Well…
This is gorgeous isn’t it? I have so much to say about this piece. So please indulge me.
First of all this is the composition of Dr. Neil March, composer, radio DJ, gig/festival promoter, music lover, fellow Fresh On The Net moderator (Deeeeeeep breath) arts council England funded artist…. Have I missed anything? Oh yeah guest lecturer… Ummmm I probably have missed something….
Anyway, this is his project featuring musicians Aniya “Hazy” Sofia on flute.
Knowing Neil, he didn’t do this lightly, and picking these two fine musicians to work with he definitely hit the right spot.
This piece is an instrumental called “Music To Plan Towns By”, and for me, given where Neil comes from, the borough of Lewisham I can bet he was inspired by the changes that have gone through this area, whereas once upon a time it was going through some major changes the town centre more so. The bus station was rather run down, and with the arrival of the olympic park, the O2 and Millennium Village, Ferrier Estate being torn down to make way for Kidbrooke Village, that part of south East London has gone through big upheaval and changes.
How do I know?
I live in this part of London.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it.
The music itself is beautiful, lovely synth sounds laying down a non intrusive path for Aniya to play her flute gently and follow well.. The strings play an important part here too, reinforcing Aniya’s flute melody….
Overall this is very dreamy, and is so lovely to listen to first thing in the morning this is probably the best thing to listen to first thing in the morning, lots of synth work to get lost in, and where he has Aniya “Hazy” Sophia on flute, this all in all ends up being a really lovely experience to listen to.
This comes from a wider body of work, “Overground Sound”, a four track EP.
Formed to perform on the BBC Introducing Stage in 2017, The Music of Sound has been through a number of line-up changes before settling on the current one of 17 year old BBC Introducing artist Aniya ‘Hazy’ Sofia (Flute), BBC Introducing composer and synth/bass player Neil March and another BBC Introducing artist Florie Namir (Piano). The new line-up performed live at the Contemporary Music Proms at AMP Studios on 19th June 2022 and will be performing at the Tomorrow Calling Festival on 18th September. Neil is also an Arts Council & Lottery supported live events promoter, broadcaster and author and a moderator-reviews writer for the BBC’s Tom Robinson and his Fresh on the Net team. He has a PhD in music composition and lectures part time at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP).
TMOS utilise recordings of everyday environmental sound from which they can derive pitch, harmony and texture as opposed to ‘sound effects’. These sounds influence the music & play alongside notated instrumentation & voices.
Credits
Aniya Sofia – Flute
Neil March – Synthesizer & Electronics
