New Music Monday, #39: ‘Springs’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to bounce up and down with a regular motion because it’s…


What’s it called?
Springs.

What’s it from?
‘Miniatures’, my 2023 album of classical piano compositions.

What’s it all about?
I’d say this is a particularly joyful piece, full of optimism and hope, with a real bounce in its step that comes from the repeated offbeat accompanying figure in the left hand. When trying to come up with a title, I wanted something that reflected this positivity, and one phrase that came to mind was the Alexander Pope quote “Hope springs eternal from the human breast.” I soon realised that simply taking the one word from that sentence (‘springs’) would also open up a couple of additional relevant meanings:
 

  • Springs as in the bouncy things – to relate to the lively bounce permeating the piece.
  • Springs as in the season – where everything comes back to life and fills with hope after the dark days of winter.

And that’s where that came from.

Listen out for…
The middle section shifts into a more lyrical and poignant mood, culminating in what I consider a rather beautiful cadence at 1:50. Note that this part also makes use of the piano’s ‘soft’ pedal, which causes only one string to sound for each note played (when normally every note would be played on three strings at once). This gives a more muted and gentle effect.

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/miniatures

New Music Monday, #38: ‘Banana Juice?’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to dwell on the relative appropriateness of various fruit-based drinks because it’s…


What’s it called?
Banana Juice?

What’s it from?
This is the second – and arguably least pleasant – single from the most absurd band you’ve never heard of, ‘The Atwood Project’. This ‘band’ is essentially an excuse for me and my regular collaborator Mister James Ure to let our hair down and be as relentlessly peculiar as we want, by taking a title suggestion from an innocent member of the public and using it as inspiration for a surreal comedic musical dreamscape.

What’s it all about?
Um, well, it’s difficult to say with any certainty. Let’s just agree that we took the title and came up with a series of different ridiculous vignettes based on the common theme. Particularly worthy of note, however, is the way that we deliberately structured the song like an episode of a sitcom (for some reason). So it consists of:
 

  • 0:00 Continuity announcer.
  • 0:10 Theme song.
  • 1:05 ‘Sting’ to separate scenes.
  • 1:10 Part 1 of the sitcom (with jokes and canned laughter). This is left on a cliffhanger, with a joke set-up but no punchline.
  • 3:10 Sting.
  • 3:15 Advert break (mainly designed to confuse any listeners on Spotify Premium).
  • 3:41 Sting.
  • 3:46 Part 2, picking up from the cliffhanger where it left off.
  • 5:21 Sting.
  • 5:26 End credits theme song.
  • 6:07 Weird coda that goes into ‘Danny Boy’. Why? Nobody knows. Nobody knows…

Listen out for…
There are quite a lot of weird details to pick up on, but here are a few:
 

  • The pseudo bass drum sound in the theme tune (0:10) is actually a recording of my living room door slamming.
  • Like all the best songs, there’s a cheeky reference to ‘Stranger on the Shore’ by Acker Bilk (4:57 in the stylophone).
  • As with all Atwood Project songs, the ‘Whoa whoa whoa whoa’ backing vocals from ‘If Only Your Legs Were On Your Head’ make a sneaky appearance at 2:12.
  • The spelling of ‘Banana Juice’ at 2:47 is incorrect both times.
  • From 4:15 the beeping of a metronome can be heard, merely to emphasise how out of time the actual recording is.

And so much more! Seriously, the more you listen the more absurd detail you hear.

Find out more at…
Watch the music video! This is actually based on the video for ‘Vibraslap Song’ (youtu.be/QtmCOATWDXI) and took significantly more effort to produce than you might think. Still not a lot of effort, but it’s surprisingly difficult to make something look that bad!
 

New Music Monday, #37: ‘Breaking Outwards’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to move on to new and better things because it’s…


What’s it called?
Breaking Outwards.

What’s it from?
‘Miniatures’, my 2023 album of classical piano compositions.

