Water Stories by Chris Meyer's Alias Zone
Every new piece of music I compose has a story – it’s what helps me decide the overall arc of the piece, as well as what details go inside that arc to flesh out the tale. These three pieces are tied together with an overall theme of mysteries hidden beneath the water’s surface.
Iceland is an aerial tour of the island, including its jagged, rocky coastline, the inland lakes, and the rivers that join them. Iceland has a rich mythology of sea monsters that may be lurking in these waters; near the end of the piece, one of these creatures lifts its head above water as we fly around it – before it once again disappears into the murky depths of lore.
Shipwrecked visits the decaying hulk of a ship beached on the rocks off the coast of Cyprus. As we get closer, we start to hear the voices of the drowned souls, continuing their conversations, unaware of our visitation above. This piece is an elegy for their untimely demise.
The Cave has us traversing a network of majestic underground caverns in Thailand by canoe. Most of our party are awestruck by the amazing scenery around us, while a few worry about what may be lurking in the shadows – or beneath the water’s surface.
These tracks all originated from the rehearsals and live performances of these pieces. They were recorded straight through in real time, with minimal overdubbing (plus judicious editing) after the fact. Videos of these performances (and others) may be seen on YouTube.com/AliasZone.
AliasZone.com
LearningModular.com
Tracklist
| 1. | Iceland | 23:26 |
| 2. | Shipwrecked | 14:31 |
| 3. | The Cave | 27:35 |
Credits
Chris Meyer: Modular synthesizers (The Monster, The Tardis, and Pandora’s Box), Korg Wavestation, Waldorf Iridium, Vector Synth, ASM Hydrasynth, FrozenPlain Terracotta, Arturia Pigments, Soundiron Circle Bells, acoustic hand percussion, ATV aFrame, Ableton Live
Richard Bugg: Hyperacoustic flute on Iceland
All tracks composed and recorded by Chris Meyer
Mastered by Howard Givens
Cover based on the original mixed media artwork “Once, There Was An Ocean” by Chris Meyer; calligraphy and Alias Zone logo by Trish Meyer
Special thanks to Steve Roach and Howard Givens for their friendship and advice.
© Chris Meyer’s Alias Zone, 2021/2
License
All rights reserved.Tags
Alias Zone is the atmospheric ambient electronic music project of Chris Meyer of Learning Modular. He combines unique sounds crafted on his modular synthesizers with field recordings, hand percussion, and other elements in a unique, melodic fashion. Each slowly-unfolding piece is its own cinematic journey, inviting you to explore Chris’ dreamscapes and imaginary worlds.