Ondulation

These contemplations and improvisations were partly inspired by an instrument called an Ondomo - a recreation by Naoyuki Omo of the Ondes Martenot, one of the earliest electronic instruments developed in 1928 by Maurice Martenot (Ondes Martenot translated as 'Martenot's waves'). For this set of recordings, Alan gravitated back to his primary instrument, the piano, for many of the improvisations, allowing the various background colours to inform the process. The result is an album of great beauty and invention, rich in sonorous textures and equally rich emotional resonances.

Produced, composed, recorded and mixed by Alan Brown.

"In late 2021, I acquired a handmade 'Ondomo,' an instrument that had interested me for a long time. While the piano is known for its expressiveness and as a keyboard controller for synthesizers, I have always been intrigued by alternative methods of interfacing with electronic musical instruments. The Ondes Martenot stands alone in this respect, featuring a distinctive approach to playing the instrument that has since been adopted by several contemporary instrument makers, yet it has taken almost 100 years for this approach to gain widespread recognition!

Throughout the album, there are subtle nods to the history of electronic creative expression and development during the 20th century, including a recorded interview with the great Delia Derbyshire from the BBC Radiophonics workshop, as well as shortwave radio excerpts that I've employed as a tribute to the original tones produced by the Ondes Martenot using heterodyne radio frequencies.

While many tracks feature the instrument as a solo voice or layered texture, my primary focus was musical and personal expression. The Ondomo is invaluable in this regard, but it's only one aspect of the album's musical character. Similar to my previous release, Murmur, I incorporated generative techniques in some of the compositions, but I also found myself gravitating back to piano improvisations, which served as the foundation for several pieces." - Alan Brown, July 2023