PRISM Out Today!

7 February 20252 February 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

My new album, PRISM, is out today, Friday, 7 February 2025. Use promo code “photon” to get 20% off this release, my biggest and longest to date!

PRISM follows the journey of a single photon through the spectrum of light, flashing from darkness through the dazzling light and color of the rainbow.

The entire album clocks in at fifty minutes, and features my longest composition to date, the title track, “PRISM.” It also comes packed with bonus material, including the following:

Full PDF scores of each piece!
Unique artwork!
Original, handwritten manuscript scores!
Original music videos for nine of the eleven tracks!

PRISM is a conceptual musical journey that encourages deep, meditative listening. It also makes for good background music if that’s more your speed.

PRISM is available on the following platforms:

Bandcamp ($10 for digital download with bonus materials mentioned above; 20% off with promo code “photon”)
Apple Music
Spotify
YouTube/YouTubeMusic
And all other streaming services, big and small!

Remember, use promo code “photon” for 20% off!

Happy Listening!

TBT^4: Composing Humorous Miniatures

6 February 20252 February 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

My next album, PRISM, releases tomorrow, so I thought I’d look back at a post about the bit of online frivolity that, in many ways, kickstarted the massive amount of composing I’ve undertaken over the last year.

I never did get around to writing those flute pieces for that one guy (see below), but I’m not too worried about it. I imagine one day I’ll get some more requests to compose some pieces, and I have quite a back catalogue from which to pull and adapt ideas.

With that, here is 29 February 2024’s “TBT^2: Composing Humorous Miniatures“:

TBT^256: Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony

30 January 202523 January 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

My love for programmatic music, especially music that depicts the glory of God’s Creation, is as strong as ever. Indeed, I am currently working on an album that will be my own attempt at something akin to Camille Saint-Saëns‘ The Carnival of the Animals. One day, I’ll have to write a post about that piece.

Regardless, it’s time once again to take my annual look back at one of Beethoven’s symphonies, and my personal favorite.

With that, here is 25 January 2024’s “TBT^16: Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony“:

TBT^4: The Joy of Romantic Music II: Bedřich Smetana’s “The Moldau”

9 January 202531 December 2024 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

It’s been several years now since I last taught the fun but short-lived Pre-AP Music Appreciation course that spawned some of these pieces highlighting classical and Romantic musical works, but I still love the musical selections dearly. Bedřich Smetana’s The Moldau still captures my imagination, and I still have not composed anything that comes remotely close to its beauty and genius.

Nevertheless, I routinely cite Smetana as an influence, especially when uploading my pieces to CD Baby for digital distribution. He almost always gets a mention in the “artists like” categories I fill out for each release. Hopefully he’s not spinning in his grave at the thought of that.

With that, here is 11 January 2024’s “TBT^2: The Joy of Romantic Music II: Bedřich Smetana’s ‘The Moldau'”:

Open Mic Adventures CXII: “Green Space”

7 January 20256 January 2025 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

I’m working on a new instrumental album, PRISM. It’s color-themed, very much like last year’s Four Mages. I enjoy composing with different colored pens, and Dr. Girlfriend gave me some awesome V5 Precision pens that are great for composing by hand.

This week I’m featuring the second piece I’ve written for the album, “Green Space”: