Full details plus selected audio excerpts from all of my available recordings to date...

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Steve Tromans - piano

"Composer and pianist Steve Tromans has released 14 tracks of thoughtful harmonic invention. Classical meets jazz meets The East. Skillful, unique and startling."
[MUSICIAN magazine
Summer 2005]

Compositions and improvisations for solo piano

Recorded December 2004
Broomstick Hall Studios, Waltham Abbey, Essex
Engineer: Jonathan Mayer

Track listing:
1. Morning Prayers
2. Jewel in the Lotus [click to play]
3. Harmonium Mantra
4. Moon Pool
5. The Room of the Half Dream
6. Inside Outside
7. Loneliness
8. Ennui
9. Speak of Life
10. "...and I remember..."
11. Recognition
12. Reflection
13. Hannah
14. Praised Be Man

This album collects together seven years of original writing for solo piano, plus seven improvisations recorded on the day. The overall vibe is one of quiet reflection, with the piano being used in a deliberately understated way and each track not exceeding five minutes in length.

All music © Steve Tromans, December 2004

Steve Tromans - melodica

Collected recordings from my time in Oman during the summer of 2007

Recorded: June - July 2007
Al Azaiba beach, Muscat, Oman
Engineer: Steve Tromans

Track listing:
1: June 10th #1 [click to play]
2: June 10th #2
3: June 13th #1
4: June 13th #2
5: June 23rd #1
6: June 23rd #2
7: June 23rd #3
8: June 26th #1
9: June 26th #2
10: June 26th #3
11: July 1st #1

Al Azaiba beach was a five-minute walk from our apartment in Muscat, making it an ideal place to cool off after the blistering 40-plus celsius of the daytime. As the sun went down between 6-7pm on five separate evenings, I made a series of solo melodica recordings with the gentle ebb-and-flow of the gulf tide as backdrop. Those recordings are collected together on this album.

All tracks © Steve Tromans 2007

Steve Tromans - melodicas (multi-tracked)

For four melodicas spaced antiphonally

Recorded: January 2005
West Midlands, UK
Engineer: Steve Tromans

Track listing:
1: Urquhart Fifths (full-length version) [click to play]
2: Urquhart Fifths (radio-friendly version)

Inspired by a visit to the sleepy village of Drumnadrochit on the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland, this album came about as a result of a night spent playing perfect fifths out onto the waters of Urquhart Bay (part of the loch). The sound of the chords echoing back from the opposing shore combined with the eerie stillness of the loch are recreated through the antiphonal spacing of the four melodicas on this album, recorded a couple of days after our return from the Highlands.

All music © Steve Tromans January 2005

Steve Tromans - piano

First in a 5-volume series of compositions and improvisations for solo piano

Recorded April 2006
at a secret location in the UK (kept secret at the request of the patron)
Engineer: Steve Tromans
DAT recording equipment loaned from Mike Green

Track listing:
1: Terra Nostra (theme)
2: Sounds from Outside
3: 88 Keys
4: Paper/Strings
5: IAO [click to play]
6: PAN
7: Melody in Low Tones
8: Film Noir
9: Merkuri

All music © Steve Tromans, April 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - piano

Second in a 5-volume series of compositions and improvisations for solo piano

Recorded April 2006
at a secret location in the UK (kept secret at the request of the patron)
Engineer: Steve Tromans
DAT recording equipment loaned from Mike Green

Track listing:
1: Springtime [click to play]
2: Moonlight
3: K.Anger
4: The Answer?
5: Winter Flurries
6: Marylou
7: Black Pentatonic

All music © Steve Tromans, April 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - piano

Third in a 5-volume series of compositions and improvisations for solo piano

Recorded April 2006
at a secret location in the UK (kept secret at the request of the patron)
Engineer: Steve Tromans
DAT recording equipment loaned from Mike Green

Track listing:
1: Mongolia Dream
2: Three Three Two
3: Rewind
4: Pollyanna [click to play]
5: Despair turns to
6: Uprising
7: Short/Long
8: OTR

All music © Steve Tromans, April 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - piano

Fourth in a 5-volume series of compositions and improvisations for solo piano

Recorded April 2006
at a secret location in the UK (kept secret at the request of the patron)
Engineer: Steve Tromans
DAT recording equipment loaned from Mike Green

Track listing:
1: Chord Colours [click to play]
2: Discourse
3: The Question
4: Sounds from Inside
5: Idea
6: Reticence

All music © Steve Tromans, April 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - piano

Last in a 5-volume series of compositions and improvisations for solo piano

Recorded April 2006
at a secret location in the UK (kept secret at the request of the patron)
Engineer: Steve Tromans
DAT recording equipment loaned from Mike Green

Track listing:
1: Nuit [click to play]

