Following the release of his latest offering 'Still Water' (Part 1), we caught up with accomplished composer Conor Mulroy to find out more about the music he loves and why. Enjoy his eclectic selection below as well as his latest single. If you're a fan be sure to keep your ears open for more music from Conor Mulroy very soon.
1. Nick Drake "Pink Moon"
I remember the first time I heard this it left a really strong impression on me. I wouldn't hear it again for a while and I had no idea who it was for a long time. Years later when I finally heard it again I remembered exactly where I was the first time I'd heard it. The tuning of the guitar I use in Still Water. The guitar is tuned to a C major chord with an added F. I also try to emulate the picking he does. He uses his thumb and middle finger, and I adapted his technique with a flat pick in order to play the lines in Still Water.
2. Diggs Duke "Calling on Maat"
Diggs has been a good friend of mine for a long time. We have been making music together off and on for the last 20 years. I really love his approach to musical form. I think this piece is a good example of his writing. It's been an inspiration to me in my composing, and I've always appreciated his attention to detail in his writing.
3. Arvo Part "Fur Alina"
The first time I came across this piece was in the score for "There will be Blood." I was really impressed by it, and when the film ended I waited for the credits so I could find out who it was. When I started researching Arvo Part and looked at the score I realized the form is based on a concept of expansion and contraction. The compositional technique invented by Part is called tintinnabuli, and this was his first piece using the process.
4. Arvo Part "Fratres"
This is another tintinnabuli piece by Part. It was written shortly after Fur Alina, and uses the same concept of expansion and contraction to shape the overall form of the piece.
5. Frank Zappa "Absolutely Free"
Frank Zappa has been a big influence on me. I love the solo piano introduction for this song. It's an elegant concise piece of writing, and I think it's a pretty good introduction to Frank's writing, in regards to harmony. It was hard to isolate just one piece from his body of work, but this one is at the very least a good start.
Listen to 'Still Water' (featuring Tristan Clarridge and Simon Chrisman) below:
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