I am pleased that my song "Remote" is featured on the 20th Classwar Karaoke compilation.

I like to be part of a huge whole of disparate and interesting sounds. The entire compilation is located here:

I believe in open spaces. Not only the geographic spaces, like the open fields of my north Texas USA home area, but also the metaphoric open spaces. For me, open spaces have come to symbolize the quiet, thoughtful journey of observation--the quest to see where others might pass on by. Open spaces also has a sharing component for me--the spaces in which friends pass songs back and forth.

My new extended play release is called "Open Spaces". It's been released today on the Scottish label We  are All Ghosts. It's comprised of seven songs making up around 23 minutes of music. Each piece was constructed by using a simple hand-held woodwind instrument to create a sample, and then using a software synthesizer to render the sample into a song.

The EP is being released under a Creative Commons BY (attribution) license for easy sharing.
Free copies of the EP are available at Archive.org. A free-or-donate lossless version is available at
Bandcamp. Those who like to listen to a streaming version may stream it below.

My thanks to Thomas Mathie, owner of We are All Ghosts, and creator of the artwork on the
EP.

Tom Ray and Doug Whitfield run the Music Manumit Podcast. They were kind enough to feature me on a recent episode. I enjoyed speaking with them about sharing culture, Creative Commons, netlabels, my music, and music in general.

Here is the link:

http://www.musicmanumit.com/2012/11/gurdonark-121113-music-manumit-podcast.html

I am delighted that my song "Obscure Places" is on the 19th edition  of Classwar Karaoke, hosted at the Free Music Archive. I created this piece using samples from a small red flute from India, the sound made by tapping on a small piece of Orrefors crystal, and the sound made by tapping into a hanging bit of plastic  holiday holly.

The Invisible Agent Podcast features solid electronica well-chosen by different moderators. Invisible Agent co-owner Warren Daly put together a podcast of Ambient Melodies for May 2012. I am pleased that he included my song "A Pinch of That" from the EP "Weights and Measures". I will post the mixcloud player here, as the other artists on the podcast certainly merit a listen. Many thanks to Warren and Invisible Agent for including me in such fine company.

Warren Daly - Ambient Melodies - AgentCast - May 2012 by Invisibleagent on Mixcloud

I am pleased that my music forms the soundtrack of Keller Davis' short comic film "Powerpoint". The film is posted here:


Powerpoint


Winner of "Best Narrative Film" at CouchFest Film Festival 2011.
Official Selection at Texas Film Festival 2011.
Official Selection at Dallas VideoFest 2011.
Filmed as part of InSWAMPnia 24-Hour Film Competition in February 2011.

Directed by Keller Davis
Director of Photography Jensen Yancey
Written by Kara Mohr
Production Designer Hannah Woods
Starring Justin Payne, Kara Mohr, Ruben Gonzales

Produced by Escape Plan Productions (Austin, TX). http://escapeplanatx.com

I go for short hikes as part of my ordinary weekend routine. Many of our north Texas woodland hikes involve riparian woods--trees that mostly exist near water. The red-eared slider is a turtle often found amid the creeks, rivers and ponds by which I hike.
It has red markings on the side of its head, and it slides into the water quickly if alarmed.

My song "Red Eared Slider" came out on the latest Classwar Karaoke netlabel compilation, which is volume 17. The song has a bit of history, having been purposed for one netlabel, and then re-purposed for its initial release on Classwar Karaoke.
I made it with a simple software synthesizer and samples of a hand-held woodwind instrument.

Here's the song at the Free Music Archive:

Sharing my music means it gets used in video games from time to time. Here's a sampling. If you know of another one, I'd be delighted to hear of it at my quaint e mail gurdonark at aol dot com.

"3D Tetris" on the Android platform features "Robot Summer (featuring Copperhead)"


"Blasted Thieves" features my song "Caper": by Cyan Canyon


Apple platform:

"Light Blocks' features "Statia (featuring J. lang)" by Andrew Russell Studios

"Pixel Ghost" by Eggcode Games

On-line flash game "Heart Matcher' by
Post Beta features "Longing for Home".
heart matcher

Last night my wife and I watched the DVD of "Life on the Douro", Zev Robinson's documentary film about wine, port and the Douro region of Portugal. The film features my songs "Sadness" [from a Classwar Karaoke compilation] and "Roadrunner" [from my EP "Tallgrass Canticle"], as well as a song by Thomas Nunnally Ensemble and one of Verian's wonderful miniature guitar ambient pieces.

I had seen parts of it in previews on Youtube, but never seen the entire film. The film was wonderful. I have never been to Portugal; the scenery made me wish to visit there.
The film's gentle interview style told both the history of the wine industry in that mountainous region (four hours by train from the coast) and the personal experience of the people who live and work in the Douro.

I felt great pleasure to see the great imagery as my song "Sadness" played in the background. This was not the first time one of my songs has been in a movie, but it was certainly an exciting experience for me. I hope I can see the movie in a theater someday soon. This movie marks yet another opportunity brought to me by Creative Commons sharing.