Test Pieces
Test Pieces
The companion piece to the critically-celebrated Songs For Separation, Test Pieces completes the music composed during an extended lockdown period and COVID related illness.
‘Test Pieces features six pieces of music written for people and places I was missing during lockdown, recorded with those people and in those places once it was lifted.
When I lived in Sheffield and couldn’t row, I got very interested in climbing, its artistry and ethics. A Test Piece is the title given to a climbing line that shows you where you are up to in your journey as a climber. Like a musical line, a climbing line is also an expression of the imagination and ability of the climber who first puts up the route. The lines in Test Pieces reflect my musical imagination and where I was in my life when they were written and recorded. Like a climb, each piece features a crux - this is usually the most difficult move, emotional moment, or technical challenge that connects the line. The album was recorded using climbing ethics: onsite, in one pass, with no rehearsal of moves ahead of time.
This made recording challenging, both the in situ parts and the final production where each piece is contextualised by moments of what was happening around the recording, and insights from people like Johnny Dawes on the links between creativity, performance and personality.’
Track Listing:
Charlotte the Brave and Larissa the Bold
Flatpicker / Sam Bacon’s Blues
Resolution
Cascade
A Deep Sea Diver’s Blues
Stumpy and The Bear (Will You Not Come Back)
(©℗ A. I. Jackson 2024)
Test Pieces
The companion piece to the critically-celebrated Songs For Separation, Test Pieces completes the music composed during an extended lockdown period and COVID related illness.
‘Test Pieces features six pieces of music written for people and places I was missing during lockdown, recorded with those people and in those places once it was lifted.
When I lived in Sheffield and couldn’t row, I got very interested in climbing, its artistry and ethics. A Test Piece is the title given to a climbing line that shows you where you are up to in your journey as a climber. Like a musical line, a climbing line is also an expression of the imagination and ability of the climber who first puts up the route. The lines in Test Pieces reflect my musical imagination and where I was in my life when they were written and recorded. Like a climb, each piece features a crux - this is usually the most difficult move, emotional moment, or technical challenge that connects the line. The album was recorded using climbing ethics: onsite, in one pass, with no rehearsal of moves ahead of time.
This made recording challenging, both the in situ parts and the final production where each piece is contextualised by moments of what was happening around the recording, and insights from people like Johnny Dawes on the links between creativity, performance and personality.’
Track Listing:
Charlotte the Brave and Larissa the Bold
Flatpicker / Sam Bacon’s Blues
Resolution
Cascade
A Deep Sea Diver’s Blues
Stumpy and The Bear (Will You Not Come Back)
(©℗ A. I. Jackson 2024)
Test Pieces
The companion piece to the critically-celebrated Songs For Separation, Test Pieces completes the music composed during an extended lockdown period and COVID related illness.
‘Test Pieces features six pieces of music written for people and places I was missing during lockdown, recorded with those people and in those places once it was lifted.
When I lived in Sheffield and couldn’t row, I got very interested in climbing, its artistry and ethics. A Test Piece is the title given to a climbing line that shows you where you are up to in your journey as a climber. Like a musical line, a climbing line is also an expression of the imagination and ability of the climber who first puts up the route. The lines in Test Pieces reflect my musical imagination and where I was in my life when they were written and recorded. Like a climb, each piece features a crux - this is usually the most difficult move, emotional moment, or technical challenge that connects the line. The album was recorded using climbing ethics: onsite, in one pass, with no rehearsal of moves ahead of time.
This made recording challenging, both the in situ parts and the final production where each piece is contextualised by moments of what was happening around the recording, and insights from people like Johnny Dawes on the links between creativity, performance and personality.’
Track Listing:
Charlotte the Brave and Larissa the Bold
Flatpicker / Sam Bacon’s Blues
Resolution
Cascade
A Deep Sea Diver’s Blues
Stumpy and The Bear (Will You Not Come Back)
(©℗ A. I. Jackson 2024)