Bathymetry - Score
Bathymetry
for 4 percussionists with synthesizer (4 players total)
8 movements
40 min total
Bathymetry can be performed In its entirety, as suites of movements selected by performers, or as individual movements.
Bathymetry Instrument List (click)
About the Synthesizer Parts:
For ease of performance, patches for the Moog Model D VST application are included with score purchase. A midi keyboard controller and a computer or iPhone are required. The Moog app can be purchased here:
https://www.moogmusic.com/products/minimoog-model-d-synthesizer-app
The synthesizer part is originally written for a Moog Slim Phatty (or Little Phatty) hardware analog synthesizer. Patches are available for these instruments by emailing the composer: matthewmcbane@gmail.com
Bathymetry - Album Info
Bathymetry
an album for percussion and analog synthesizer on Cantaloupe Music
Press
One of Wilco Recommends 2022 albums (thanks Wilco!)
Best Contemporary Classical of the Month on Bandcamp
“fascinating interplay both in the match of timbres and the way the synth reshapes some of the sounds … the real pleasure is getting lost in the details.” - Peter Margasak, Bandcamp
“a remarkable wonder” – Foxy Digitalis
“Bathymetry is a musical and sensory journey like no other that has been offered in contemporary music recently.”
“One of the most interesting albums of the year” – PAN M 360
“his music, which pairs delicate textures with deep resonances, finds a depth like that of the ocean, painting an enthralling picture of the vast underwater world.” — Vanessa Ague, National Sawdust Flash Review
“phenomenal” – Relevant Tones (click to listen to whole podcast)
“McBane and Sandbox use monophonic Moog analog synthesizer, found instrument percussion (mixing bowls, ping pong balls, glass bottles), orchestral percussion and drum sets, drawing on minimalism and achieving something close to ambient music to evoke the mysterious underwater depths.” - John Schaefer, WNYC New Sounds
“halfway through the 40 minute duration, the track "Groundswell" completely won me over, and I rode a wave of enjoyment all the way to the end.” – Duncan Edwards, Brainwashed
“Editor’s Pick” - WNET All Arts
“Video of the Day” - Gramophone Magazine
About
‘Bathymetry’ is an album of music for percussion and analog synthesizer by composer, Matt McBane and Sandbox Percussion, to be released on Cantaloupe Music on November 4, 2022. It draws on various strains of classical minimalism and modern electronic music production, as well as youtube asmr and ambient modular synth videos. ‘Bathymetry’ is a 40 minute piece in 8 movements scored for a monophonic Moog analog synthesizer, a mix of found instruments (mixing bowl, glass bottles, etc), orchestral percussion (vibraphone, tam tam, etc), and drum sets. The word bathymetry essentially means the topography of the ocean floor, and the bass synthesizer sounds interact with the treble percussion sounds in a way reminiscent of how the ocean floor shapes the waves passing above. The album was composed and produced, and the synthesizer was performed by Matt McBane, the percussion was performed by Sandbox Percussion, and the album was recorded and mixed by Joseph Branciforte.
This album is the follow-up to Sandbox Percussion’s 2021 twice Grammy-nominated, and Pulitzer Prize finalist album with Andy Akiho, ‘Seven Pilars’.
Matt McBane: composition, production, synthesizer, design
Sandbox Percussion (Jonny Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum, Terry Sweeney): percussion
Joseph Branciforte: recording and mixing engineer
‘Bathymetry’ Artist Statement
The word bathymetry essentially means the topography of the ocean floor. It is one of the key factors that effects how waves break — underwater canyons can focus wave energy for a more powerful break, rock formations can cause waves to bend their energy for a peeling break, etc. I began casually but earnestly studying bathymetry as an ocean-obsessed teenager trying to figure how my favorite surf spots worked — how the bathymetry effected how different kinds of swells broke.
‘Bathymetry’ is an album and performance piece for percussion and a single Moog monophonic analog synthesizer. The synth most often functions in a bass role — a kind of ocean floor to the primarily treble sounds of the percussion ensemble. The idea of bathymetry is sometimes more literal, sometimes more poetic. In some movements, the synthesizer in the bass sometimes determines the behavior of the percussion sounds above it, shaping and refracting the rhythms in a way that is evocative of how the ocean floor shapes the waves passing above it. In other movements, a dark, underwater, mysterious world is created.
The percussion is a mix of found instruments (pingpong balls, glass bottles, etc), orchestral percussion (vibraphone, various drums, etc), and drum sets, while the synthesizer is a monophonic Moog with patches I designed. Many of the found percussion instruments are sounds I’ve long been fascinated by: a bending metal sheet, a struck mixing bowl with a bit of water, a tapping chopstick, the scraping teeth of a comb. In these sounds, there is some kind of relation to various forms of tactile micro electronic music, to foley sound design, and to youtube asmr videos. To find these sounds, I scoured my apartment and yard, the Sandbox Percussion studio, and various hardware stores.
On my Moog SlimPhatty (pardon the name) I designed sounds that interact in compliment or contrast to the percussion sounds. Restricting myself to the use of one relatively simple synthesizer with a rich, complex tone and mining its various possibilities became a core idea of this piece. In addition, the vibraphone plays a central role in almost every track whether struck with mallets, muted with hands, or bowed with cello bows.
In the production of this album, I am going for something between an electronic album and a classical percussion ensemble piece — something that can be listened to like an album of electronic music but that maintains a strong element of performance. Sandbox Percussion were a fantastic partner in finding the right sounds and giving performances both beautiful and virtuosic. Joseph Branciforte recorded and mixed the album, deftly helping me navigate a balance between creative production and maintaining the spirit of Sandbox’s performances.
-Matt McBane