Ordinary Objects And Other Distractions

• Ordinary
• Maclean Steve
• Objects

Steve starts with a few unlikely instruments and some household objects and then subjects them to classic musique concrete manipulative processes, all the while keeping a kind of pop listenability in mind. Much use is made of rhythms derived from gravity - that is, dropping and bouncing things - which are then embedded in microtonal, poly-rhythmic and deeply engaging listening structures. The result is this collection of exquisite extended moments. It's the latest in a long sequence of meticulous releases, each of which explores different materials and ideas - Steve likes to focus on one thing, nail it down and then move on. He has released band compositions, complex computerized works for piano, crazy-difficult house-tinged songs and duets with Frogs and Bugs. Like Jon Rose, Biota and Bob Drake, Steve is not an easy sell, I would say because they are all a little too freethinking and willful - and brilliant, when you get right down to it. But, quality will out. Steve MacLean started playing drums and guitar at the age of seven and composing at twelve. Completing high school early, he met Roswell Rudd and they began playing concerts together in New York, where he took a job in a busy recording studio and worked with the cutting edge in every genre. He was soon part of the NYC "downtown" improvising scene and then joined Nick Didkovsky's Dr. Nerve, with whom he made a slew of records. In 1980 he scored for dance, performed his own compositions on PBS television and set up his own studio, producing award winning scores and doing sound design for hundreds of television and radio commercials, films and other multi-media projects. He co-founded the Portland Experimental Music Collective, established the Steve MacLean Ensemble and had compositions performed at numerous festivals. In 2000 he moved to Boston to become a professor in the Synthesis and Ensemble Departments at Berklee College of Music. He remains active as a composer and performer.