Alex Temple, Composer
 

 

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New to this site? Read this first.
I'm not a fan of stylistic partisanship, and I think that a lot of people confuse "voice" (the sense that the composer's personality is audible in his music) with "style" (a set of conventions regarding pitch, rhythm, timbre, etc.) A lot of composers seem to feel that in order to have a voice, they need to impose strict limitations on themselves regarding pitch, rhythm, timbre, etc. I don't think that makes a lot of sense, and personally, I prefer to cast my net as wide as possible. I'd like to think there's something for everyone in my music. So on that note: what's your taste?

Are you a Romantic at heart? If so, check out Grass Stem Behaviors.
Are you more of a Minimalist? If so, check out "Triggerfish" from Three Creatures.
Do you like 80s synths and microtonality? If so, check out This Changes Everything!.
Do you want to be creeped out by distorted sampled voices? If so, check out Nobody Cares About Your Dreams But You.
Do you want something fun and light-hearted, but a little bit twisted? If so, check out The Last Resort Party Band.
Above all, do you want to be told a story? If so, check out the third section of The Travels of E.C. Dumonde.

I think that if you listen to all of these pieces, you'll be able to tell that they're by the same composer, even though they deal in different idioms.

For more, check out the categories below:
Electronic Works
Multimedia & Collaborative Works
Orchestral & Large Ensemble Works
Chamber Works
Vocal Works
Solo Instrumental Works (Including Solo + Electronics)
Plecostomus
 

Electronic Works
 
This Changes Everything! (2005/2008)
6 minutes
(listen - Alex Temple, all sounds)

Wind-Up Bird II (2006)
1 minute

Nobody Cares About Your Dreams But You (2006)
8 minutes
(listen - Ian Dicke, Elisa Ferrari, Seth Gilman, Darcy Izard, Beth Lerman, Kathleen Moniaci, Daniel Pesca, Daniel Wohl and Ming-Hsiu Yen, voices; Alex Temple, electronic manipulation)

Schwarzwaldmusik III (2003-4)
28 minutes
(listen - Ethan Brown, flute; Sam Stein, electric guitar; Mike Johnson, electric guitar; Alex Temple, all other sounds and electronic manipulation)

Oaxau's Slow Waking (2004)
3 minutes

Agape Ludens (2002-3)
49 minutes
1. MBFEGW (listen - Nadira Balgobin, power windows; Alex Temple, all other sounds and electronic manipulation)
2. More Pockmark
3. Barb'ra/What a Life (listen - Stephanie Neely, voice; Alex Temple, all other sounds and electronic manipulation)
4. Static the Sky into Submission
5. That Moon!
6. Static the Sky Back Into Submission (listen - Alex Temple, all sounds)
7. Than Surface
8. Dance for a Broken Marionette
9. 85% of the City

That Moon! (original version) (2002)
1 minute
(listen - Alex Temple, selection of samples and electronic manipulation)

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Multimedia & Collaborative Works
 
A Warm Summer Night on a Hilltop (2007)
two record players, CD player
mostly written by Judy Bozone, with some contributions from me
(listen - Judy Bozone and Alex Temple, record and CD players)

Beats Brand X (2006-7)
clarinet/bonang, electric violin, banjo, electric guitar, electric piano; 11 minutes
for a dance piece by choreographer Sam Stone
(see "Chamber music" for the recording)

Telephone Game (2006)
acoustic guitar; 6 minutes
co-written with Daniel Perttu, Michael Gilbertson, Carlo Vincetti Frizzo, Emilia Tamburri and Joseph Rubinstein

On Eggoism (2004)
electronics; 28 minutes
for a film by Tyler Coburn

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Orchestral & Large Ensemble Works
 
This Changes Everything! (2006)
chamber orchestra (1111+sax, 1110, 2perc, hpd, str); 6 minutes

Preceded by a Pale Blue Light (2005)
double tenor steel pans and orchestra (3332, 4221, 2perc, e. gtr, str); 10 minutes

Chamber Concerto: Let Machines Be Light-Handed (2003)
chamber orchestra (1111, pno, str); 15 minutes

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Chamber Works
 
Stile Antico (2004, rev. 2008)
flute, piano; 14 minutes
(listen - Daria Binkowski, flute; Timothy Andres, piano)

Slightly Less Awkward People (2007-8)
bass clarinet, electric guitar, electronic playback; 6 minutes

