Leslie ROSS
“Drop By Drop, Suddenly”

XI Records is very proud to release this 2 CD set of eleven compositions for bassoon composed and performed by Leslie Ross, internationally renowned instrument builder and uncompromising creative musician.
The first CD starts with the shortest seed pieces that play primarily with the timbral and microtonal differences highlighted between tone-holes, forming a layered, pseudo-multitrack effect while playing with only one fingering, single note or multiphonic. They range from the more strictly tonal or modal pitch-centered to the thicker atonal and dissonant collection of frequencies found in some multiphonics. Pieces progress to longer complex ones by the second CD, some of which have as minimal material as the shorter ones, but make more extensive use of live multitrack recordings and frequency filters to further bring out changes in frequencies or accentuate beatings inherent in specific multiphonics. The electronics used were created explicitly for each composition using the computer based program MAX/MSP.
Save for the unconventional 15 microphones of the “prepared bassoon”, these recordings include pieces with no sound processing whatsoever, as well as pieces that do involve sound processing and multi-tracking. Importantly, however, any processing (timed entrances of microphones, overdubbing, looping, spectrum filtering, pitch shifting…) is made in real time, not post-recording. All recordings are single-take recordings where four speaker channels along with room microphones have been mixed down to stereo. Key clicks occasionally get picked up in a loop recording to return sometimes processed, sometimes not later; in circular breathing a multiphonic might drop out a moment before sounding again –what might sound like clicks or occasional drop outs on some of the recordings are not overlooked mastering faults but the result of this live processing and playing as would be experienced in performance.