Artist of the Week
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Artist: Mark McNamee
Artform: Musician What do you do and what are your main focuses? I guess in the world of Contemporary Music. I strive to create timelessness and stillness in my music that stems from a real interest I have with more eastern beliefs on the natural of reality: that there is a oneness of all matter and energy and thus we are all connected. SO in my music I try to keep things very organic and very textural, as we gradually evolve to new unpredicted places. Its very textural music. Where have you studied? For my Undergraduate degree I studied at the University of Aberdeen where I was advised by Professor Paul Mealor. I have just finished my Postgraduate Studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where I studied with Mark David Boden, Lynne Plowman and Ceri Tippetts. |
Tell us about 'In Presence'.
'In Presence' is probably my biggest work to date. It follows this organic ideal that I talked about earlier: If you compare the beginning of the piece to the end of the piece, you will notice that its almost like 2 different pieces, but you get there through a gradual evolving of materials that all connect with each other. It was my hope that although transported to a new place, one would only notice this when it is pointed out to them, if you listen from start to finish then you are taken to this new place very naturally and gradually.
Listen to the work here: https://soundcloud.com/markmcnameecomposer/in-presence
'In Presence' is probably my biggest work to date. It follows this organic ideal that I talked about earlier: If you compare the beginning of the piece to the end of the piece, you will notice that its almost like 2 different pieces, but you get there through a gradual evolving of materials that all connect with each other. It was my hope that although transported to a new place, one would only notice this when it is pointed out to them, if you listen from start to finish then you are taken to this new place very naturally and gradually.
Listen to the work here: https://soundcloud.com/markmcnameecomposer/in-presence
Performance of Mark's piece 'In Presence'
Why do you compose?
My answer is quite a clichéd answer but its true I suspect for many artists: I have always been very in tune and sensitive to my own feelings, both pleasant, unpleasant or even feelings which couldn’t be described as either, and this is very true also of the things I experience when listening to music. When composing I try to express these feelings and energies I feel within through music, and it's something I certainly wouldn’t be able to express in words or any other form.
Listen to Mark's piece 'Direct Gaze': https://soundcloud.com/markmcnameecomposer/direct-gaze
My answer is quite a clichéd answer but its true I suspect for many artists: I have always been very in tune and sensitive to my own feelings, both pleasant, unpleasant or even feelings which couldn’t be described as either, and this is very true also of the things I experience when listening to music. When composing I try to express these feelings and energies I feel within through music, and it's something I certainly wouldn’t be able to express in words or any other form.
Listen to Mark's piece 'Direct Gaze': https://soundcloud.com/markmcnameecomposer/direct-gaze
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Who are you influenced by?
Musically I am influenced by all sorts of people. The two composers I would say that got me into more modern ‘classical’ music was Georg Ligeti and Per Norgard. In particular Norgard’s ‘Voyage into the Golden Screen’ was a real turning point for me and sparked a real interest to explore this timelessness that he had achieved in that particular piece. Dai Fujikura, John Luther Adams and James McMillan are three huge influences on me today. French composer, Christophe Bertrand, has also been a big influence on me lately, particularly his piece ‘Mana’ and ‘Scales’. Many things influence me, as I said I am really interested in more eastern philosophies of the nature of existence, like in Buddhism, this oneness and connectedness of everything and it influences my music a lot. I love exploring different kinds of harmony and different ways of combining rhythms to achieve unified textures. |
Performance of Mark's piece 'In Presence'
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Listen to Mark's piece 'Electric Waves': https://soundcloud.com/markmcnameecomposer/electric-waves
What are your future ambitions?
I am looking to explore more sonic and spectral phenomenons of music, taking influence from the more spectral kind of music from people likw Tristain Murial and Georg Fredreich Hass. Also I have a real interest in Micro Tonality - it's something that I’ve dreamt of exploring but its very hard to do so in our current musical world as our brains we are so attuned to our western 12 note chromatic scale. I think infusing these elements into my current musical style add a new layer to the sound.
What challenges have you set for yourself?
I’ve been very aware recently that, when it comes to achieving this textural sound world I am after, I am a lot more successful when it comes to writing for fairly large ensembles. I have been setting myself the challenge of being able to achieve the same kind of timeless sound world through much smaller forces, so I have been writing a few smaller scale pieces to explore this.
What is more important, talent or hard work?
I would definitely say hard work is more important. Someone could have talent in something but have no desire to work and improve, but on the other hand someone could have less talent and work diligently hard. If you’re willing to work very hard at something then that shows a strong intent and desire in where you want to be and if you keep that focus then things will certainly improve and get you places, I believe so anyway. I think a certain degree of talent is important but hard work will unlock that talent and get you further than you thought possible.
Listen to Mark's piece 'Strange Tones': https://soundcloud.com/markmcnameecomposer/strange-tones
What are your future ambitions?
I am looking to explore more sonic and spectral phenomenons of music, taking influence from the more spectral kind of music from people likw Tristain Murial and Georg Fredreich Hass. Also I have a real interest in Micro Tonality - it's something that I’ve dreamt of exploring but its very hard to do so in our current musical world as our brains we are so attuned to our western 12 note chromatic scale. I think infusing these elements into my current musical style add a new layer to the sound.
What challenges have you set for yourself?
I’ve been very aware recently that, when it comes to achieving this textural sound world I am after, I am a lot more successful when it comes to writing for fairly large ensembles. I have been setting myself the challenge of being able to achieve the same kind of timeless sound world through much smaller forces, so I have been writing a few smaller scale pieces to explore this.
What is more important, talent or hard work?
I would definitely say hard work is more important. Someone could have talent in something but have no desire to work and improve, but on the other hand someone could have less talent and work diligently hard. If you’re willing to work very hard at something then that shows a strong intent and desire in where you want to be and if you keep that focus then things will certainly improve and get you places, I believe so anyway. I think a certain degree of talent is important but hard work will unlock that talent and get you further than you thought possible.
Listen to Mark's piece 'Strange Tones': https://soundcloud.com/markmcnameecomposer/strange-tones
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What advice would you give to anyone wanting to become a composer?
I am very early in my career at the moment so I’ve got a long way to go myself, I would say however I think the most important thing is to stay true to the kind of music that you want to hear and not to take negative criticism to heart. I would also say, yes music is important, but it's also important to be aware of other aspects in your life - they are a huge part of what makes your music you! |
