Duane Pitre is Brooklyn-based sound artist, improviser/composer, and performer recognized for creating dense, atmospheric drones and abstract compositions having minimalist tendencies along those having an air of modern classical music. His biography speaks of such musical influences such as just intonation (and other microtonal tunings systems) and the music of composers such as La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Steve Reich. He identifies the improvisational scene in New York City as having stirred his interest in long-form drone/contemporary classical composition which led to his composing Ensemble Drones (2005). You can watch videos of excerpts of live performances of some variations here .
Organized Pitches Occurring in Time is the first vinyl release on Chris Gower’s London-based Trome Records label, devoted to “releasing lo-fi and ambient recordings, and some that fall in between.” [Note: It’s also available as a CD from Important Records and as a digital download from itunes .] The two pieces, The Ensemble Chord in E Flat with a Minor 7th and a Pump Organ Base and The Ensemble Chord in C with a Major 7th and a Guitar Base, are less structured, more spontaneous/improvised variations of a composition Pitre's Ensemble Drones. Aside from the obvious references to pump organ and guitar, other instruments used by the ensemble in bring these peices to life were tone generator, violin, alto saxophone, cello, viola, bass clarinet, and violin.
The colorful, space-filling, swirling eddies of fractal chaos depicted on the album’s beautiful cover art provide some idea of the sounds to be heard. Gently modulating tones rise and fall in a steadily churning, slowly morphing aural dance. Sometimes constant, other times surging, a dense, ordered ambiance arises out of disorder and self-similarity. The core of each piece is a collection of multi-instrumental droning tones undulating in and out. Sometimes tranquil and humble, at other times, noisy and majestic, these two pieces can at one moment be delicate and soporific and the next robust and invigorating. You can appreciate the cinematic drones of Organized Pitches Occurring in Time at a distance, mediating or just listening for the pleasure of listening, but you can also immerse yourself in these rich, complex drones taking on the challenging task of deciphering how and what each instrument contributes to the overall sound.
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