Some quick updates!
First, I’m sending out this newsletter a day or two later than I expected. I’ve been ill from one thing or another (most recently, a cold) for the entire month of January. I’m beginning to feel a bit better today, so I thought I’d send out an abbreviated newsletter while I have the energy to do so, rather than wait until next month’s newsletter.
NEW ALBUMS
At the beginning of the year, I believed that Night Music would be the first non-reissue album that I’d release in 2023. This now looks to no longer be the case. My concept of the album has changed a bit – in part because of some new libraries and processes I’ve been employing in recent compositions. Among these are the greater use of “imaginary instruments” – i.e., concrete samples that I’ve trimmed and edited into unique instruments in my Cubase sampler library. Two recent works demonstrate some of these imaginary instruments.
The first work, Taking Your Toys and Going Home, was originally more an experiment. As of my writing this (January 31st, 2023), this particular piece is to date the most processed/edited of my electronic/computer works.
As for the title – I recently heard someone use this phrase (“You’re taking your toys and going home”), and, in the context, I thought it was funny. The context was that there are people who, when they’re no longer in a position to monopolize something, simply leave the situation rather than lose their monopoly over it.
The second work is On Glass. The piece begins like a rock instrumental (actually, some may find the melody to be rather 1980s video game-like), but quickly becomes other (unexpected) things.
The instruments you hear at the end are a number of glass objects being made to sound in various ways. These may sound like two or three overdubbed recordings, but they’re actually a bunch of smaller recordings, mapped out over the keyboard.
The direction I’m headed now with the Night Music is its being a five-movement, stand alone electronic/musique concrète work, rather than than an album of twenty or so shorter (but conceptually related) works. What I’ll likely do, at this point, is produce an Electronic Music (Volume IX) from fifteen or so of the shorter tracks intended for Night Music.
At this point, I’m undecided about the Valentine’s Day album – which album I mentioned in a previous newsletter. Given that I’m now behind schedule, I may repurpose the tracks for different projects. However, if I do release a Valentine’s Day album, the tracks will include When You Were My Girl, Nilufa, Tiger Lilly, and a new reggae-style instrumental, Lily, You’re Breaking My Heart.
WEBSITE UPDATES
At this time, I’m in the process of updating the website. I’ve created a new “Discography” page, and am in the process of creating a new, more streamlined “List of Works” page. Rather than having small icons of my albums (which one would then click on, and then be redirected to Bandcamp or wherever, etc.), the albums (or their Bandcamp releases, rather) are now directly embedded into the “Discography,” for each entry. Additionally, the “Discography” consists of multiple pages, rather than a single long page.
The previous “List of Works” page entries included embedded YouTube videos, as well as links to the scores, etc. I’m simplifying the entries into a true list of works. This will make the browsing process easier and more streamlined.
Ideally, I’d like to update the entire look of the website, and in the process create a site that so well represents me and my work (both in terms of the site’s information, obviously, but also in terms of its look), and is so streamlined, that I won’t need to continually update its layout every year.
ALBUM REISSUES
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, I’m in the process of reissuing some of my older albums. The first album to be reissued was Three Analog Dances, Night Shift, & Other Works: Electronic Music (Volume VI). If you purchased the original release version of this album, you can download this reissue for free on your Bandcamp purchase library page. The next albums to be reissued will likely be Electronic Music Film Scores (Volumes I – III).
More about all this soon!
A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PHILIP GLASS!
Finally, a very Happy Birthday to one of my favorite contemporary composers, Philip Glass, who was born on this date (January 31st) in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1937. One of my favorite Glass compositions is his score to the film Neverwas. A link to the beautiful opening titles music is here provided.
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Michael Calabris 
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