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(« Goldfish Pulling a Snail Cart » by James Pollock)

« Perseverance » is the fourth of the series of segues composed to join the tracks of an album together into one continuous piece of music.

Each of the junctions highlights a specific quality or knowledge that turned out to be crucial to the completion of a project that demanded many years of sustained striving. As the title indicates, « Perseverance » evokes the capacity to keep going at those times when efforts seem insufficient, and success

(Based on « 4D virtual 3x3x3x3 sequential move puzzle, scrambled » by SpinningSpark)

« Integration » is the seventh and final chapter of « The Chrome Lake. »

This instrumental section starts on a chaotic solo piano part which is soon backed up by the rhythm section that plays up the oddness and dissonance. The intent here is to convey the impression of having too many pieces to fit in a puzzle, combined with an urge to complete it.

The disarray slowly gives way to order and steady forward movemen

(« Detail of a poster for the International Hygiene Exhibition 1911 in Dresden » by Franz von Stuck)

« Understanding » is the third segue in the series that I have written as a means of combining earlier compositions into a conceptual piece of nearly one hour in duration.

Each of the miniature musical junctions emphasizes a particular lesson that was learned over the course of a demanding quest, proving essential to the success of the endeavour. In the case of « Understanding, » the acquired know

(« Stromschnelle » by Gerhard Rießbeck)

In « Rapids, » the third part of « The Dam, » the protagonist/narrator is being carried from a mostly 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 that one's chosen cours

(« 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

(« Tobyo » from the Bakemono-Dukushi - Unknown Artist)

« Uncoiling I » was originally written in September 2002, elaborating on drafts dating back to September 2000, and was first published in 2004.

At the time the music first came about, it was as if my activities were conspiring to remind me of the composition. I had just moved into a new house, and I had planted about half a dozen small trees which needed to be watered on a daily basis. So there was much coiling and uncoiling of the garden hose

("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 «

("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

("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

("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

("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

("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

("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

("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

(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

("Athletics tracks finish line" by Petey21)

« Marimbariation » takes its name from the brief passage featuring the marimba that leads this seventh movement of the « Symphony of Eights. »

Once the percussive instrument concludes its opening statement, the music returns to more traditional orchestrations as it explores a succession of quirky melodies supported by syncopated rhythms.

The section culminates on a repeated phrase wherein the main riff is a restatement of a previous figure which is now

(Untitled Artwork by Fred Bonneau)

« Polygraph » is intended as a portrait of human relationships turning to the sour, hinting at the necessity of constant genuineness. The composition lasts a little over 10 minutes and is composed of the following four sections :

1. Exposition
2. Confrontation
3. Consideration
4. Vindication

I have a particular fondness for that piece of music. One fine evening many years ago, the TV was on to Robert Lepage’s movie « Le Polygraphe » as I stumbled upon the main motif while tryi

("Steamroller" by dam)

The closing movement of « Juggernaut » is entitled, simply, « Epilogue. »

Inspired by ELP's « Abaddon's Bolero » from their « Trilogy » album, this instrumental piece is based on a single theme that is played in harmony by all the instrumentalists over various but similar chord progressions.

The section starts with bass line and triangle, soon followed by the main theme on guitar, and then the various instruments progressively add their voice to the ensemble. The music cres

("Label from a bottle of O·c·t·a·T·o·n·i·c" by Christopher Stewart, using a picture of William Henry Fox Talbot by Antoine Claudet)

The eighth and final movement of « Octoccata » is entitled « Multilethalead » and starts on a ostinato-based progression that slowly morphs into a relentless string of offbeat melodies harmonized by an increasing number of voices, building up to a climactic reprise of the « Lethal Lead » theme introduced in the fourth movement.

The « Multi » part of the section's ti

("Fugue" by Wassily Kandinsky)

The central theme of « In Our Space » is the idea of building, of perhaps finding or reaching, a space where one is free to simply be themselves and do as they feel they should.

At the personal level, this corresponds to finding true purpose and staying in alignment with it, remaining centered at all times in that ideal sacred space, or pure land.

The second part of « In Our Space » is an instrumental entitled « A Space Where We Can Be » which comprises two movement