Having not heard from us for 19 months now, you may be forgiven for having thought The Atwood Project had been put out of its misery and was mercifully extinct. Well I am here to tell you that your optimism was misplaced, as we are now back and ready to offend your ears once again with a brand new single! We have done our best with this song to write a completely conventional, run-of-the-mill pop song, but we’ll let you judge to what extent we’ve succeeded.
It occurred to us that this would be the ideal way to begin 2022, so at midnight tonight, instead of singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’, tune into YouTube for the world premiere of ‘But at what cost?’! If you’re partying especially hard then you may even be just about drunk enough to enjoy it!
The Emporium of Mr. Maleforium
Back in September I had a great time recording flute and piccolo parts for one of the most surreal, wacky and downright bizarre albums I’ve ever been involved in (and that’s saying something!). A few months later, and The Emporium of Mr. Maleforium by Lucifer Sam & the Buzz is now available for all to listen to on The YouTube, The Spotify, and The [insert preferred streaming platform name here].
It’s a tricky one to describe in words, but ‘intense psychedelic prog. rock’ is a phrase that springs readily to mind. I recommend giving it a listen – it will truly transport you to another plane of existence!
The YouTube
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lMo_n5pyYgyzR4A7GZgQmke63jdZNj07E
The Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/album/4E0c2RXKfmGaq2jDrcHV1G?si=ZzfxIkvATQWWwsCTCr60qw
The Taster
P.S. If you intend to listen on a platform with adverts, I strongly advocate installing a good ad-blocker first – the album runs straight through as a continuous piece of music, therefore interruptions between tracks are even more intensely annoying than usual!
Peter Pan (-tomime) in Lichfield
Ahoy tharrr!
Shiver me timbers!
That’s just a small preview of the kind of banter you can expect to enjoy if you attend Lichfield Garrick Theatre’s 2021 pantomime: All-New Adventures of Peter Pan! And as if that wasn’t enough, you can also expect to hear:
- Me playing the clarinet.
- Me playing the flute.
- Me playing the tenor saxomohpone.
- Me playing the bassoon.
- Me playing the piccolo.
- Me trying to play the recorder.
I’ve been spending the past 4 days cooped up in my little nest at the side of the stage, and am now just about ready to take flight (in the metaphorical sense) with the first performance this evening. Then there are just another 65 to do between now and 2nd January – goodness me.
I don’t consider myself a massive pantomime fan, but even I have been won over by this fantastic production. So do come along if you can, as I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time. And you may even get to see people flying (in the literal sense)!
‘Prelude on “Prospect”‘ (Featuring Two Of Me!)
“What have you been up to this week Michael A. Grant?”
“Some things.”
“What things?”
“Oh, you know, stuff…”
“Would you care to be any more specific?”
“No.”
“Pretty please?”
“No.”
“Pretty please with a cherry on top?”
“Oh… go on then. One of the things that’s kept me occupied has been a remote recording project for a client in America. This guy had written a groovy little trio for flute, bassoon and piano, and asked me to record the woodwind parts. I duly obliged, and the results are now available to listen to on The You Tube.”
“Can you tell me where on The You Tube?”
“No.”
“Pretty please with a cherry on top?”
“Oh… go on then. Here’s the link:
I hope you like it!”
“Bye Michael A. Grant.”
“Bye.”
Video x2: Me Playing ‘Shrek The Musical’
A couple of weeks ago I got to perform in my first musical since November 2019, in the form of ‘Shrek The Musical’ in Romiley, with NK Theatre Arts. Having been originally scheduled for March 2020 and since been postponed 3 times, it finally took to the stage at the end of September and was a delight to all.
To commemorate the occasion, I set up the all-seeing Mike Cam, and from its brains I have managed to extract not one but TWO little videos to showcase my sublime piccolo and alto saxophone playing. Take your picc!
Mongolian Death Worm: Behind-The-Scenes Commentary
Just when you thought there were no remaining words to be said about ‘Mongolian Death Worm: A Puppet Show Musical’, here I am with some more!
