Saturday, August 26, 2023

Multi-Instrumentalist & Composer Vinny Golia To Release Massive 110 Track Second Movement of Even to This Day - Music For Orchestra and Soloists

Volume two was recorded almost entirely by Golia and his collaborator/engineer Wayne Peet, with the help of some excellent guest soloists, and beyond the shocking length, the music itself is thrilling: constantly inventive, full of twists and turns and restless energy. Golia began his art career as a painter, and his use of texture in these pieces is so remarkable - "Follow the Tracks," for instance, is composed of overtone-laden breathy winds, scratchy percussive sounds, and something that could be bowed cymbals, multiphonic winds, twitching electronics, or a combination of all three.

Initially intended to be a short interlude between the equally large volumes one and three, volume two began with the suite for guitarist Alkis Nicolaides that you'll find scattered throughout. However, when Golia felt there was much more to explore in those ideas, it organically grew into the 110 track piece you now have before you.

Golia has been a fixture of LA's experimental music scene for decades, and he's the type of artist I admire greatly, resolutely pushing forward with the work that he believes in regardless of trends. But, notable for someone who has had to blaze their own path so extensively, he retains his faith in the positive power of music, and this work is his tribute "to our sanity, endurance, and patience." You can read more in his note below. It's no coincidence that his large ensemble work has always had a collectivist spirit, intended to unite the disparate music scenes of LA. 

Please note that due to the length of the project it is stretched over two PJB "albums" - tracks 1-55 here, and 56-110 attached as "part two". That separation is not a part of the piece itself, and just reflects a technological limitation, the full second movement is all 110 tracks. 

Even to this day... is an observation of the present and hopefully a gift for the future. I started this three-movement project before Covid and released Movement One in 2021. I was trying to get out of, and get my friends out of the Covid malaise and do something that would positively affect us all. Since 2021, we have been bombarded with a litany of negativity: a lack of government leadership, rampant homelessness, constant threats of annihilation, climate change, economic hardships, continued social inequities, and the passing of so many of our friends—legends of the music we play. Through the compositions and improvisations in this movement, I hope to contribute to the positive vibrations in our universe.

~

Movement Two Syncretism: for the draw... is about 13.5 hours long and as mentioned features electronic improvisers. Why the length? The original idea was to have this movement be a short section between Movement One and Three. Now, this music has become a larger environment for listening; the duration seems to be for reflection and function. Why electronic musicians? Movement Two started with 5 compositions written for guitarist Alkis Nicholaides; once these compositions were completed, I wanted to explore these compositional areas more deeply. Things expanded rapidly from there as the sonic inspirations were sculpted into what became Even to this day...Movement Two Syncretism: for the draw....

When I was in high school, I read a startling statistic that there were always at least 200 wars simultaneously on the planet; now in 2023, there seems to be so much more bloodshed. We are close to 90 seconds before midnight on the Doomsday Clock, and everyone is being pushed to their edge. Can music relieve this constant stress? I do not know. It’s not for me to determine. Our job as artists is to create a positive force within ourselves and transmit that force outward. On Movement Two Syncretism: for the draw.... an amazing amalgam of soloists breathes life into sonic structures to realize these goals. With its superimposition of composition and improvisation Movement Two Syncretism: for the draw....is my tribute to our sanity, endurance, and patience.

- Vinny Golia



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