| Los
Angeles, CA - UK-based composer and contemporary
film score writer, Marvin Ayres
(www.marvinayres.com), released two seminal albums
around the turn of the century on Mille Plateaux’s
'classical' imprint Ritornell to great critical
acclaim. The first release in 1999, Cellosphere,
was said to be, “so beautiful and moving… amazing,”
by Scanner, and The Wire wrote, “The sonics are
poetic and stimulating.” Ayres’ next release, the
electro-acoustic Neptune
was called “An awesome piece of music,” by DJ Magazine
and Future Music described it as, “Moody classical
strings that warrants an in-depth investigation.”
Neptune is an enhanced CD including two films -
a promo feature for the track 'Under Blue' and some
live footage of Ayres’ performance at the Camden
Remix. Though Mille Plateaux was a well-respected
label internationally, Ayres is excited to reintroduce
these two albums to a new crop of listeners especially
in the United Stated via the Burning Shed (www.burningshed.com)
web site in the UK and The Artist Shop (www.artist-shop.com)
in the US.
In addition to the two albums, the DVD Sensory
is also available. “Sensory” is a collaboration
between composer Marvin Ayres and filmmaker Pete
Gomes. Conceived specifically for
DVD, it is intended to work as both a public space
installation and as something that could be viewed
domestically. Utilizing electric cello and violin
instrumentation, the music was composed using surround
sound and subsequently mixed in Dolby Digital 5.1.
The Ayres/Gomes filmic installations have been screened
at prestigious events and galleries internationally
in such cities as Barcelona, Kiev, London, Madrid,
San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Vienna. (Note: the
DVD will not work on US DVD machines but will on
computers with DVD capabilities).
Marvin Ayres is a recording artist/composer who
specializes in strings. Fusing ambient and classical
techniques by subjecting his own solo cello and
violin performances to electronic treatments, Ayres
produces a unique and emotive sound. He creatively
straddles the disparate worlds of commercial and
classical music, and has developed a distinctive
and innovative style often referred to as ambient
orchestral music. He has also been working in the
field of relaxation environments, using DVD surround
sound.
The composer, cellist, pianist and violinist has
recorded music as stylistically diverse as ‘Ambient’
and ‘String Design’ albums, and produced sensual
Jazz and film soundtracks, combining his classical
technique with improvisation and exploration in
new technologies.
A graduate of Trinity College of Music, Ayres was
a founder member of the cult band The Government
and has toured extensively throughout Europe. He
made solo contributions to other bands and solo
artists throughout the late 80’s and 90’s, notably
members of Culture Club, Simply Red, Frankie Goes
To Hollywood, Neil Conti and Prefab Sprout.
Ayres’ reputation as producer and performer came
to the attention of fellow Mille Plateaux stable-mate
Jaki Liebezeit (ex CAN),
who invited him to re mix tracks and tour with Liebezeit’s
band Club off Chaos in early 2001.
Ayres is currently commissioned by Einsturzende
Neubauten’s electronica music publishers
Freibank, and his compositions have been featured
on four of Freibank’s For Films albums.
Marvin Ayres co-produced Sonja Kristina’s
(former Curved Air) ambient jazz album Cri De Coeur
released in 2003. After completing this album he
and Kristina continued to record together and explore
new musical ideas. They are now collaborating with
audiovisual artist Outerbongolia
(Pirate TV, Ninja Tune, Coldcut) in an ongoing audio-visual
project for live performance and DVD entitled MASK.
In addition to his work with musicians, Ayres also
collaborates with visual artists. In 2000 the prestigious
ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) in London commissioned
him to compose and produce their first ever DVD
exhibition. The two pieces that resulted from this
(“Sensory” and “Cycle”) incorporated spatial and
psychoacoustics and were composed specifically for
5.1 Surround Sound. Also, his collaborative film
“Scape” is part of a permanent exhibition at The
Tate Modern in London.
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For more information or to interview Marvin Ayres please
contact Lynn Hasty at Green Galactic at 323-466-5141
or lynn@greengalactic.com. |