All music © Steve Tromans, April 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - melodica and electronic score preparation

"...this truly unique musical treatment of Liber AL proved to be one of the most powerful and invocative readings of the Book that I have been privileged to experience."
[from "Bell, Book and Piano - Raphael Noir
The Oracle Mirror No.5]

instrumental tracks from the 2007 working of my 2006 authorised musical setting

Recorded: April 8th - 10th 2007 e.v.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Engineer: Steve Tromans

Track listing:
1: Had, the manifestation of Nuit - introduction
2: Had, the manifestation of Nuit - coda
3: Nu, the hiding of Hadit - introduction
4: Nu, the hiding of Hadit - coda
5: Abrahadabra! The reward of Ra-Hoor-Kuit - introduction [click to play]
6: Abrahadabra! The reward of Ra-Hoor-Kuit - coda

After the 2006 premiere performance of my authorised musical setting of Liber AL vel Legis for piano, electronics, drumkit and narrator, I wanted to make sure I performed the work again on the appropriate feast days in 2007 whilst in Mongolia. These instrumental recordings are taken from my performances in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on the three feast days of the receiving of the book - April 8th, 9th and 10th, respectively - of my 2007 Working for melodica and electronics.

All tracks © Steve Tromans 2007

Steve Tromans - electronic manipulations

Music written in honour of the four holy mountains surrounding Ulaanbaatar

Recorded: 2006 - 2007
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Engineer: Steve Tromans

Track listing:
1: Four Holy Mountains [click to play]
2: Khaan Khormasta!

The capital city of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, is surrounded on all sides by four holy mountains at each of the compass points, with the holiest of the four (Bogd Khan Uul) being to the south of the city. I used the names of each of the four mountains as written in Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet to generate a "theme" for each of them. Each of these themes are played simultaneously (in DEBOP unision) a unlimited number of times in different registers, and technically the piece could last forever. I wanted to achieve that feeling of timelessness one gets when contemplating mountains, and the gradual merging of one "accidentally" aligned chord into the next represents the gliding motion of the shadows of the clouds as they move over the mountain ridges, as I witnessed during the summer of 2006.

All music © Steve Tromans 2006 - 2007

Steve Tromans - electronic manipulations

CD1 of a 6 CD set of electronic music manipulations of extant original material

Created between June - December 2006
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Composer: Steve Tromans

listing:
1: Altan Zul [click to play]

Altan Zul is a Mongolian name, roughly translating as "golden light". This piece, derived from sections of the track "Chord Colours" on the PIANO Sessions: Volume 4, is an attempt to represent the "sound" of the sun - a continuous, ever-changing swirl of sound, gloriously violent and exquisitely beautiful at the same time.

All music © Steve Tromans, June - December 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - electronic manipulations

CD2 of a 6 CD set of electronic music manipulations of extant original material

Created between June - December 2006
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Composer: Steve Tromans

listing:
1: Shingwa I [click to play]
2: Shingwa II

Shingwa is the supposed name of an ancient underground city bordering Mongolia and Inner Mongolia (currently part of China) in "Hollow Earth" folklore. Mongolian monks in the area of the South Gobi are believed to know the whereabouts of a tunnel that leads to the vast cities below. The music has subterranean, otherworldly qualities that give the impression that one is hearing an ancient, alien music of great majesty.

All music © Steve Tromans, June - December 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - electronic manipulations

CD3 of a 6 CD set of electronic music manipulations of extant original material

Created between June - December 2006
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Composer: Steve Tromans

listing:
1: Aum Ha [click to play]

Aum Ha is the two-word last line of Chapter Three of Liber AL vel Legis. This piece is the result of a digital error that occured whilst stretching a short musical excerpt in time but not pitch. I found the resulting "glitch" to be very interesting, and the wholly unexpected "breathing" effect reminded me of the "Ha" sigh of "Aum Ha".

All music © Steve Tromans, June - December 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - electronic manipulations

CD4 of a 6 CD set of electronic music manipulations of extant original material

Created between June - December 2006
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Composer: Steve Tromans

listing:
1: Solongo [click to play]

Solongo means "rainbow" in Mongolian, and was written after witnessing a majestically arching double rainbow after a particularly violent thunderstorm over our apartment in the Sansar district of Ulaanbaatar during the awesome "thunderstorm week" at the beginning of July 2006.

All music © Steve Tromans, June - December 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - electronic manipulations

CD2 of a 6 CD set of electronic music manipulations of extant original material

Created between June - December 2006
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Composer: Steve Tromans

listing:
1: Kharaa [click to play]

Kharaa, meaning "vision", is the name of a river in the Northern Mongolian aimag of Selenge. It is also the name of a cheap popular brand of Mongolian vodka distilled in the area. The "visions" created through exposure to this powerful, ever-flowing "spirit" served as the inspiration for this work.

