• CURRENT RELEASE

    • Release
      METHOD MUSIC
      January 31, 2012
      BUY
  • AUDIO


  • COMPOSER & MATHEMATICIAN LAWRENCE BALL BRINGS PETE TOWNSHEND’S LIFEHOUSE PROJECT TO FURTHER FRUITION WITH THE RELEASE OF HIS DOUBLE-CD SET METHOD MUSIC ON JAN. 31ST!

    Meditative yet propulsive. Structured yet sprawling. Gossamer yet muscular. Inspired yet meticulously constructed.  METHOD MUSIC by Lawrence Ball is all of these and more, a double album of highly adventurous electronic music by a master innovator of algorithmic composition.

    But this album possesses a unique and illustrious lineage that, despite the clear difference in style and genre, connects it to one of the most famous works in the rock music repertoire – the ideas behind METHOD MUSIC are both the outgrowth and the foundation of the legendary LIFEHOUSE project by Pete Townshend, the conceptualizer and co-producer of the album, and presents a theoretical system of musical portraiture in which a listener’s personal data is translated into a unique composition.

    Utilizing the conceptual underpinning first implemented in The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” (a track initially part of the original LIFEHOUSE project, and one mirrored on the opening cut of METHOD) along with Ball’s own computerized compositional system called ‘Harmonic Maths,’ Townshend, with Ball and programmer Dave Snowdon, created a website called The Lifehouse Method which turned this theory into reality.  While active during 2007-2008, the website offered users the ability to instantaneously create a customized piece of music, and during its run generated over 10,000 unique works based on the users’ own individual characteristics and personal traits.

    What you hear on METHOD MUSIC evolved from the tests conducted by Ball and Townshend, which proved the viability of The Lifehouse Method system. Disc One, Imaginary Sitters, features a disparate set of portraits designed to showcase the potential diversity of the Method, while Disc Two, Imaginary Galaxies, expands the forms into larger structures with greater permutations, variables, and variety.

    Lawrence Ball’s METHOD MUSIC was produced by Pete Townshend & Bob Lord and will be available worldwide January 31, 2012 on CD and Digital formats through Navona Records.

    “I hope the listener feels as if held in a sonic cradle, watching and experiencing the dances of an intricate musical mobile.”LAWRENCE BALL

    “The fact remains that Lifehouse, despite my best attempts, is a book that simply will not let itself be closed. That there is more to come is inevitable, what form it takes remains to be seen.”PETE TOWNSHEND

    METHOD MUSIC TRACK LISTING:

    DISC ONE: IMAGINARY SITTERS
    1. Meher Baba Piece
    2. Sitter 09
    3. Sitter 10
    4. Victoria
    5. Sitter 11
    6. Sitter 12
    7. Sitter 13
    8. Sitter 14
    9. Sitter 15
    10. Sitter 17
    11. Sitter 16

    DISC TWO: IMAGINARY GALAXIES
    1. Galaxy 01 (for the late Syd Barrett)
    2. Galaxy 02 (for the late Hugh Hopper)
    3. Galaxy 03 (for the late György Ligeti)

    FOR MORE INFO ON LAWRENCE BALL VISIT:
    http://www.lawrenceball.org

    FOR MORE INFO ON PETE TOWNSHEND VISIT:
    http://petetownshend.net

    FOR MORE INFO ON NAVONA RECORDS VISIT:
    http://navonarecords.com

    FOR MEDIA AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
    Tony Bonyata
    Pavement PR
    p: 262.903.7775
    e: tony@pavementpr.com
    https://pavementpr.com

    Comments are closed.

  • HERE’S WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING ABOUT “METHOD MUSIC”

    • "Wondrous, rippling, and startlingly tactile music... a monumental two-disc set."

      PITCHFORK

    • "Call is minimalist hypnosis if you will, but there is something oddly musical about this grand machine churning out music like it’s a series of logarithms. Pete Townshend had (and maybe still does have) a specific vision and Ball has the logically deep know-how. Put them together and you get Method Music—an album that will no doubt sound like any other ever again. And that alone is admission price."

      POPMATTERS

    • “In the end, these pieces convey a distinct joviality, a celebration of mind and machine refined by Ball's talent. Together, both discs offer a well-rounded sonic excursion into two extremes of the electronic genre: peppy tuneage and ambient soundscapes. Both are handled with skillful mastery and will delight fans of either style.”

      SONIC CURIOSITY

    • "Mesmerizing"

      THE WIRE

    • "A masterpiece drenched in futurist qualities that’s capable of stunning those who unravel its layers and immerse themselves in a body of work that’s specifically designed to question the nature of abstract art found within music."

      THE SILENT BALLET

    • "An enjoyable, beautiful conception of future's promise—and a fairly convincing antidote to the seemingly prevailing dystopian vision as might be performed by, say, John Zorn. Its sound is a generous portent of integrated diversity, as represented by the adaptation of mostly synthesized sound into something like scored, orchestral rock with a comfortingly organic feel. It will not be sharing the easy-listening format, however—at least not in the current radio mix. The percussion is too smart, the tempo shifts too unpredictable. It rewards intentional listening in a way more often found in jazz or classical music, which it also decidedly is not."

      TUCSON WEEKLY

    • “These pieces have an underlying logic to them that’s different than minimalism. And that logic is apparent throughout the pieces. This is highly organized music that’s moving towards a goal – although it’s getting there through an unfamiliar path. People who enjoy contemporary classical music as well as progressive and experimental rock should find common aesthetic ground in Imaginary Sitters.”

      WTJU RADIO

    • "If you enjoy modern minimalism and experimental music, Method Music has a lot to offer. "

      JESTER JAY MUSIC

    • "If you like electronic and ambient music, this is going to be a great find for you...as it is literally an artistic experiment come to life in technicolor."

      ECLECTIBLOGS

    • “Fascinating stuff“

      AUDIOFILE AUDITION

    • “Incredible.”

      INDIE LAUNCHPAD PODCAST

    • “Lawrence Ball’s algorithms seem to churn data into locked, tonal grooves that sound more like minimalist works by Terry Riley and John Adams, full of tiny melodic nuances that overlap to create pleasant, large scale textures. There is a propulsive energy to the way the tracks move. Ostensibly static, they are filled with organic development and atomic shifts in rhythm. Often, concept driven music such as this suffers from a case form over function (method over music, if you like) but Method Music seems to manage both – an interesting concept that’s realization creates a sound world which is interesting in its own right.”

      CYCLIC DEFROST

    • “Very interesting.“

      MONSIEUR DÉLIRE: FRANCE