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I’ve been making musical holograms inside of cigar boxes, and 2 of them will be on display at Automata on June 6, 2019 from 8 to 10pm.

Here is a quick video demo of one of the boxes:

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A post shared by Daniel Corral (@spinalfrog) on Jun 3, 2019 at 3:16pm PDT

Very soon, I’ll share information about some upcoming shows this winter/spring 🙂

Ring in the beginning of the end of 2018 with Spinal Frog on December 1 at MorYork.
I’ve been trying out new songs with Jo Wallfisch, Trevor Anderies, and Federico Llach, and we’re excited to share some of them! We’ll be joined by A Horse A Spoon A Bucket and a duo by Logan Hone and John Kirby.
MorYork, 4959 York Blvd, LA, CA 90042
7pm, December 1, 2018,
$5 suggested donation, music @ 7:30

Check it out the new album on Bandcamp or get a physical CD on CD Baby! You can also stream it on Spotify, Apple Music, or any other major streaming service.

Polytope’s 15 tracks recall classic experimental electronic albums such as Terry Riley’s Shri Camel, Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II, Laurie Spiegel’s The Expanding Universe, or Eliane Radigue’s Trilogie de la Mort. Sequenza 21 called Polytope “an extraordinary piece of musical and visual art… that is both accessible and compelling,” SF Gate hailed it as “a mesmerizing visual and musical spectacle,” and The Stranger described it as “gamelan from Pluto—or maybe ’70s Philip Glass as interpreted by Harry Partch on his Cloud-Chamber Bowls.”
Check out the preview track Square 2 from Polytope!

Here’s some of the press from the recent premiere and tour of Polytope 🙂

• Sequenza 21: “Polytope is an extraordinary piece of musical and visual art… that is both accessible and compelling.”
• The Stranger: “After five minutes of this silvery, undulant tintinnabulation, I was ready to evaporate into another more sparkly and stimulating dimension than the one in which we currently suffer. This piece sounds like gamelan from Pluto—or maybe ’70s Philip Glass as interpreted by Harry Partch on his Cloud-Chamber Bowls.”
• New Classic LA (Interview):  “Daniel Corral’s latest work, Polytope, premieres at Automata as part of this year’s MicroFest, who have named their season after it. We were lucky that Daniel had a minute to answer some questions about this piece…”
• 24700: “Composer, CalArts faculty and alumnus Daniel Corral (Music MFA 07) presents the live debut of his latest release Polytope to Automata in Los Angeles on Sunday (March 18). The concert is the featured performance of this year’s MicroFest 2018.”
• SF Gate: “A mesmerizing visual and musical spectacle”
• MetalJazz:  “Musicians who know the turf”
• The Rest is Noise:  Miscellany

A post shared by Daniel Corral (@spinalfrog) on Mar 27, 2018 at 9:37am PDT

I hope you can join me on March 18 for the world premiere of Polytope, a microtonal multimedia piece I’ve been working on for the last year. Polytope is part of MicroFest 2018, and in fact the 2018 festival season was named after it!
I started work on Polytope in January 2017 at the Banff Centre, and am thrilled to finally premiere it. Polytope builds on my solo electronic performances Diamond Pulses and Comma, but expanded to a quartet of musicians. I’ll be joined in premiering and touring Polytope by Erin Barnes, Cory Beers, and Andrew Lessman.
Polytope world premiere
Sun, 3/18/18, 8pm
Automata
504 Chung King Court
Los Angeles, CA 90012
$15 / $12 Automata members
Polytope will also play in Seattle and San Francisco:

• Wayward Music Series, Good Shepherd Chapel in Seattle, March 23, 8pm
• Center for New Music in San Francisco, March 25, 7:30pm

• Mark Swed, LA Times:  ” … a stunning wall of sound as aural complement to Gehry’s steel.”
• Sequenza 21:  “…Circle Limit III, by Daniel Corral, gracefully flowed outward in a warm ambient wash. The piece was never static… with the sound rising, falling and slowly shimmering in the bright afternoon sunshine. The harmonies were lush and comforting and worked to subvert the frenetic sounds of traffic out in the street. Circle Limit III was perfectly chosen for the sidewalk and fully captured the imagination of the crowd – listening and looking down Grand Avenue became a strangely calming and unexpectedly peaceful experience.”
• KPFK:  Concert premiere promo

It’s been a hectic summer, and fall concerts are slowly materializing. Much more info will be coming soon, including a performance of Refractions on dublab.com, Diamond Pulses performance at Ham and Eggs, some shows in the bay area, and more!

