Thrust from the pre-natal waters come we
Star seeds
The ape begins with prayers to the fossils
With ready hounds, they will howl
Ape stands straight
Runs 'round with a golf ball on the moon, on the news.
Their weapons drawn...
Shockwave burns the world of the ancients
The great flood of conscious need
Swarm all these beings in a tidal dream
They've crashed upon the water's edge
HYPERGIANTS was composed between 2019 and late 2022 and consists of 3 works of microtonal 'electrosynthphonic' music.
A brief explanation:
I use the term ‘Electrosynthphonic’ to describe using synths and samplers to capture or allude to a contemporary orchestral feel or aesthetic while avoiding blatant imitation.
“Microtonal” is a broad term for any system of pitches that differs from the modern western 12-tone equal tempered tuning (12tet). Most of the time it infers intervals that are smaller than an equal-tempered semitone but this is not always the case. For this reason (and others), some prefer the term ‘Xenharmonic’. There are many, many different systems of tuning and temperament. I use just intonation.
Just intonation (JI) tunes musical intervals to a series of natural frequencies (known as the harmonic series). Composing in JI is simply expressing this series through harmony, melody, texture, form, polyphony…etc. Intonation is highly flexible (as is all art), and its exploration fosters new (and very old) ways of imagining musical expression allowing for maximum harmonic consonance, resonance as well as novel harmonies and tension.
I'd like to thank Stuart McReath for his excellent cover art.
Musical Influences and inspiration: Glenn Branca, Harry Partch, Igor Stravinsky, Bela Bartok, LaMonte Young, Pauline Oliveros, Lou Harrison, Henry Gwiazda, Toby Twining, Kyle Gann, Steve Reich, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Astor Piazzolla, Gagaku, Olivier Messiaen, Sofia Gubaidulina, Ben Johnston, Ruth Crawford Seeger, George Crumb, Morton Feldman, Frank Zappa, Charles Ives, Conlon Nancarrow, Joni Mitchell, Rush, The Jesus Lizard, Cardiacs, Voivod, Fugazi, Doctor Nerve, Phleg Camp, King Crimson, Janes Addiction, Steely Dan, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and many more.
credits
released April 14, 2023
All music and lyrics by Matthew Shmigelsky
Matthew Shmigelsky: synths, programming, and vocals
Interlocking microtonal polyrhythmic post-rock minimalism with a peppering of North African desert blues and it all grooves hard...Great live band..I caught them in the UK last year. Brilliant! Black Hole Harmonics
A prolific giant in the Microtonal community this recording is an incredible accomplishment. Johnny has loads of recordings of various microtonal composers, Including more Ives pieces Black Hole Harmonics
Pop, xenharmonic-style. Beach Boys in an alternate universe. Likely cliche, but cliches exist for a reason. Opens ears to adventure; difficult is not the same as bad. IlsaJ