Ragnar Grippe Electronic Music

the Moment is a piece I wrote in 2024

it will have its world premiere in New York on June 27 2025 at the New York City Electronic Music Festival

In this program I'm taking certain parts of the Moment apart in order to see and hear what makes up certain passages in the music. The interest lies in finding that separate tracks will sound so different from being played in the composition where other sounds actually alter the perception. Here is also a discussion around virtual acoustics and how they play with you when recorded in different virtual rooms and played on top of each other

The Moment

Opening

First eightsec we have 5 different elements

1.     Reversed sound with faint ponticellifx slightly dry atmosphere

2.     Low rhythm wit metallic breathing.Reverb slightly bigger room

3.     Minor third down two notes withgrainy character big reverb

4.     Rhythm very big room

5.     Low attack with high presence reverbmedium size

At 0:00:42.We have seven elements in this 24 sec excerpt

1     Cello

2     SynclavierFM metallic

3     SynclavierMidi modulated room reverb

4      Synclavier  Midi Modulated

5      Long tail reverb FM Synclavier

6     SomberBig reverb

7     Bell FM Synclavier

The cellohas Eventide Blackhole reverb and Waves Supertap as fx

2:40.   30 sec example

1.     Synclavier Bells

2.     Repetition

3.     FM short reverb little room

4.     Attack FM Synclavier

5.     5. Sub by Synclavier

6.     Close by grain Synclavier small room

7.     Piano like huge room

5:15   39 sec example.  11  different tracks

1.     FM Synclavier

2.     Cello tone

3.     FM gesture Synclavier

4.     Filtered FM

5.     Grain modulated big room

6.     Almost vocal FM modulated Synclavier

7.     Reverse FM

8.     FM 5th

9.     Movement FM

10.    FM Bell

11.  Big Room High Pitched FM

9:58.      44 sec example

1.     Rhythm

2.     Evolving rhythm

3.     Statement Drum

4.     Mirror

5.     Acoustic debris

6.     Atmosphere Coating

7.     Moving Melodic

8.     Metal Rhythm

9.     Movement Synclavier. Movement Output

10.  Screams

11.  Details. Dry

12.   Pulse

14:02. 39 sec example

1.     Pad and cello

2.     Spegel

3.     Fading attack

4.     Piano like

5.     Midi modulation Synclavier

6.     Moving ambiance

7.     Dry Bass

8.     Passing by Synclavier

9.     Ocean

10.  Small details FM

11.  Cut

12.  Floor

In this program I discuss the four pieces included in the album Crushing Silence, namely Orchestra, Conversation, Le Mécanicien Effréné and Crushing Silence.

It's not a technical program but it discusses the different sound sources and ultimately the acoustic phenomena in Crushing Silence known as Double Exposure Virtual Acoustics.

The album can be found on major platdorms Spotify Tidal Apple Deezer and others

In this program there will be music excerpts from 1973 to 2022

There will be examples of music for film, dance and pure electronic music

showing different styles and sources of inspiration. The commentaries will shed light on how they were produced and recorded. Much music has not been presented in previous pods.

You can find more music on Spotify Apple Tidal Deezer if you become interested after hearing this pod.

In this program I talk about Cold Numbers from 2011, many of my pure electronic pieces intended for diffusion over many speakers at concerts with live diffusion over a mixing console, something quite different from 5.1 or bigger fixed installations.

I talk about the virtual acoustics, double exposure in sound and a lot about my melodic pieces from this 10 year period. Songs like Night, Survive and Adagio. Confiture Times is also included with Confiture

Thanks for your interest in this fifth decade

Ragnar Grippe copyright©2020  Photo Anne Tham copyright©1977

In this program I will play music from the year 2000 to 2010

We will listen to So Be It, Enigma Frame and Voix Insolites.

Music from the Dance Piece Distant Land premiered in Athens at the Megaron Theatre 2001 to short movie Classmates. Ritorno II electroacoustic composition followed by Cantata Solaris from 2005 as well as same year composition the Jagged Edge. Then we go on with Sapphire Dreams which is dedicated to François Bayle. The Road from 2006 which is the first of my hand 5.1 composition is followed by Vox Altra. Napoli Down inspired by a TIME magazine article. The 8th Abstraction from 2009 and premiered at the New York Electronic Music Festival in 2010 is followed by Turtle Beach from the album No Dress Code which you can find on iTunes and other digital platforms.

