'Sleep Spindles' [SLP013] is the debut full-length of Dublin-born, London-based composer Paul McGuire.
McGuire's fastidious pieces wrench the fizzes, crackles, and hums of acoustic instruments into towering swarms of sound. 'Sleep Spindles' collects three of his most focussed, guttural works to date. On 'Tampered', the minute squeaks of Céline Papion’s cello are gathered in solid hunks; the microtonal guitar drones of 'Marshes' are part seduction, part dread; and 'Sleep Spindles' gleans an earthy poise from the skins of a simple percussion set-up. 'Sleep Spindles' [SLP013] makes the nanoscopic speak with exquisite force, and carves out a defiant zone between the luxurious washes of ambient maestros like Tim Hecker, and the more rarified noise compositions of Helmut Lachenmann.
Aside from numerous individual shows, McGuire’s work has been performed by the London Sinfonietta, Loré Lixenberg and Sarah Nicolls, and at festivals internationally including Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, SPOR in Aarhus, and at Bang On A Can in Massachussets. He is nearing the completion of his doctorate studies with Christopher Fox and Jennifer Walshe at Brunel University.
credits
released June 9, 2015
Music by Paul McGuire
Mastered by Hannes Fritsch
'Tampered' (for cello)
Performed by Céline Papion in her Stuttgart apartment, October 2014. Produced and mixed by Paul McGuire.
'Marshes' (for 12 guitars)
Performed by Open Source Guitars, in Musikhochschule Trossingen, April 2013. Produced and mixed by Robin Bös.
'Sleep Spindles' (for two percussionists)
Performed, produced and mixed by Paul McGuire, in his London apartment, January 2015.
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