I want to acknowledge two incredible composers, Michelle Lou and Alex Wand, who, over the past year, encouraged me to write music again. They challenged me to explore recorded sound and DAWs. Michelle inspired me to release this on Bandcamp (thank you 🙏 ). I’m also influenced by Harold Budd, an artist I hold in the utmost regard as a composer, pianist, poet, and improviser. As history progresses, I think we will find that Budd was one of the great movers and shakers who worked in the 20th and 21st centuries. He was undoubtedly moved by experimental/modal jazz music and musicians such as Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders. Agreeing with his musical tastes, I also need to acknowledge Maria de Alvear, William Basinski, Brian Eno, Fuji||||||||||ta, Chihei Hatakeyama, Tetsu Inoue, Alva Noto, Akiri Rabelais, Éliane Radigue, and Carl Stone, all of whom I admire 🌊.
Atrium Sunlight is an album I have been thinking about since January 2022. I was inspired to write this after taking courses and working with Mark Nash, a curator who helped organize the tracks, and film director Isaac Julien. The piano parts were primarily recorded at my wonderful advisor Amy Beal’s and her partner Larry Polanski’s house in Santa Cruz, California. The tracks are all acoustic piano, theremin, and electronic manipulation. I would consider many of these works process (generative) music as the concept is based on observing the evolution of winter to spring from the ground-level atrium of a beautiful library. Change is an idea that I’m uncomfortable with, but at the same time, I’m slowly learning to accept it. This album is also my attempt to write a reflection on the past year. Experiencing the loss of a beautiful relationship while forging new meaningful ones. The good mixed with the bad. The sunlight’s panorama is constantly swaying. ⛅️
Joseph Finkel, Santa Cruz, California, August 13, 2022
credits
released August 23, 2022
A huge thanks to Monica Ambalal, Jen Backo, Sienna Ballou, Paula Bethsebe, Terrence Budd, Amy Beal, Rita Bottoms, Kira Dralle, Kate Dundon, Jeremy Finkel, Rob Haskins, Isaac Julien, Sean Keenan, Ali Laubach, Alex Lill, Aaron Lockhart, Rob Lodes, Michelle Lou, Danny Mata, Teresa Mora, Mark Nash, Alix Norton, David Patterson, Jessica Pigza, Larry Polansky, Vladimir Seput, Andrew Smith, Natasha Vokhshoori, Alex Wand, Brett, Laura, Mika and Tom.
I'm a musician/improviser. I think most people would describe me as an addict to repetition. The music I enjoy falls
somewhere under the umbrella of radical American experimentation, modal music, and musical minimalism from the 1960s to where we are today.
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