I will discuss certain aesthetic points of view about the work as well as give some more insight in the compositional process. Thank you for listening and for your interest.

all rights reserved Grippe©2018 photo by Mathias Edwall©2007

In this program I play music from the 90's. Starting out with l'Arbre Egayé (1992), then from 1993 an excerpt from Suspended Choirs followed by 1994 Le MÈcanicien EffrÈnÈ (excerpt). From 1994 we listen to a portion of l'Archer Coupe l'Air en Deux , discuss  why and how I worked and now 1995 with an excerpt from La  Chambre d'une RÍve composed in Bourges. From 1996 we listen to Lux Aeterna with Madeleine Kristoffersson, then from the same year Shifting Spirits with voices from asylum seekers from many of the world's countries. From 1997 we listen to the opening to the feature movie Svensson Svensson and also a quirky piano variation on the theme to the movie. From 1998 we listen to Groupe de Recherches Musicales's commission to their 50th anniversary Grand Voyage sans Larmes (excerpt).

From 1999 we hear Non Est Itaque from Signorum Amor (available on iTunes and major digital platforms) with Madeleine Kristoffersson and as the end approaches an excerpt from Random at Heart with Won't give you More with Elisabeth Berg.

Please note that Shifting Spirits is also available on iTunes.

Thanks for listening !  Soon there will be a program on the 00's. Stay tuned

all rights reserved Grippe©copyright2020  photo Mattias Edwall©2013

In this program I play excerpts from movies, multi media pieces and modern dance.

First you hear Gettin' Out from the Movie the Last Summer (1984), then from the film Jönssonligan (1981),modern dance Savannah Bay (1984), Kerstin Ståhl sings in  the Room with words by Mark Strand (1986), Conversation 1985, Cinema (1983), Car Crash (1984) and IV Seasons  Vivaldi (1989).

Gettin' Out, Jönssonligan, Savannah Bay, the Room, Conversation, Car Crash and Vivaldi all composed with the Synclavier.

Modern Dance and film were  my main production areas during the 80's. Jönssonligan was  a big success in Sweden where we had 4 sequels after the first premiered in 1981.

The dance challenged both the Synclavier and myself for new ideas, many of them later used in my electronic compositions.

Maybe the film music had me looking into much more melodic material, since the "pure"

electroacoustic music wouldn't be what the film directors would ask for. I'm happy I had this opportunity to broaden my view on music and how to compose.

A new sound, much due to the Synclavier with its FM sounds. Here we have dance,  performance, film and vocal music.  Conversation is commemorating Hiroshima where I was  1985, on the day 40 years after the atomic bomb. I will never forget that day.

Thanks for listening

Ragnar Grippe

Ragnar Grippe excerpts from Le Mécanicien Effréné 1984, Musique Douze 1976, Capriccio 1973, Chamber Music 1975, the Emperor 1979, symphonic Songs 1981, Sand 1977, Orchestra 1980 and Cold Numbers 2011.

Buchla synthesizer used on the Emperor, Symphonic Songs and Orchestra. The 70’s were times with either musique concrète or Buchla synthesizer, in the 80’s we’ll see the Synclavier reign for a decade, the DAW in the 90’s and plug-ins in the 00’s.Please note at the end of program Musique Douze is said to be composed in 2006, the real year is 1976.Sorry for this.

In the 70's I was in Paris, Chamber Music was composed using a cardboard over a speaker as filter and I found new ways to cut and splice the tape. Musique Douze used speakers over the audience when premiered at the Swedish Radio in 1976. Kejsaren (the Emperor)  recorded on a 4 track Studer machine using the Buchla  which had to be retuned all the time. Sand composed in Luc Ferrari's studio inspired by the paintings by Viswanadhan and then released by Shandar Records.

The 70's was also a lot of fine art, I had the honour of being commissioned for the bi-centennial at La Scala 1977, had my modern dance piece Vänthallen commissioned by the Royal Opera in Stockholm choreographed by Oscar Araiz. And the last years of the 70's opened the window to film music. Kejsaren or in english the Emperor was one of them.

Cold Numbers is certainly not the 70's, but why I've included this composition is because it's interesting to compare 2011 with the 70's. The same goes for Orchestra in the 80's and Le Mécanicien Effréné from the 90's.