I've been composing and recording my own music in "Reason" since 2005.  In the past few years I've also dived head first into the Art and Science of Mixing and Mastering.  I've found it ALL very interesting and inspiring!  I figured that it's about time to bring it all together and release an Album.

I took piano lessons when I was a kid.  I think I was 7 when I started, and 13 when I had enough.  I liked Scott Joplin Rags, and Blues, and most anything with swing and funk.  My piano teacher liked Classical.  In my High School years I tried composing on piano with pencil & paper, and found that to be incredibly difficult and uninspiring.  I found other things to do with my time after that.

20 years later (2005) I decided to see how well computers and software fit into the world of music creation.  It's incredible!  Recording, arranging, effects, mixing, mastering, and much more can all be done in one package. AND arguably sound just as good as analog gear.  Propellerhead's "Reason" turned out to be exactly (and more) what I was looking for!  End of commercial.

Along with always being fascinated and inspired by music, one reason why I got into composing is that I wanted to create the type of music that I wanted to hear.  I find that a lot of music on the radio can be repetitive.  Once you've heard the first minute, you pretty much know the rest of the song.  I wanted to create music that takes you on a journey, not just get stuck on one or two good riffs.

I've learned to compose by ear.  One incredibly fascinating facet of music is that you can learn SO MUCH just by listening to what "works" and what doesn't.  I've read music composition and theory books, and learned enough theory when I was a kid to be dangerous.  For me though, music theory helps to explain why something worked, but it's not very helpful to tell you where (or how) to take the song.  That comes from listening and working it out.

You'll hear that my songs are Instrumentals, they morph, and they can be a bit long...

Instrumentals: When I first started recording in "Reason" (version 3.0) the software, at that time, couldn't record audio from microphones.  I'm no singer, so no disappointment.  I found, by listening, that replacing the human voice with just one instrument doesn't usually work.  That's elevator music.  I found that the complexity and interest that the human voice creates in a song requires at least two to three instruments to "replace".  Learning how to create a similar interest and complexity with instruments through harmonization, fades, punctuation, etc. has been an intriguing journey!  I find now, that unless I have something important or fun to say I will stick with instrumentals.

Amorphous Groove: This is a term I cooked up to describe my music style.  It morphs and grooves.  I try very hard to keep my songs always changing, but still sounding familiar.

Long Songs: I want my music to take you somewhere.  Sometimes that's going to take longer than the 3-1/2 minute standard song.  I like to say that my songs are as long as they need to be.

While composing, I've been amazed at the impact that a single instrument added to the mix can create.  One new instrument can turn a light flowing song into a grooving funk.  Change the drums and a stale song can all of a sudden come to life.  Then, the impact that Mixing has on the song's Life and Presence... It's ALL been fascinating!  So you can hear these changes too, in the future I plan on posting to this web site "Works in Progress".  Probably examples from "No Expectations" and future songs that my wife Amy and I are working on.  Stay tuned.

Thanks for listening!

Mark Cresswell