If you’d like to hear the original version, I will be peforming it at The Island of Misfit Toys Vol. 31 (at La Cita in downtown LA) on July 4!
 

I am very excited to share my new album, Refractions! It is available now from Populist Records.

I’m very excited to announce that my new album Refractions will be released by Populist Records!
Refractions features performances by guitarist Jeremy Kerner, the Isaura String Quartet, and myself.
I hope you will join me on the evening of May 6 for an album release show at Automata!

Refractions is a 44 minute electro-acoustic chamber piece that expands on my 10 years of exploring the sonic and sculptural possibilities of music boxes. Composed for string quartet, electric guitar, and electronically processed music box, Refractions combines ethereal ambient electronics with contemplative acoustic timbres.
On May 6, Refractions will be performed live by guitarist Jeremy Kerner, the Koan Quartet, and myself.
I am also thrilled to have Rahman Baranghoori (vocals and violin) and Timothy Maloof (violin) perform a duo set of improvisations and songs based on Persian Mugam and Arabic Maqamat (modes).

The album features fantastic performances by guitarist Jeremy Kerner, the Isaura String Quartet, and myself.
The artwork is by Joyce Nojima, with graphic design by Jennifer Bewerse.
Refractions was recorded and mixed at Catasonic Studios, and mastered by Mulholland Music.

On March 16, Wendy Richman will perform my Diasporic Music #1: Home at Lily Pad in Cambridge, MA as part of an event organized by the Boston Microtonal Society.
Here’s a recording of Andrew McIntosh playing Diasporic Music #1: Home at the wulf.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/207243328″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]

 
The next day on March 17, Oakwood Brass will premiere Circle Limit II, at Pasadena Presbyterian Church at 12:15pm. Circle Limit II was commissioned by Oakwood Brass.
 

Here is a sketch of an electronic piece I’m currently working out. It uses a 7-note just intonation scale from a Lou Harrison book (basically a JI Dorian).
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/283532076″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=true&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]

I am thrilled that Accordant Commons will premiere a new piece of mine on May 7 at Automata! It is based on Christine Wertheim’s +|’me’S-pace, and features four sopranos and microtonal electronics.
The concert is part of MicroFest, and will also feature music by Nomi Epstein, Evan Johnson, and Leah Reid.
Get tickets HERE!

Here’s a video for a sample-based drone piece I recently made, called Crippled Justice #2 (44:47:50:53). It sounds best with headphones or through nice speakers, if you have those things available.
The name comes from Morton Feldman’s idea of “Crippled Symmetry,” but applied to the piece’s imperfect implication of just intonation. It’s the second piece like it that I’ve made.
Hopefully you don’t need this info to enjoy it, but here’s a little bit on the tuning. It’s based on a Pythagorean pentatonic chord. Each note of that chord played in 4 tight near-unisons at the ratio 44:47:50:53. Upper partials of the fundamental are also highlighted.

I’m excited to announce Diamond Pulses, my new album! Diamond Pulses is a 32-minute musical experience combining just-tuned harmonies, driving minimalist rhythms, noisy ambiance, and electronic timbres.
It will be released as CD and download by Orenda Records on September 12. It features artwork and design by Eron Rausch, and was mastered by Daniel Rosenboom.
There will be an album release show at Automata on Sept. 12. More info on that very soon! Stream the piece here then head over to Orenda Records to buy your copy!
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=1844134484 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]

I am excited to say that Dislike will be presented during the third week of the 2013 NOW Festival!
Dislike exposes the dark side of online anonymity and open-forum communication by constructing a libretto from commentary on YouTube’s most “disliked” video. As the eight-piece accordion orchestra Free Reed Conspiracy envelops the listener in a lush and comforting sonic world, members of The People’s Microphony Camerata speak and sing user-posted comments—a surreal text filled with anger, mischief, naivety, homophobia and desperation. Dislike is a 21st century operatic testament to the breadth of emotions swirling around the Internet.

Here is audio of Richard Valitutto performing my Three Squares in the Shape of A. Pärt at the Hammer Museum! Three Squares in the Shape of A. Pärt is for solo toy piano. It was presented at Richard’s Inner Child, Old Soul concert on Sept. 15, 2012 as part of Wild Up’s residency at the Museum.