Her Name Was Renée (2006-7)
clarinet, double bass, percussion, piano; 10 minutes

Beats Brand X (2006-7)
clarinet/bonang, electric violin, banjo, electric guitar, piano; 11 minutes
(listen - Lena Nietfeld, clarinet and bonang; Karl Pestka, electric violin; David Kirkland Garner, banjo; Joshua Bornfield, electric guitar; Alex Temple, piano)
(see also "Multimedia and Collaborative")

San Narciso (2006)
violin and piano; 3 minutes
(listen - Clare Twohy, violin; Alex Temple, piano)

Sewn Bumblebees and Black Silhouettes (2006)
violin and double bass; 7 minutes
1. Slow
2. Hommage à Gérard Pesson (listen - Tracy Wu, violin; Andrew Trombley, bass)
3. The Bug Box (listen - Jacqueline Nutting, violin; Anna Jensen, bass)
4. Corpse
5. The Rudest Detective (listen - Jacqueline Nutting, violin; Anna Jensen, bass)

The Last Resort Party Band (2006)
alto sax, bassoon, violin, viola, piano; 8 minutes
(listen - Emilia Tamburri, alto sax; Aaron Apaza, bassoon; Miki-Sophia Cloud, violin; Anne Lanzilotti, viola; Timothy Andres, piano)

Stile Moderno (2004-5)
percussion, electric guitar, synthesizer, piano, violin, cello; 22 minutes

Slightly Awkward People (2002-3)
oboe, clarinet, electric guitar, piano; 7 minutes

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Vocal Works
 
The Travels of E.C. Dumonde (2007-8)
amplified speaking/singing voice, live and prerecorded electronics; 30 minutes
1. Introduction / The Metallic Tree
2. The Mysterious Riverboat
3. The Empty City / The Blurry Place / Conclusion (listen - Alex Temple, voice)
text: Alex Temple

Three Whitman Songs (2006-7)
amplified female voice (mezzo range) and piano; 6 minutes
1. Locations and Times (listen - Elizabeth Gentry, voice; Alex Temple, piano)
2. A Promise to California (listen - Elizabeth Gentry, voice; Alex Temple, piano)
3. When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer (listen - Elizabeth Gentry, voice; Alex Temple, piano)
text: Walt Whitman

Two George Songs (2003)
soprano and piano; 6 minutes
1. Fenster wo ich einst mit dir
2. Mein garten bedarf nicht luft und nicht wärme
text: Stefan George

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Solo Instrumental Works (Including Solo + Electronics)
 
For Judy (2007)
piano; 2 minutes

For Rebecca F. (2007)
piano; 5 minutes

Inland (2007)
melodica and piano (one player); 4 minutes
(listen - Alex Temple, piano and melodica)

I Thought You Said That (2006)
amplified cello and electronic playback; 8 minutes

Three Creatures (2002-6)
electric guitar and electronics; 10 minutes
1. More Pockmark (listen - Mark Dancigers, electric guitar)
2. 3 Arms and 17 1/2 Legs (listen - Mark Dancigers, electric guitar)
3. Triggerfish (listen - Mark Dancigers, electric guitar)

This Changes Everything! (2005-6)
soprano sax and electronic playback; 6 minutes

Grass Stem Behaviors (2005, rev. 2006)
piano; 8 minutes
(listen - Timothy Andres, piano)

Sonata (Omaggio a Salvatore Sciarrino) (2005)
viola; 11 minutes

Nine Piano Pieces (2003-5, rev. 2006)
piano; 23 minutes
1. Invocation (listen - Alex Temple, piano)
2. Bad Taste Theme (listen - Bethany Pietroniro, piano)
3. Secret Message (listen - Alex Temple, piano)
4. The Speech of the Place
5. Variation on "Bad Taste Theme"
6. Isabella the Colossus (listen - Alex Temple, piano)
7. Schwarzwaldmusik IV (listen - Alex Temple, piano)
8. Monument (with Fungi) (listen - Bethany Pietroniro, piano)
9. Bad Taste Finale

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Plecostomus
 
Plecostomus was a short-lived experimentalish/indie/bossa-nova/fusion band consisting of me (keyboards), Elisa Ferrari (guitar), Andy Monefeldt (bass) and Ian Dicke (drums). Most of the songs were written collaboratively, but this one was written mainly by me:

Saw It In A Magazine (2006)
keyboard, guitar, bass and drums; 2 minutes
(listen)

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