The imminent release of Four Mages on 2 May 2024 draws every closer, dear readers, and I’m continuing to feature some of the pieces from that album here. Today’s piece, “The Blind Prophet,” is one I particularly enjoy for its playful experimentation with irregular time signatures and multimeter wackiness.
I’m still promoting my latest release, Leftovers II, but I’m also excited for my next album, Four Mages, which releases Thursday, 2 May 2024. Of course, if you’d like to hear Leftovers II, you can do so at the following places (and probably more):
Bandcamp ($5 digital download; free streaming for the first three plays): https://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/leftovers-ii
Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/3xhlvpf
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/leftovers-ii/1735073852
Qobuz (I didn’t even know this service existed!): https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/leftovers-ii-tyler-james-cook/hjdpc1g41uucb
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4tLWAlU5O8&list=OLAK5uy_mHn2PKIwpFAbXD8MicZpWdGLHzkql9DvgToday, however, I’d like to look at the fourth of the Four Mages, the dreaded “Black Mage.”
Last week I released Leftovers II, and in just a few weeks I’ll release my next album, Four Mages (2 May 2024). If you’d like to hear my latest release, you can do so here:
Bandcamp ($5 digital download; free streaming for the first three plays): https://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/leftovers-iiAmazon Music: https://amzn.to/3xhlvpfApple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/leftovers-ii/1735073852Qobuz (I didn’t even know this service existed!): https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/leftovers-ii-tyler-james-cook/hjdpc1g41uucbYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4tLWAlU5O8&list=OLAK5uy_mHn2PKIwpFAbXD8MicZpWdGLHzkql9DvgReaders might have noticed some of the colorful mages popping up over the last few weeks on this blog. I’ve posted three of the Four Mages so far (“Black Mage” is coming this Tuesday, 9 April 2024—stay tuned!), so I thought I’d share them with y’all this Lazy Sunday:
Happy Sunday—and Happy Listening!
—TPP
Other Lazy Sunday Installments:
Today is Bandcamp Friday! That means Bandcamp waives their share of any purchases made on my Bandcamp page today (Friday, 5 April 2024), so it’s the best possible time to buy my music if you want to support yours portly.
Earlier this week I released my sixteenth Bandcamp album, Leftovers II. It consists of tracks leftover from other composing projects, as well as two older pieces (“Robobop” and “Pwrblld [Ballad II]“) and a lo-fi organ piece I recorded using an old computer microphone sometime in 2007.
You can listen to the full thing on Bandcamp for free a few times before Bandcamp locks out full track playback. However, if funds are tight and you’d rather not pay $5 for the album (which you should totally do anyway—it’s just five bucks!), you can listen to the album through the following services:
Thanks for listening! Even just streaming helps me out a great deal.
—TPP
Leftovers II is out now, and Four Mages is just one month away. I’m very excited for Four Mages, and particularly today’s featured track.
Last Friday, 1 March 2024, I released Epistemology, my latest collection of original compositions. I personally think it’s some of the best of my newer works.
You can listen to and/or purchase Epistemology through the following services (and more!):
This week, I thought I’d feature the title track of this epic release.
Last Sunday I was exceptionally busy and had to phone in my already-phoned in Lazy Sunday post. Today I’m doing the ultimate phoning in and taking yet another day away from the blog (as it were—gotsta keep that daily post counter mollified). I’ll actually be doing a significant amount of writing this afternoon, so have no fear—we’ll back to the more-or-less regular schedule tomorrow.
As I noted in yesterday’s lazy post, I’ve been fairly swamped at work, and ended a long week with two very long days. I spent most of Saturday lounging like Goethe, alternating between reading, napping, and eating.
I wasn’t completely useless. I finished composing for my next major release, Four Mages. It’s a collection of fantasy-inspired instrumental music, with nine of its ten tracks corresponding to different fantasy archetypes (each with their own color). The titular mages are “Red Mage,” “Blue Mage,” “Black Mage,” and “White Mage.” The other tracks (in no particular order) are as follows:
That album will hit Bandcamp and all streaming services (sans Spotify) on Thursday, 2 May 2024—exactly halfway to Halloween! It seemed an appropriate time to release a fantasy album.