PART 1: Clockwise

PART 2: Static
PART 3: Counter-clockwise
The score consists of three square images and transparencies with musical staves that are to be layed over the images. There is a variety of image/score combinations and orientations, which gives the performer a choice in how they would like to interact with the piece. Below is an example of one of those ways.

 
On March 1, I will premiere Dislike at the Electric Lodge in Venice, CA!

Dislike exposes the dark side of online anonymity and open-forum communication by deconstructing 24-hours worth of comments on the most-disliked video on YouTube, the music video for Justin Beiber’s “Baby.” Members of The People’s Microphony Camerata speak and sing a text taken from comments left on the video’s YouTube page. Taken as a singular libretto, the result is a surreal text full of of anger, naivety, homophobia, desperation, and mischief. DISLIKE is a 21st century operatic documentation of a unique repository for the darker emotions swirling around the internet.
Meanwhile, members of Free Reed Conspiracy will create a post-ambient soundscape with 8 accordions.  In contrast to the extremity of the libretto, the musical accompaniment for DISLIKE creates a lush, enveloping sonic world in which one can be simultaneously comforted and disturbed by the tenacity of the text. The result is a surprising blend of Brian Eno, Robert Ashley, and Raymond & Peter’s “Shut Up, Little Man.”
Dislike is part of High Voltage, a new series at the Electric Lodge featuring new works by local LA artists. All shows are free, and start at 9pm!

ADDRESS: 1416 Electric Ave, Venice, CA 90291

I’ve finally started sifting through concert audio from 2012, and will be putting up more mp3’s in the near future! Here are two pieces from a concert at Mimoda on November 7, 2012. One is a solo cello piece commissioned and premiered by Maksim Velichkin, and the other is my own performance of a solo work for accordion and laptop.
SOLO FOR ACCORDION AND LAPTOP– 16:45 (2012)
Solo Accordion and Laptop
DIASPORIC MUSIC #7: IDENTITY– 7:41 (2012)
Solo Cello

Happy 2013!
Timur and the Dime Museum just finished a run of shows at the forward-thinking Prototype Festival in New York, where we premiered our new album, X-Ray Sunsets! It’s currently only available at our shows, but will be more readily available soon. I wrote, recorded, mixed, and produced it, so it’s something I’m quite proud of.

There are a whole slew of musical projects coming up in the next few months, so stay tuned for more info!

I am excited to premiere 3 new pieces on September 30 at the wulf!
I will play one solo piece on Woodstock Chimes and 2 Casio Keyboards (an SK-5 and and SK-1). Then, Christine Tavolacci will rock a solo flute piece that we’ve been working on (part 6 of my Diasporic Music series). Finally, there will be a piece for a whole bunch of suspended cymbals and gongs, called LA Canon.
Come down and listen! It’s free, as all concerts are at the wulf!
• Chimes and Casios
performed by Daniel Corral
• Diasporic Music #6: Histories
performed by Christine Tavolacci
• LA Canon
performed by a larger group
Here’s the wulf’s webpage for more info:
http://thewulf.org/

Please enjoy this second installment of 2’42”

Allow me to introduce 2’42”

2’42” is an online series that reflects on the evolving nature of duration and form in this globalized new millenium.

A claim has been made that 2 minutes and 42 seconds is the perfect length for a pop song. This statement has been circling the internet, independently initiated by bloggers Joshua Allen and John Scalzi. It has been perpetuated by the likes of Boing Boing, Wired, NPR, and many more.

2’42” takes that statement to heart. Music written and/or recorded in cities around the world has been “corrected” to fit that “perfect pop song” length of 2:42. Each track is named after the city where its source material originated.

A single installment of 2’42” will be released online every week until further notice. They will be made available for free on sites like Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Sonic Squirrel, Internet Archives, Youtube, and Vimeo.

Please enjoy this first installment: Cologne

It’s been a crazy year, and I’ve got a few projects in the works right now:
• An upcoming concert at the wulf in late September
• Editing tracks for a new Timur and the Dime Museum album!
• Finishing up some old commissions
• An online music project – details to be revealed soon.
In the meantime, check out my music blog, AUSCULTATIONS, and/or listen to the studio recording of my recent puppet opera, Zoophilic Follies:

Whew, what a year!
I’ll be spending August mostly arranging/recording/editing recordings for a new Dime Museum album. Stay tuned!

If you are in LA this weekend, I strongly suggest coming down to REDCAT tonight (7/27) or tomorrow (7/28) to experience Opera Povera’s staging of Pauling Oliveros‘ For Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation!