What’s it all about?
This is actually the last of the 12 ‘Miniatures’ that I wrote, and even though it isn’t meant to represent anything specific I think it does somehow have a sense of looking forwards into the future. The harmony, for instance, starts off very simple but becomes increasingly dissonant and angst-y, as if the music is trying to break free from its shackles and go somewhere entirely new (especially in the middle section from 3:00 to 4:25). This is coupled, however, with a prounounced reflective character in the main theme – as though it is wistfully looking back on what has gone before while simultaneously trying to push onwards.

Listen out for…
I am especially fond of the secondary melody that plays from 2:07-3:10. I would quite like to try orchestrating this piece at some point, and can imagine this tune sounding really beautiful and haunting on violins and violas.

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/miniatures

Posters, Posters, Posters Galore!

Something strange is going on in the suburbs of South Manchester. Almost overnight, it seems a plague of mysterious posters has started appearing in all sorts of unexpected locations. Noticeboards, cafes, car windows, telephone boxes, supermarkets… They came from nowhere and yet suddenly they are everywhere. Where did they appear from? Who sent them? And most importantly, WHAT DO THEY WANT!?!

Four concert posters for 'Miniatures' performance, in assorted locations.
All very big questions, but one thing’s for certain: It looks like there’s going to be a great concert taking place on Friday 13th October!
 

New Music Monday, #36: ‘Side by Side and Hand in Hand’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to patch up old relationships because it’s…


What’s it called?
Side by Side and Hand in Hand.

What’s it from?
My 2019 ragtime musical ‘It’s Not Really the Apocalypse’, which tells the story of four old friends who wake up one morning to discover they are the only people remaining on planet Earth.

What’s it all about?
Lizzie and Gary may have had their differences in the past, but things have gotten out of hand now that Gary has abandoned the rest of the group and gone to live his isolated life in the wilderness. So in a bid at reconciliation, Lizzie goes out to find him and sing him this delightful song as she attempts to bring him back into the fold.

Listen out for…
Lizzie’s repeated use of the word ‘metaphorically’. It doesn’t come across in the audio recording of course, but this is meant to be a response to Gary trying to take her hand at various points when he misinterprets her words as amorous advances.

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/inrta

Come and See My Concert!

Exciting news for you today: On Friday 13th October I will be giving a live concert premiere of my complete suite of 12 ‘Miniatures’ for solo piano! At the keys will be the unsurpassable and unsuppressable Mister Jack Mitchell Smith, and I will also be there giving anecdotes and witty repartee regarding each of the pieces.

It goes without saying that any support you can give would be hugely appreciated – either by buying tickets, sharing the event on social media, telling your friends, or even putting up a poster in your car. Because at the end of the day, the more people that come along, the more likely it is Jack will be paid! : D
 
Concert poster: 'Miniatures' 12 exquisite new piano solos by local composer Michael A. Grant Performed by Jack Mitchell Smith Featuring commentary from the composer Friday 13th October 8:00 pm Emmanuel Church 6 Barlow Moor Road, Didsbury, M20 6TR £7.50, or £5 if booked before 1/10 To learn more and book tickets, visit miniaturesconcert.eventbrite.co.uk
The performance will begin at 8:00 pm, and will showcase the fantastic grand piano of Didsbury’s Emmanuel Church (6 Barlow Moor Road, M20 6TR). Tickets are an absolute steal as well – £7.50 at full price, or if you book before the start of October they’re only £5! In this day and age that’s practically free!

But enough talk – here are some links:

Tickets: miniaturesconcert.eventbrite.co.uk
Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/3IrKfXDJp
Learn more about ‘Miniatures’: www.michaelgrantmusician.com/miniatures

And to send you on your way, here’s a clip of Jack performing Miniature no. 4, ‘Cascades’:

New Music Monday, #35: ‘Dancin’ With A Lollipop Stick’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to celebrate the joys of crossing the road safely because it’s…


What’s it called?
Dancin’ With A Lollipop Stick.

