Ondulation

ALAN BROWN

Alan is a musician with a long and revered history in the New Zealand jazz scene as a pianist & Hammond organist. He was the bandleader of the successful jazz-funk ensemble Blue Train in the 1990s and the organ-based Alan Brown Trio in the 2000s. He has been an enthusiastic music educator for many years and enjoys repairing vintage keyboards and synths.

“In late 2021, I acquired a handmade 'Ondomo,' an instrument that had interested me for a long time. While the piano is known for its expressiveness and as a keyboard controller for synthesizers, I have always been intrigued by alternative methods of interfacing with electronic musical instruments. The Ondes Martenot stands alone in this respect, featuring a distinctive approach to playing the instrument that several contemporary instrument makers have since adopted, yet it has taken almost 100 years for this approach to gain widespread recognition!

 Throughout the album, there are subtle nods to the history of electronic creative expression and development during the 20th century, including a recorded interview with the great Delia Derbyshire from the BBC Radiophonic workshop, as well as shortwave radio excerpts that I’ve employed as a tribute to the original tones produced by the Ondes Martenot using heterodyne radio frequencies.

 While many tracks feature the instrument as a solo voice or layered texture, my primary focus was musical and personal expression. The Ondomo is invaluable in this regard, but it’s only one aspect of the album's musical character. Similar to my previous release, Murmur, I incorporated generative techniques in some of the compositions, but I also found myself gravitating back to piano improvisations, which served as the foundation for several pieces.”

 Alan Brown, July 2023