I will be playing accordion and conducting an amazing sextet of musicians including Eric KM Clark, David Tranchina, Christine Tavolacci, Erin Breen Armstrong, Chris Kallmyer, and Matt Barbier. On top of that, operatic soprano Julianna Snapper and performer Carolyn Shoemaker will interact with the otherworldly staging of Opera Povera artistic director Sean Griffin, including an offstage 7-person choir, various electronics, gravity-defying furniture, child actors, and much more.

It is all part of the first week of REDCAT’s NOW Festival, which also includes work by Poor Dog Group and Susan Simpson. Last night’s opening sold out, so get your tickets ASAP!

And if you are kind enough to let us bask in your imminent opulence, consider checking out Sean Griffin’s US Projects fundraiser. Every dollar pledged will be matched by the Cheswatyr Music Commissioning Fund!

Here is a nice review of the recording of Zoophilic Follies by Times Quotidian columnist Alan Berman.
“That he is comfortable drawing from the whole world of music is no surprise given his musical pursuits, nor that the results are entertaining, beautiful, and interesting.”
You can still stream the entire album online or purchase it for only $5 on Bandcamp:


A few things coming up this summer, including an awesome show this Sunday with Timur and the Dime Museum, Dorian Wood, and Maesa! Almost the whole cast of Zoophilic Follies reunited for an indelible evening of incorrigible music!
In late July, I’ll be conducting Pauline Oliveros‘ To Valerie Solanas and Marilyn Monroe in Recognition of Their Desperation… at REDCAT’s 2012 New Original Works Festival. Masterminded by Opera Povera impressario Sean Griffin, this will be an amazing performance!
Besides that, this summer is for regrouping and rebuilding after a long stretch of hard work… hoping to get outside and see some sunsets/sunrises, and write some music with this Dali quote in mind: “Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.”

The music for the acclaimed puppet opera, Zoophilic Follies, is now available for digital download from Bandcamp (also coming soon to Reverbnation, iTunes, Amazon, etc.)! For only $5 you can have the entire piece, plus a PDF with the libretto.

“The adventurous puppet theater company Tandem and groundbreaking glam opera band Timur and the Dime Museum have joined forces in Daniel Corral’s new puppet-opera, Zoophilic Follies. With comedic relish, Zoophilic Follies, explores the lesser-known stories about the famed inventor Daedalus and illuminates how technology can give flight to our wildest dreams and gruesesome failures.”

The premiere of Zoophilic Follies boasted an all-star ensemble of talented artists! The libretto Follies was written by Sibyl O’Malley; it was sung by Timur Bekbosunov, Maesa Rae, Abby Travis, and Dorian Wood; the music was performed by Timur and the Dime Museum; Caitlin Lainoff and Danrae Wilson directed; and I wrote the music. Please give it a listen:

Finally edging up to the 21st century, I am now on REVERBNATION, and also have a FACEBOOK Page!
You can always access all of that info on my CONTACT page.
And if you feel like reading my musings on modern music, check out my AUSCULTATIONS blog

Check out Icelandic Filmmaker Thorbjorg Jonsdottir’s new video for Space Invader, a track from my 2009 electronic album, Die Laughing:

You can download Die Laughing for free on Bandcamp, Sonicsquirrel, or archive.org!
On another planet, these are 3 recent recordings from premieres and readings of chamber music of mine:
Sigils (solo piano)
Ultramarine (piano/percussion, viola)
Comic Book (string quartet)

I’m excited to finally post 3 recordings from (more or less) recent premieres and readings!
Sigils (solo piano)
Commissioned and premiered by Vicki Ray (read the LA Times review here)
Ultramarine (piano/percussion, viola)
Commissioned and premiered by Danny Holt and Molly Gebrian
Comic Book (string quartet)
From a recent reading – premiere date coming soon!

I see a lot of things online that I think people might enjoy, so I started a music blog called AUSCULTATIONS. Check it out!

What a crazy fall it’s been!
Zoophilic Follies premiered at Redcat, Sigils premiered at Pianospheres – seems like I’ve been working straight since August…
Now it’s off to Kazakhstan to work with Anne Lebaron and Timur Bekbosunov on The Silent Steppe Cantata!
After that, I will be finishing up a whole slew of recording projects, including a Dime Museum album, a studio recording of Zoophilic Follies, and an album of my Diasporic Music series.
See you soon!

