Progressive rock (74)


(Polygraph from U.S. Patent 4,333,084)

The first part of "Polygraph" is entitled “Exposition” and aims to evoke a somewhat peaceful and relaxed dialogue, before the relationship slowly degrades to the point of sourness as personal values and beliefs are questioned and subjected to criticism.

The Discipline-era King Crimson influence is undeniable here, and to my ear the second variation sounds like something from Steve Reich’s “Drumming.”

I have a particular fondness for that piece of music. One f

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The Music Of Poligraf : Void part 2


("Primeval Center" )

On a background of Wall Street Bailout and the Large Hadron Collider, “Void” paints the Buddhist concept of emptiness.

From Wikipedia :

In Buddhism, the realization of emptiness of inherent existence is a “state of pure consciousness” in which the practitioner realizes all particular objects and images to be appearances of the subjective mind.

The song is made up of twelve short verses, one longer vocal interlude, and no chorus. The vocal sections are tied together with short in

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(Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest Heaven by Gustave Doré)

"Waking In Heaven" is a relatively short composition that starts with a minimalist approach, goes to the grandiose, and then takes a leap for the celestial. An irresistible mood lifter for me, it works well on its own, but I have a feeling that it could end up as the concluding part of a suite.

Once was a time I can recall
Before the spring after the fall
Far from the glory of it all
Distressing doubt was standing tall

Every morning I

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("Enigma" by Matías Argudín)

The third and fourth parts of “Leaving The Ashram” are respectively entitled “The Tabla Master’s Enigma” and “The Ordinary II.” Our unidentified introspective hero has completed his retreat and is going back to ordinary life.

As I now leave behind the echoes of complaints
The struggles of ego in the hall of constraints
I recall my time here one of introspection
Of intense pondering and of liberation

Long I sat by myself in silence and darkness
One by one noticing the causes

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(Detail from "Lenticular cloud")

Given its structure and contents, the second part of “Leftoverturned” could have been entitled “Informaëlstrom II” (ref: "1000 Radios"), but because of the undeniable influence of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain,” the full title finally evolved into “Atmospheric Disturbance Over Balkanian Mountain.” Please don’t ask. But you’re welcome to enjoy the clip.

(... continued from "Leftoverturned part 1")

At first I blamed the offenders
Until I came to recognize

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("Deliberation" by Ronn Boef)

"Polygraph" is a portrait of human relations turning from sweet to sour, hinting at the necessity and difficulty of constant genuineness. The suite lasts about 10 minutes and is composed of the following four sections : Exposition, Confrontation, Deliberation, and Vindication.

"Confrontation" aims to depict the often difficult yet cathartic experience of having to stand one's ground and defend one's views when criticism or outright attack threatens one's balance and

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The Music Of Poligraf : Stonecutter


(“Quarryman” by Gustave Courbet)

"Stonecutter" is intended as an anthem to perseverance and is based on the following quote by Jacob August Riis :

When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.

It's one of my favourite quotes and it has helped me on several occasions

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(Ashram by Nicholas Roerich)

An instrumental in 4 movements (The Ordinary, Running Out Of Breath, Dweller On The Threshold, Jambudvipa), the composition aims to evoke the progress of an individual getting fed up with their day to day life to the point of taking an extended time off for reflection and introspection.

In the cosmology of Buddhism, Jambudvipa is the name of the continent of the terrestrial world where ordinary human beings live. From Wikipedia :

It is in Jambudvipa that one may recei
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« In The Vortex » is an energetic instrumental put together while toying with ideas leftover from « Informaëlstrom » and « Leftoverturned. »

The intent here was to communicate the experience of feeling enthusiastic and determined despite being faced with a demanding or overwhelming challenge.

The title refers to Esther Hicks' concept of the vortex, or to be more precise, to the experience of being in that vortex, a state of mind characterized by purposeful joy and focused forward motion.

The demo i

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Ratha Yatra Festival in Puri, India » by James Fergusson)



The third part of « Juggernaut, » entitled « Procession, » evokes the arrival of the crushing force before it unleashes into a frenzy of steamrolling.


The title and music of this section are both inspired by the origin of the word. From Wikipedia :


The English loanword juggernaut in the sense of "a huge wagon bearing an image of a Hindu god" is from the 17th century, inspired by the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa, which has the Ratha Ya
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Wilesco D36 steamroller » by Morn)



« Steamroller » is the fourth chapter of « Juggernaut. » In the storyline of the suite, it represents the apex of pain, and the metanoia.