My co-creator James A. Ure and I recently had a delightful evening recording a behind-the-scenes audio commentary for the greatest puppet show musical ever made (sorry about that Avenue Q). In it, we discuss our thoughts and feelings about the production, divulge some secrets about our inspirations, and delve into the various technical intricacies involved in bringing such a monumental masterpiece to the screen. All this, while coming up with hilarious comedy names, remembering to set an ‘Alexa’ every 10 minutes, and helping deplete the world’s stock of Aldi ‘pina colada-flavoured drink’.
So lock the door, take the phone off the hook, put your feet up and treat yourself to 1 hour and 9 minutes of unsuppressed audio commentary goodness:
‘Stargirl’, Re-Scored By Yours Truly
[EDIT, 12/3/2022: I have since made a new improved version of this video with better orchestral sounds – find it here:
Hello everyone!
It seems I have a little catching up to do in the blogosphere – it’s been a rather busy couple of months and I have quite a backlog of things you may find interesting. So I thought I’d start today with some film music!
I have been making a concerted effort in recent months to develop my skills as a film composer, with the ultimate aim of one day actually turning into John Williams. As part of that, I have had a go at writing brand new music for a short clip from ‘Stargirl’*, which you can watch (and more importantly listen to) here:
I will be first to admit that the mix may be ever so slightly biased towards the music, but it’s my video so I’ll do what I want. As a matter of fact I scored this clip for a competition being run by Spitfire Audio, so wish me luck with that; although I don’t rate my chances, considering they had over 4000 entries! But at the end of the day I’ve taken part and we’ve all learnt something, and isn’t that the main thing?
*Some superhero thing.
‘Spectroscopy’ – Out Now! : D
People sometimes stop me in the street and ask me, “Excuse me sir, do you ever make use of that 1st class master’s degree in chemistry that you got from the University of Durham?” And I am thrilled to say that lately, yes I have, because I’ve been doing some spectroscopy!
O.K., it’s technically not NMR or IR or Raman or Rovibrational – in fact, it hasn’t involved any analysis of the interaction of light with matter whatsoever. But I have made a valuable contribution to the album ‘Spectroscopy’ by the marvellous Mister Jack Mitchell Smith! This is a collection of 7 pieces of music, each performed on a different instrument (with piano) and representing a different colour of the spectrum. I recorded the clarinet part for ‘Whisper of the Soul’ (don’t ask me which colour that corresponds to), and what a fine piece it is too.
The album is available on all the usual streaming platforms*, but I would strongly advise you to head to https://www.westkingstonproductions.com/spectroscopy and buy yourself a nice shiny CD or download copy. That way you will be directly supporting the musicians involved, and helping to keep my supply of Aldi ‘Pina Colada Flavoured Drink’ topped up to an acceptable level.
Bravo!
*Boo hiss!
Video: ‘Whisper of the Soul’, from ‘Spectroscopy’
A little while ago I did some recording for a new project by maestro supremo Mr. Jack Mitchell Smith entitled ‘Spectroscopy’, and I have a little preview to share with you in advance of the album’s release. How exciting!
‘Spectroscopy’ is a suite of 7 pieces for various solo instruments and piano, inspired by the colours of the rainbow. My contribution has been playing clarinet for piece no. 6, ‘Whisper of the Soul’*, and at the following link you can find a special video of Jack and myself breathing life into those mellifluous melodies…
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=213256557238412&id=104935518070517
I solemnly vow to keep you updated as to further progress on this project, but by all means also have a look at the website and Facebook page of West Kingston Productions to satisfy your craving for increased knowledge:
www.westkingstonproductions.com
www.facebook.com/westkingstonproductions
*Or, as we say in Yorkshire, ‘Whisper of tat Soul’.
Behold: My New Showreel!
Well here’s a little something I’ve been meaning to get around to for a looooong time: my new, updated, and perhaps even improved showreel!
Key features include:
- A varied selection of 8 video clips – some new, with a few old classics thrown in.
- A range of nice things people have said about me over the years (I decided to leave out all the horrible quotes).
- A snazzy little logo, courtesy of Richard von Tweed (of www.trekkingtweed.com)!
And all that, in under 2 minutes! What a sensational phenomenon. And here it is:
