CREDITS
Composition:
Elizabeth A. Baker
Nathan Anthony Corder (Sashay)
Performance:
Elizabeth A. Baker (solo piano, electronics, voice, guitar, percussion, toy piano)
Yvonne P. Small Baker (spoken word - Lateral Phases & Beat Frequencies)
Engineering:
Greg LeCompte, Justin Culley, Melissa Harris (mastering), Elizabeth A. Baker
SELECTED REVIEWS
“Baker is a talented composer and performer, and Quadrivium, taken as a whole, is a pretty impressive release for someone still so young. Perhaps Baker will be the Pauline Oliveros of her generation, and perhaps she will be more than that. ”
“Anointing herself a “New Renaissance Artist” might seem a bold, even hubristic move on Elizabeth Baker’s part, but the choice is legitimated by the contents of her ambitious debut album Quadrivium: two discs of music, the first consisting of minimalist piano pieces and the second ambient-styled settings, spoken word pieces, and electronic experiments. ... A more than impressive debut...”
Quadrivium
by Elizabeth A. Baker
“After some thought, I have come up with an album name Quadrivium. I am drawn to this name because I’ve been very fascinated with the actual Quadrivium for several years and a copy of it is always on my studio desk. It also, ties into my concept of what a new renaissance artist is because it covers arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy… all subjects that are of interest to me in my creative practice.”
Eschewing the collection of traditional titles that describe single elements of her body of work, Elizabeth refers to herself as a “New Renaissance Artist” that embraces a constant stream of change and rebirth in practice, which expands into a variety of media, chiefly an exploration of how sonic and spatial worlds can be manipulated to personify a variety of philosophies and principles both tangible as well as intangible.
Quadrivium is Elizabeth A. Baker's debut album on Aerocade. It is a double disc sized digital release of minimalist solo piano compositions, avant garde prepared piano improvisations, meditative new-age tracks, spoken word, and electronics.
Quadrivium will be released on May 18th through iTunes, Spotify, and every digital retailer plus Bandcamp. The Bandcamp release of the album comes with a companion zine full of poetry and artwork by the artist.
The limited edition double CD wallet package comes with a copy of the full-color, 5.5"x8.5" zine designed by the artist.
TRACK LISTING
Sashay
Command Voices - 251A
Command Voices - 415X
Four Explosions Expanding From The Center
Quarks
Identity Definitions
Lateral Phases & Beat Frequencies
Microbial Systems
HEADSPACE
What is done in silence
An Outcast
Feeding the Beast
GHB - The Natural Calm & Synthetic Danger
NOTES ABOUT SELECTED COMPOSITIONS
Command Voices
In patients with psychosis, command voices are the ones that instruct them to do destructive things or behave in a certain manner. I am intensely fascinated with the relationship between a musician and their instrument as a secondary self, and the implied consciousness of an inanimate object. In many ways, musicians are command voices for instruments, composers are command voices for musicians, fundamental tones are command voices for the partials that make up the pitches that we know; but all of these instances are largely predictable and controlled.
A vibrator presents a more accurate depiction of a command voice in a psychotic patient, while I may be able to control one or two of them in manipulating the sound of the piano, as I add more of them, I lose control… specific pitches and the resulting resonant tones are left to chance. In this way, the instrument is coming alive in a manner that removes my authoritative energy, and my conversation with the instrument inevitably must fundamentally change. Furthermore, vibrators in piano create a certain underlying chaos; as I begin to interact with the instrument in a traditional manner (playing the keys) I am acting as a dominant command voice, but on a deeper level because of the subtlety of the resonant voices underneath, I am also, presenting the public face of my instrument. We all have noise in our heads, it may manifest as non-command voices, but an inner dialogue is always present; however, we don’t go around sharing our inner thoughts all the time, we have a mask… in this relationship, I am the piano’s mask, which conceptually obliterates the conventional relationship between musician and instrument.
HEADSPACE
What does it mean to enter the meditative space? What does it mean to open the heart fully and embrace vulnerability? HEADSPACE evolved as a sonic ritual, as a centering place for the artist but as a performative work, it seeks to take the audience on a journey of self-evaluation and self-discovery. This work is dedicated to Gordon H. Bonnett and Steven Head.
What is done in silence
A continuation of the narrative in the electronic section of the album that explores the evolution of Digital Stockholm Syndrome in present times, this work explores the extended reality of our Internet beings. It strips away all remnants of humanity in exchange for a series of sterile messages, set against a minimalist texture embracing space.
An Outcast
What does it mean to be an outcast? For this work, I sought to explore the idea of an outcast as someone who has fallen from grace. I ruminated on the subject of falling from favor. How often in our lives do we fall from the grace of our friends, loved ones, and professional colleagues? Quite often throughout our lives, because nobody on this earth is perfect… How do we rebuild our reputation after a fall from grace? Can we rebuild our relationships after a fall from grace? These last two questions are highly subjective and do not have universal answers… thus leading me to an intellectual impasse.
GHB - The Natural Calm & Synthetic Danger
A naturally occurring neurological compound that is also present in wine and chocolate, GHB has a calming effect in it’s organic context. On the darker side of things synthetic GHB can be used as a date rape drug as well as a club drug with serious side effects and consequences… including death. This sonic exploration delves into the fine lines between something that is naturally soothing and at the same time presents a real danger. In many ways, it is a parallel of relationships and the risks that one takes with their heart… in many ways things can unfold in a healthy organic manner, but lurking behind the good is the potential for tragedy and destruction. This work is dedicated to Gordon H. Bonnett.