Tim Eldridge – Gallus Gallus Domesticus
All guitar based compositions. A note from Eldridge below.
‘I had recently finished working on an album of music titled “Grand Mal” for a band I had intended on forming in the start of 2010 called “The Exclusive Brethren”. The music was difficult and hard to listen to for a lot of people and not very enticing for most musicians to commit to. So I had the initial challenge of recruiting members and convincing them that this was worth their while which proved to be more challenging than I had once thought. All the while I had the idea that I would form the group and have a layover period where I could write a new album whilst the other members were to learn the pieces. During this period it had come to me that it was the most suitable time to write and record an album I had been thinking through for quite some time now. My circumstances at the time had me staying in a short stay occupancy for a period of 3 months (which later turned into an ongoing stay until the present as of January 2010) where i had to store all my equipment in long term storage only leaving me with my desktop computer, my m box and one guitar for which I could practice and compose. The idea I had been going over was of another all guitar based work but not of an improvisational nature as i have done in the past but of an all guitar sampled processed mixed treated set of songs that passes a number of different genres and contains different layers of rhythms and beats making it an “unlikely” sounding all guitar based album. So I set forth and began sketching out the initial ideas of the album from start to finish giving myself a general idea of what type of album i was about to make. The idea grew and was growing the more I worked with pro tools and other sample based programs, using the technology to push the sounds as close to mimicking their desired instrument as I thought possible without losing the initial integral sound of the guitar based sample. Getting bass drum tones from heavily detuned guitar strings and snare sounds from muted notes produced by striking the body with assorted rulers and cutlery, producing high hat style sounds from different reverbs and delays, looping different patterns and layering with different sets of tones and rhythms. The more I worked on the music the more I found myself being pushed further away from the guitar itself to point where I were to ask myself what actually constitutes a guitar sound. Even though a lot of the initial sounds had been treated, sampled manufactured etc. every sound you are hearing initially were produced from the guitar in some way, be it striking, dropping or scraping to try and achieve a desired tone or sometimes experimenting to see what type of sound I could push for, which at times proved to be quite laborious and time consuming but equally rewarding and fun. The music i have written ended up being quite different to anything I have ever done before and for most people it has said to be my most accessible work. The idea was exciting and i hope the final product is as exciting for the listener as it was for me to make. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to contact me for any further questions or comments.’
Instruments: Guitar, Prepared Guitar, Treatments
Performed by: Eldridge
Mastered by: Butler Mastering www.the-butler.com
Artwork: Phil Hassan www.philhassan.com
Track Listing1. Manx Rumpy 04:44
2. Guinea Fowl 03:19
3. Harlequin Quail 06:28
4. Red Junglefowl 04:40
5. Golden Montazah 05:44
6. Speckled Sussex 04:58
7. Dutch Bantam 03:30
8. Blue Silkies 03:47
9. Sicilian Buttercup 01:41
10. Belgian Bearded 08:03