All music © Steve Tromans, June - December 2006 e.v.

Steve Tromans - electronic manipulations

CD2 of a 6 CD set of electronic music manipulations of extant original material

Created between June - December 2006
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Composer: Steve Tromans

listing:
1: Magtaal "Khan Garid" [click to play]

Magtaal is a Mongolian praise song, honouring the spirits of the four directions. This particular praise song is dedicated to Khan Garid, the "Thunderbird" guardian spirit of the Bogd Khan Uul mountains to the south of Ulaanbaatar. Khan Garid is said to be able to cover the sun and moon with its wings and to be able to fly into outer space.

All music © Steve Tromans, June - December 2006 e.v.

CD 1: 62'33"
CD 2: 72'53"

Steve Tromans - piano/direction
Sid Peacock - narration/vocals
Ed Johnston - sax
Mark Hanslip - sax
Frank Moon - guitar
Mike Green - bass
Ian Muir - samples
Miles Levin - drums
Carl Hemmingsley - drums

Musical setting of Allen Ginsberg's seminal Beat poem (A 2003 Birmingham Jazz commission)

Recorded January 2004
CBSO Centre, Birmingham
Engineer: Mike Green

CD 1 Track listing:
1. TDE introduction
2. King of May [click to play]
3. Transcription of Organ Music
4. Howl Part I
5. Howl Part II

CD 2 Track listing:
1. Angel in Moloch
2. Howl Part III [click to play]
3. Footnote to Howl (Howl Part IV)
4. Steve introduces the Howl Band
5. A Supermarket in California

All music © Steve Tromans, January 2004

Steve Tromans - piano/keyboard
Frank Moon - guitar
Mike Green - bass
Carl Hemmingsley - drums

Debop meets Principa Discordia

Recorded November 2005
ARC Studios, Edgbaston, Birmingham
Engineer: Bob Wilson

Track listing:
1: Speak of Life
2: Leviathan [click to play]
3: On Blue Piano
4: Terra Nostra
5: Speed of Thought
6: Victor Jara
7: Et Cetera
8: Principa Discordia

All music © Steve Tromans November 2005

Steve Tromans - keyboard, melodica & harmonium
Sid Peacock - vocals/narration

Debut EP from my duo collaboration with composer/poet Sid Peacock

Recorded: Summer 2004
Birmingham, UK
Engineer: Sid Peacock

Track listing:
1: It's Bleeding [click to play]
2: H Escape
3: Hydrogen Jukebox
4: Mrs Caroline Haafkens
5: Filth
6: Want
7: Billboard Girl
8: The Garden

Giving a voice of the pre-apocalyptic generation, the sound of HJ is that of the roar of the void surrounding everyone and everything - "A state in which people are at the limit of their sensorary input. A music that shakes the bones and penetrates the nervous system" is how poet Allen Ginsberg described the most famous two-word phrase from his epic poem, "Howl". This 8-track EP is Hydrogen Jukebox at their most raw, edgy and to-the-point. No BS; all HJ.

All music © Steve Tromans/Sid Peacock 2004 - 2005

Steve Tromans - melodica
Andrew Colwell - morin khuur, dombra, guitar, khoomei
Beck - cello (on 4&5)
Felix - khoomei (on 1&2)

Freeform improvisations using Western and Mongolian instruments

Recorded between August 2006 - February 2007
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Composer: Khiimori

listing:
1: Solongo
2: Mongol Air
3: Kazakh Eagle [click to play]
4: Kharaa
5: Yohor Dance

Beginning as an experiment to see if free improvisation, Western and Mongolian instruments, and Mongolian vocal and instrumental techniques could be successfully fused together, Khiimori, meaning "Windhorse" in Mongolian (a measure of psychic energy in Mongolian Shamanism) recorded three times during 2006 and 2007 - once as a duo and twice as a trio. The recordings on this album are taken from group improvisations on these three separate occasions - a couple of which are featured as special mp3 downloads on the website of The Wire - an internationally-acclaimed magazine dedicated to new music.

All music © Khiimori, Aug 2006 - Feb 2007

Steve Tromans - keyboards
Mike Green - bass
Steve Street - drums

Debut album of my GTS Trio

Recorded: January 2001
ARC Studios, Edgbaston, Birmingham
Engineer: Bob Wilson

Track listing:
1: Isotope
2: Tristessa
3: Green Tromans Street [click to play]
4: Blue in Green
5: 500 Miles High
6: Henniger Flats
7: Once I Loved
8: My Funny Valentine
9: Repetition [click to play]
10: Autumn Leaves

Tracks 2 & 9 © Steve Tromans 2001