Erik Austin Deerly » Music

If Ever (an Ocean) Relinquished

Erik — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:02:27 +0000

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For your consideration, my interpretation of Alex Ketley’s work is realized in three sections, scored for mixed ensemble of three pitched percussion instruments, B-flat Bass Clarinet and String Quartet. Written for DanceWorks Chicago and Harris Theater (01/07/10).

Soundtrack available for download on its own…

Souls Entwined (Decade Mix)

Erik — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:36:42 +0000

We found an ignored B-Side track the other day, recorded during the Palm Desert sessions in 1999. This is a free shortened mix. (Rev. 2009)

(FREE, just click the BUY link and save)

The Scarecrow Dancing

Erik — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:20:59 +0000

The Scarecrow Dancing is written for a mixed ensemble of three pitched percussion instruments, B-flat Bass Clarinet and Violin. The instrumentation includes a few hard-to-find instruments, including the pitched percussion instruments Lithophone, Glass Armonica, and Ugal. The Lithophone part may be played by any xylophone—metallophone, vibraphone, marimba, etc.—but ideally will be performed on a replica of Joseph Richardson’s mid 19th century Musical Stones of Skiddaw. The sound of the Stones of Skiddaw is percussive, non-resonant and slightly out of tune across its entire range.

The Glass Armonica is far less rare, but nonetheless requires some explanation. The Armonica was named by its inventor, Benjamin Franklin. He devised a mechanical equivalent to the rubbing of wine glasses. Many variations of this instrument have been called for by more than 100 composers including Mozart and Beethoven. Any of the variations will do.

The Ugal is one of the instruments in a Balinese Gamelan orchestra. Since these instruments are each unique to the orchestra for which they are built, this part may require more than one instrument or another Gamelan instrument. Any metallophone with sufficient range may be substituted if needed. The requirement for this part is a long, resonant metallic tone from the bow on bronze. The Ugal is suspended over bamboo resonators, adding volume, color, and duration. This work is an adaptation of the larger If Ever (an Ocean) Relinquished dance piece, intended for live performance. The score is available to interested ensembles upon request. (2010)

The Scarecrow Dancing

At the Fast End of the Fast-Slow Continuum

Erik — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:54:27 +0000

This piece was conceived of as an artistic expression of the notion that those species which live fast also die young. Time compression—roughly one month in six minutes—exposes the relentless 24-hour commuter drive into downtown Chicago, beneath an unnatural forest of light posts and a smoggy skyline. The piece was created in support of the International Day of Climate Action (24/10/2009), in evidence of current conditions contributing to global warming.

At the Fast End of the Fast-Slow Continuum is an experimental time-based video made using custom Max/MSP/Jitter patches to sample and reconstitute a streaming media source. (2009)

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Soundtrack available for download on its own…

The Friendship Gardens

Erik — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:09:47 +0000

The Friendship Gardens is a composition in two parts, written for string quartet and bowed piano. The score is available to interested ensembles upon request. (2009) This piece is dedicated to Madeleine (1938-2009).

The Friendship Gardens I

The Friendship Gardens II

Time, Through Windows

Erik — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:19:25 +0000

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Time, Through Windows explores the perception of time, using the passage from spring to winter as a metaphor for the artist’s father’s cycle of life—from child to elder. Music and spoken dialog work in combination with video to create a six-piece narrative that invites the audience into an intimate durational experience. This work, presented as a circular grouping of six audio/video pairs, acts as a vehicle for the audience to contemplate that which might normally go overlooked.

This is a diaristic piece that falls somewhere in the middle between the political diaries of video artists such as Dara Birnbaum, Chantal Ackerman or Krzysztof Wodiczko and the lyrical works of Bill Viola, Mary Lucier, etc. Erik transformed his father’s life stories, told at the end of his life and divided them into six segments or periods of time. At each monitor, the viewer hears one small segment of this life. However, as poignant as they are, it is the visual component that provides the heart-break. Erik chose to film a nondescript comer of Chicago, complete with weedy, empty lot, a fence and a stop light for over six months. As the time goes by we see the seasons move from spring to winter, small changes in the urban landscape, cars and people move at random; always dominated by that stop light-a perfect sundial and metaphor for the relentless march of time. Although this is a very personal piece, it challenges the viewer to enter and contemplate their own memories. Furthermore, because viewers may enter and exit at any point, everyone’s experience of the stories will be different, thus creating a form of unique and unexpected “interactivity”.
Suzanne Cohan-Lange, Founder & Chair Emeritus, Interdisciplinary Arts Department, Columbia College Chicago

Six Months in the Making

This work was filmed continuously from July 1 to December 31, 2007. The footage was then compressed at a ten-to-one ratio, producing twelve hours of video, moving in two-second increments of time. The score was composed to sync to the “ticks” of this footage, timed at 60 or 120 beats per second.