What’s it from?
According to the apocryphal tales, ‘The Attack of the Dancing Demon Lollipop Man from Hell’ was to be the crowning glory in the career of esteemed filmmaker Armando Allegro, telling the story of an ordinary man who becomes possessed by the spirit of an evil road safety officer (with horrific consequences). Sadly the film itself has been lost forever, however parts of the soundtrack did survive to be later reconstructed by myself and the enigmatic Mister James Ure. This EP, released in 2022, is the result of those reconstructions.

What’s it all about?
This is a parody of the famous song ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, and will originally have occurred at an early stage in the film. The main character is in high spirits, having achieved success in his personal and professional lives, and dances his way down the street in celebration. Little does he know the misfortune that will soon begin to arise…

Listen out for…
The flute/glockenspiel riff in the opening four bars. If it sounds familiar, that’s because it’s taken from the pervading ostinato of the Main Theme but adapted to sound like the corresponding motif from ‘Singin’ in the Rain’.

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/lollipop

New Music Monday, #34: ‘Let’s Go On a Four-Day Bender’

Every Monday throughout 2023 I will be highlighting a different piece of music that I have either written or been closely involved with. And this week, prepare to get absolutely blotted because it’s…


What’s it called?
Let’s Go On a Four-Day Bender.

What’s it from?
My 2019 ragtime musical ‘It’s Not Really the Apocalypse’, which tells the story of four old friends who wake up one morning to discover they are the only people remaining on planet Earth.

What’s it all about?
This cheeky little number comes right at the beginning of the show. Our four protagonists are gathered in their local pub, drowning their sorrows after having all been made redundant in one fell swoop. Things are looking bleak, until Gary comes up with a bright idea.

Listen out for…
The section in the instrumental where the pianists (deliberately) get a little out of time (4:10, 4:16), which is meant to represent a synchronised dance between the characters where one of them keeps getting out of step. Also note the concluding a cappella section (5:10), which is a parody of the finale to Leonard Bernstein’s philosophical opera ‘Candide’. So you could well say that, where other musicals end, this one begins!

Find out more at…
www.michaelgrantmusician.com/inrta

Trad. Jazz Travels

I scream, you scream, everybody wants… TRAD. JAZZ! That’s the kind of awesome insight you can usually expect from my posts on The Jelly Roll Jazz Band’s Facebook page, however today I’m going to talk about a couple of different bands with whom I’ve been clarinetting recently.

Let’s start with a gig I did back on 19th July over at Romanby Jazz & Swing Cabaret Club in Northallerton. I was deco-delighted to be asked to help out with the 5-piece band ‘Deco Delight‘ when their regular clarionettist had to pull out at short notice, and we had a super afternoon entertaining a very appreciative audience with all sorts of vintage swing. What’s more, I got a couple of photos to share with you:
 
Various jazzy musical instruments arranged in a pleasing formation.

If you’re gonna take one instrument, you might as well take them all.

 
A gentleman almost entirely obscured by a humongous tuba.

Good to see that the inimitable Richard Slater has fully recovered from his recent operation to replace his entire torso with a massive tuba.

 
One trad. jazz gig is never really enough though, so on 25th July I hot-footed it over to Leeds Jazz Club to perform there for the first time with my regular cronies, ‘The Dixie Beats‘. And what a successful evening it was! So successful that they’ve asked us back, and we’ll be performing there again on Tuesday 24th October. Get it in the diary!
 
The stage at Leeds Jazz Club, all set up ready for a performance by The Dixie Beats.

The stage at Leeds Jazz Club, all ready to be rocked by The Dixie Beats.

 
This is all well and good, but it’s not much use writing about music, is it? It has to be heard! And in that spirit, I’ve got a li’l video clip here of me playing my part in a song called ‘Root Hog Or Die’ that we played at Leeds. May it bring you much joy and happiness for the rest of your days (despite the morbid title).