Of course, if you haven’t picked up Epistemology, please give it a listen. You can purchase a digital download via Bandcamp for $5.
You can also listen to the full thing on YouTube for free:
You can listen to Epistemology on YouTube Music and Apple Music, too. It’s even on Amazon Music—cool!
Thanks for your patience—and please give my tunes a listen. Every stream helps!
Happy Sunday!
—TPP
The future of Bandcamp Friday is a bit up in the air, but we’re living in the present here at The Portly Politico, and today is Bandcamp Friday! That means Bandcamp waives their share of any purchases made on my Bandcamp page today (Friday, 1 March 2024), so it’s the best possible time to buy my music if you want to support yours portly.
Even better: I have a new album out today! You can pick up Epistemology for $5. It’s ten tracks of original instrumental music. Your digital purchase includes not just the music, but also full scores for every song; music videos for each piece; handwritten manuscripts for most of the pieces; and exclusive artwork (including artwork to accompany every piece on the album).
There’s a lot to dig into in this release. The title track, “Epistemology,” is a multipart suite for clarinet, bass clarinet, and piano exploring various philosophical theories about how we know what we know.
If you’re feeling generous and want my entire catalog of fourteen releases, my entire discography is half-off. That’s fifteen releases for $28.39, or $1.89 per release.
Tight on cash? No worries—you can listen to Epistemology on any streaming platform (except for Spotify), and all the tracks are on my YouTube page (you should subscribe to that, by the way—it’s free!).
I’m excited about this release, and I appreciate your support.
Happy Listening!
—TPP
Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive. To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more. For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.
I’ve been composing like a madman lately, so much so that my brother is calling me the “Stephen King of Composing,” not because my pieces are particularly horrifying, but because I am slamming them out with the speed and consistency of the great horror writer.
I’ve just released Firefly Dance, which is on every streaming service other than Spotify. You can even find it on YouTube. I have another release coming on 1 March 2024, Epistemology; subscribers can listen to the title track here.
I thought I’d take a short break from composing, but within a couple of days I was back in my music journal and Noteflight, composing new works. In the process, I’ve stumbled upon my next project: Four Mages.
I started with composing two pieces in my music journal, “Blue Mage” and “Red Mage,” which I then polished and altered in Noteflight. That start got me the idea that I needed a “White Mage” and a “Black Mage” to accompany those pieces.
Here’s a video version of “White Mage,” which I think is my favorite so far:
To read the rest of this post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.
The future of Bandcamp Friday is a bit up in the air, but we’re living in the present here at The Portly Politico, and today is Bandcamp Friday! That means Bandcamp waives their share of any purchases made on my Bandcamp page today (Friday, 2 February 2024), so it’s the best possible time to buy my music if you want to support yours portly.
Even better: I have a new album out today! You can pick up Firefly Dance for $5. It’s eleven tracks of original instrumental music. Your digital purchase includes not just the music, but also full scores for every song; music videos for each piece; handwritten manuscripts for most of the pieces; and exclusive artwork (including artwork to accompany every piece on the album).
There’s a lot to dig into in this release. The opening track, “Ode Napoléon,” is a multipart tone poem depicting the rise and fall of the infamous French emperor. The title track, “Firefly Dance,” tells the story of a mysterious woodland world of dragonflies and fairies in the form of a flowing, interpretative waltz.
You even get the frenetic, eleven-second, unexpected YouTube sensation “FRANTIC!!“
If you’re feeling generous and want my entire catalog of fourteen releases, my entire discography is half-off. That’s fourteen releases for $25.89, or $1.85 per release.
Tight on cash? No worries—you can listen to Firefly on any streaming platform (except for Spotify), and all the tracks are on my YouTube page (you should subscribe to that, by the way—it’s free!).
I’m excited about this release, and I appreciate your support.
Happy Listening!
—TPP
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
The Portly Politico 