Pianospheres was a blast on Tuesday! Vicki rocked a lot of difficult premieres, and it sounded wonderful! Check out a review of the concert in the LA TImes:

On November 15, the amazing pianist Vicki Ray will premiere my solo piano piece, Sigils, at Zipper Hall as part of the Pianospheres series! Come check it out

Whew! Just got back from a West Coast tour with Timur and the Dime Museum – played some great places and hung out with some amazing people!
On October 30 the Dime Museum will be doing a special Halloween show at The Echo!
Then, on November 15, the amazing pianist Vicki Ray will premiere my solo piano piece, Sigils, at Zipper Hall as part of the Pianospheres series! Come check it out

The NOW Festival was a blast, but alas it is over… My puppet opera, Zoophilic Follies, was a hit! We are going into the studio to make a decent recording of the music, so stay tuned for that
Last night I played a new piece for accordion and laptop that streamed live on Ear Meal! Thanks goes out to Alan Nakagawa for having me on. The video is streaming on the Ear Meal website, so check it out!
Timur and the Dime Museum will be travelling up the coast in a few weeks to perform a few shows in Seattle and Portland. More info soon!

My new puppet opera, Zoophilic Follies, premieres September 22-24 as part of the NOW Festival at RedCat!

My new puppet opera, ZOOPHILIC FOLLIES, will premiere at Redcat’s NOW Festival on Sept 22-24!
Designed by Caitlin Lainoff, written by Sibyl O’Malley, and performed by Timur & The Dime Museum, ZOOPHILIC FOLLIES tells the story of infamous Athenian inventor Daedalus.

What a great month!
A whole slew of shows went wonderfully – so good to see and hear so many people
Lots of recording over the next few months!
Timur and the Dime Museum is recording a second album, and I am also putting together an album of my Diasporic Music pieces thus far.
In the meantime, here is an mp3 of Matt Barbier premiering Diasporic Music #5: Travel, at the Donald Wright Auditorium in downtown Pasadena:
DIASPORIC MUSIC #5: TRAVEL– 6:52 (2011)

June 29
Orin Hildestad and Matt Barbier will play two of my Diasporic Music pieces at a Dogstar Orchestra concert. Orin will play #4 and Matt will play #5. They will be paired with some of Lucky Mosko’s Indigenous Music, which they were partially named after. The concert is curated by Christine Tavolacci. 8pm at Calarts’ Wild Beast.
July 1
I’ll be doing a short solo set at HM157. It will be an awesome night of solo sets by Jessica Catron, Emily Lacy, Tamala Poljak, Stefan Nelson, and Marisa Anderson. Organized by Jessica Catron
July 3
The Wulf takes over MOCA! My accordion octet, Free Reed Conspiracy, will play my Neotrope. Not only that, my giant music boxes will be on display, as well as a new card set called Excursions. Come on down from 1-4pm!

Some fun things happening this summer! Getting Free Reed Conspiracy together again to play a show at the downtown LA Library. It’s a closed event unfortunately, but some other potential shows are in the works with that group this summer…
Also, started recording a new Dime Museum album. All original songs, unlike the last one.
In the meantime, a little video of my first Max/MSP patch with a contact mic and a single music box:

Here’s a video from the FREE REED CONSPIRACY concert at the Pasadena Creative Music series in December:

There will be several FREE REED CONSPIRACY shows coming up this summer, TBD…

On May 5, The Dime Museum will perform at the Bootleg Theatre with Dorian Wood
We will be performing mostly new material, much of it written by myself. Would love to see you there!
10pm
2220 Beverly Blvd, LA, CA 90057

Here is one of the new songs I wrote for the group, from our show at the Silverlake Lounge:

On Monday, March 25, Matt Barbier will premiere Diasporic Music #5: Travel, my new piece for solo trombone.
Not only that, but I will also be playing some solo accordion pieces!
Come on down – 7pm at the Donald Wright Auditorium in the downtown Pasadena Library
Part of the Pasadena Creative Music Series

On April 25, Matt Barbier will be premiering my Diasporic Music #5: Travel, for solo trombone.
The performance is 7pm at the Donald Wright Auditorium in the Pasadena Public Library.
285 E. Walnut St. Pasadena, CA 91101
Part of the Pasadena Creative Music Series

I’ve redesigned my website, making it easier to update!
There is some new audio and video to check out, a calendar of upcoming shows, links to groups I am currently playing with, and more
I’d love to hear what you think of it: danielcorral [a] spinalfrog.com
– Daniel