Steve Horowitz Records His New Work: “The Ribbon of Extremes”
Pictured at Studio Trilogy are (L-R) Noah Killeen, Trilogy assistant engineer; Edward Hong, drums and percussion; Bridget Pasker, cello; Zach Miley, recording engineer; Steve Horowitz, composer/producer; Jonathan Szin, clarinet; Britton Day, piano; Abigail Shiman, violin; Christy Kim, flute, Nick Benavides, conductor and director. Photo by David Goggin.
Steve Horowitz and the Guerrilla Composers Ensemble assembled at Studio Trilogy in San Francisco to record “The Ribbon of Extremes,” an instrumental work by Horowitz, inspired by the 1932 painting of the same name by the Surrealist painter Yves Tanguy.
Horowitz explained the origins of his composition and how it was recorded at Trilogy, “The Ribbon of Extremes is a surrealist masterpiece. Imaginary figures and unreal objects unfold in space and time inside a puffy cloud of musical nightmares. In fact, a lot of the figures in the painting look like strange creatures playing instruments. That was the original inspiration — what would they sound like?”
On the subject of recording, he continued, “Studio Trilogy is the perfect setting for this group and this instrumentation. Lot’s of great microphones, comfortable rooms, high-end analog consoles and a world-class piano. Studio manager Cindy McSherry and the entire staff are amazing — they make you feel completely at home and are on top of the details, so you can concentrate on the music.”
Horowitz is a creator of odd but accessible sounds and a diverse and prolific musician, perhaps best known for his original score for the award-winning film “Super Size Me” and 18 highly imaginative albums.
“The Ribbon of Extremes” features a large percussion set up, played expertly by percussionist Eddie Hong and features complex interactions of piano, cello, violin, clarinet, and flute. “Eddie is playing everything from the drum set to vibes on this recording and the trap set part is not easy; it is a very intricate feature and needs to blend with the rest of the ensemble at all times,” Horowitz explains. “This takes absolute timing and incredible focus. Eddie plays with a lot of control — think Franks Zappa’s ‘Black Page’ played on Mars. We also had the great privilege of working with recording engineer Zach Miley on this project. Zach has huge ears and really helped to define and shape the final mixes.”
“The Ribbon of Extremes” is set for release September 4, with the CD set to be available shortly thereafter. Visit: http://www.thecodeinternational.com
ABOUT STUDIO TRILOGY
Located in the creative heart of San Francisco, Studio Trilogy is a full-service recording facility that provides music recording and audio post-production services in a World Class recording environment. Designed by John Storyk of WSDG, Trilogy’s 8800 square foot facility houses three state-of-the-art control rooms, music and voice recording studios, multiple lounges, and a lush garden/bbq area. An on-site 1200 sq.ft. luxury apartment with media lounge and chef’s kitchen is also available.
Learn more at: http://studiotrilogy.com
