there.
Here was a project that allowed students room to experiment with process, collaborate with each other remotely, and create something new, reframing classical music’s traditional emphasis on faithful execution of unchanging scores. That winter, the duo enlisted the San Francisco Girls’ Chorus and students from the San Francisco Conservatory, two institutions eager to look beyond what had by then become rote multi-tracked online performances of standard repertoire. In the process, they helped to refine Clay’s vision and notation, as well as to establish a timbral and gestural palette for subsequent realizations of the work. Andy and Travis spent the following weeks recording the 16 hours of raw material that became Music For Hard Times Volume 1. The test rig for these strategies were Clay’s longtime collaborators Andy Meyerson and Travis Andrews, of the adventurous electric guitar and percussion duo The Living Earth Show. Clay had begun work on the Strategies trying to answer a seemingly simple question: how can composers and conservatory-trained instrumentalists use their specialized skills to help people feel better? And if the music they’re playing makes musicians feel something as they’re playing it, is there a way to transmit that same feeling to the listener?
#Living earth hours series
In March 2020, when the composer Danny Clay wrote a series of eight Calming Strategies, his and other working musicians’ lives all over the world had suddenly come to a surreal and terrifying standstill.
#Living earth hours plus
Via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Includes unlimited streaming of Music for Hard Times
#Living earth hours full
The book contains the full score of Calming Strategies, program notes by Timo Andres, short writings by the performers and composer, the cd itself, and a digital download of the album. The album is released in conjunction with an ambient film created by mixed media artist Jon Fischer and a limited edition hard cover hand-bound zine created by visual artists Brandie Grogan and Nick Ross. Volume 2 was recorded by TLES, Danny Clay, and young musicians from the San Francisco Girls Chorus (led by Valérie Sainte-Agathe) and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (led by Edwin Outwater) in 2021. Volume 1 was recorded independently by TLES and Danny Clay in April of 2020 in their homes using instruments, voices, field recordings, and found objects. Recorded in isolation over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Music for Hard Times exists in two parts. Down to earth webtoon merch.Built with the aim of offering a sonic resource for comfort and calming, composer Danny Clay and The Living Earth Show created Music for Hard Times: an experimental new age album and written score of composed “calming strategies.” Music for Hard Times exists as a work of experimental music in the truest sense, in that it was created to answer a fundamental research question: “is it possible for us to use the tools of classical art music to make people feel better?”
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