In gallery installation, six black AutoPoles each support a video/audio pair. Audio plays through focused speakers that allow the audience to listen to each narrative in open-air isolation. The black fixture rising up from floor to ceiling is strikingly similar in appearance to the lone streetlight in the work.

Erik Deerly’s “Time, Through Windows” is an installation of great quiet authority. The deceptive simplicity of the design, which actually was kind of a feat of technological coordination, particularly for that exhibition space, created a place for listening in a world and in a room where listening is becoming impossible. Erik’s working method is assured and diligent; he knew what he wanted and he achieved it. The decision to allow the structure to be part of the installation, instead of a more cloaked and hidden effect, was an interesting counterpoint to the quiet understatement of the video images. Actually, Erik has been making work of this quality for some time; this piece was not a leap forward by any means. But the maturity of his vision has been consistent, and his concerns about death and time are adult and quietly thoughtful.
Jenny Magnus, Artistic Director, Curious Theatre Branch

Soundtrack available for download on its own…

Controlled Substances

Erik — Wed, 17 May 2006 14:54:27 +0000

Controlled Substances is an interactive media installation controlled by the real-time RSS feeds it displays. This video is a representation of the Quartz Composition. (2006)

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Standing Waves in Shoaling Water

Erik — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:09:16 +0000

On December of 2004 I set out to teach myself some basic video production software. Midway through a typical tutorial I heard news coming out of Asia that gave me cause to drop everything and begin new work with purpose. On December 28, 2004, I composed a multimedia and performance piece, Standing Waves in Shoaling Water. Written from the perspective of an American in the US attempting to get detailed accounts of the Tsunami, the piece calls for a single performer, world-band radio, tape recorders, bell and pre-recorded soundtracks. This audio work was first performed at Columbia College Chicago in January 2005. (2004-2005)

In researching for the music composition I came across fellow weblogger Hellmut Issels, who published his personal and incredibly moving photographs of the Tsunami in Phuket. I sent him a request to use a few of his photographs for the video incarnation of SWSW that I planned to attempt. Failing to receive a response I decided to credit Hellmut and press on with this student project. The final video piece is six and a half minutes, using a stereo mix of all original audio parts. I consider the project finished not because it is perfect but because it’s time to begin new work. Standing Waves in Shoaling Water was written in memory of those lost to the 2004 Tsunami, December 26, 2004.

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I have had Erik in class on several occasions, and he has continuously struck me as a thoughtful, mature, disciplined artist. In fact, his submission work for acceptance into the Interdisciplinary Arts program was already among the most memorable works of art of any student I have had in my 10 years of teaching.
Jenny Magnus, Adjunct Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Art, Columbia College Chicago

Soundtrack available for download on its own…

A Fact of Modern Life

Erik — Fri, 05 Nov 2004 21:53:26 +0000

This piece was first written in 2004 as a cacophony of spoken text to accompany a four-floor stairwell “exertion” installation. The 2009 revision was made to ready the piece for live performance. As revised, A Fact of Modern Life calls for processed violin and voice. The score is available to interested parties upon request.

A Fact of Modern Life

Joshua Tree

Erik — Thu, 16 Aug 2001 21:28:36 +0000

Credits: Rudy VanderLans: design and photography; Brian Schorn: poetry; Van Dyke Parks, Itchy Pet (aka Erik Deerly), Damon & Naomi, Scenic, The Grassy Knoll, and Honey Barbara: music. Emigre, 2001.

This is a collaborative project produced by Rudy VanderLans and published by Emigre in 2001. It is the third and final book of photos in a trilogy that focuses on the Southern California landscape. The 96-page book and audio CD is a tribute to Gram Parsons, one-time member of The Byrds and co-founder of the infamous Flying Burrito Brothers.

In the process of assembling “Dreaming Out Louder” I omitted five pieces that didn’t fit in context or flow with the collection. Rudy VanderLans heard those outtakes and requested that an untitled instrumental be included in the “Joshua Tree” project. The piece—now titled “Still”—was reworked and re-recorded featuring new guitar-work from label-mate and friend James Sidlo.
Erik

Sample Track:

05 Still