Lee Barry Composition (And Photo) Diary

Conceived using E-G#-D-F# tuning, using a combination of natural harmonics and fretted notes, set against a polyrhythmic groove.

Added clav and Rhodes piano parts and solo using a high bass sound on a synth. 6 On The Floor (Mix 2)

This is a very simple yet complicated groove based on a '4 on the floor' groove, but in 6/4 6 On The Floor

This is a refresh of a piece written in the early 90s. It is in a 'parallel' meter of  5/8 or 5/4--you can groove on either level. The scale sounds 'Arabic' but is just a mode of harmonic minor. African Dust

This began as an experiment with polyrhythms, using 2 clav parts. I looped one bar of groove and bass and tracked a Rhodes piano, Reverse Piano and a sample-and-hold effect, 'keytar' (guitar sound played on a keyboard). The title is arbitrary and picked out of the air as are most of my titles. It is essentially a phoneme representation of 'Who's Who", similar to 'Nosmo King'. However I do have a list of several hundred titles, and sometimes I try to match them with the 'untitled', or start a piece directly on a title. Next: An generative treatment with derived samples, run against the loop. HuZu

A piece based on a compound time signature and cycles through 4 dominant 7th chords a minor third apart: E7, C#7, Bb7, G7. This is a re-track as an etude and has three bass parts. To get through all 12 keys use the two other cycles: F7-D7-B7-Ab7 and F#7-Eb7-C7-A7.  The MIDI Loop to play along with. (Note that Musecore notated it wrong. It is 6/8+3/4, not 3/4)   Rhythm By Addition by Lee Barry Video: The String Shortet Shortet No. __ (Figured Basses) by meta4s The 41/8 Version:  Figured Basses (41-8 Version) by meta4s

Added vocal sample treatments, which adds an extra layer of tension to the mix. Interesting that even with the rhythmic density of the music, each part remains distinct, an you can access any part at any moment. The three bass parts lock, but are still loose and not suffering from a case of MIDI-lock or slaving to a click. It will be interesting to see where this thing goes, as I am always tempted to remove or add something. With music like this you can continuously pile parts on for a complete assault of rhythmic intricacy. The only thing that might get lost is the simplicity. Inside Joke 2.5

The next iteration getting ever funkier, now with three interlocking bass parts and a phased Rhodes. Inside Joke 2.1

Try number 2. 2 funky bass parts played against a canned groove on an E7(#9). The clav part is strangely polyrythmic and creates an interesting feel as it drifts in and out of phase with the other parts.. Inside Joke 2.0

A quick bass improv on a polyrhythmic clav loop .