The instrumental is one of the most busy pieces of music that I’ve written up to now, and features a personal record for odd meters with an organ riff in 23. It is intended to hit hard and convey a feeling of inexorable mercilessness.


I have no plans to augment the composition with vocals at this point, but here's the poetry

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Reoctoverture (Octoccata part 5)

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("behind the eight ball" by eschipul)



The next segment of « Octoccata » is entitled « Reoctoverture. » Basically, this section is a reprise of the introduction, hence the name, as it restates the theme presented therein, albeit through new and generally heavier variations.


The beginning of this fifth movement is intended as a tribute to Gentle Giant as it mirrors the way in which various fragmentary parts progressively recreate the main theme after the middle section of « Proclamation » (from «

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Biorhythalead (Octoccata part 4)

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("8" by gui.tavares)



The fourth movement from « Octoccata » is entitled « Biorhythalead. » Its title came about from the markers I used to identify each of the sub-sections of the composition.


After a transition reminiscent of « Nothing To Lose » from UK's « Danger Money, » the music moves into a passage featuring contrasting lines that ascend and descend in alternation, thus making the partition (particularly the « Piano Roll » view in SONAR, the MIDI sequencing software I use) look like a bior

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Sooner Or Later


("Multiac Nylon" by poligraf)



Today’s music does not comes from Poligraf’s catalogue as such. Rather, it is a piece for solo guitar that I intend to publish on an album of about ten acoustic compositions, all arranged for classical guitar, either playing solo or accompanied by other acoustic instruments.


The original title of this piece was « Maybe Later, » but I never liked it that much because of the element of doubt and uncertainty that it conveys, which doesn’t fit the music. I reworked some

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Vibrastinato (Octoccata part 3)

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("Octoccata Freeway" by Christopher Stewart based on this Interstate Shield)



« Vibrastinato, » the third movement from « Octoccata, » gets its name from the combination of vibraphone and ostinato, and features an abundance of polyrhythms.


The section begins in « Modern Poligrafic Ensemble » mode featuring Christian taking the lead role on the vibraphone. When writing the piece I imagined that, in a live setting, he would be using a MIDI controller instead of a real vibraphone in order to enable h

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Igorchestral (Octoccata part 2)

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("eight" by timlewisnm)



« Igorchestral, » the second movement of « Octoccata, » has been thus named because of the inspiration for the music, and the selected arrangement.


Igor Stravinsky is indubitably one of the composers I admire the most. The music he composed for the ballet « The Firebird » stands at the top of my list of favorites. One day while dabbling on the keyboards back in April 1999, I came across a figure somewhat reminiscent of the beginning of « The Augurs of Spring: Dances of th

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Octoverture (Octoccata part 1)

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("1898 New Zealand stamp 8 pence blue" by The Crown)




« Octoccata » is an instrumental suite clocking in at a little over 16 minutes. The title comes from the combination of octatonic and toccata, and is inspired by Emerson, Lake & Palmer‘s adaptation of the fourth movement of Alberto Ginastera‘s first piano concerto, which they published on their « Brain Salad Surgery » album under the title « Toccata. »


The intent here is simply to « make some noise. » In other words, the music is meant to be s

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Rapids (The Dam part 3)


("Stromschnelle" by Gerhard Rießbeck)



In « Rapids, » the third part of « The Dam, » the protagonist/narrator is being carried from a mostly uneventful and rather disappointing river straight into an heretofore unseen dam.


The intent behind this instrumental section is to convey a feeling of being taken ahead by an unrelenting force, and to let the listener reflect on the discourse presented in « River. »


In the storyline, the rapids represent the rising tension which accompanies the recognition th

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Come Back


("Magnetic field of two bar magnets with unlike poles" by Alexander Wilmer Duff)



« Come Back » dates back to the epoch of The Fall Children, the band that was supposed to be but never really was, and whose unexpected but timely demise cleared the space which Poligraf needed to come into being.


This is an enigmatic piece for me as both music and lyrics have been reworked and reorganized many times over the years, yet I’m never completely satisfied with the end results, which is kind of strange for

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Stonecutter (revisited - with poetry)


(Detail from "Quarryman at work" by Unidentified Artist)



« Stonecutter » is intended as an anthem to perseverance and is based on one of my favourite citations, one which has helped me on several occasions, the following quote by Jacob August Riis :


When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it
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