When I was eight, my father brought a brand new, glossy, upright piano into our downstairs family room. I was immediately drawn to it, as I am with every musical instrument I come across. My father could only play a few bars of Beethoven's "Sonata quasi una fantasia", specifically the second movement, but those simple harmonies of the first few bars ignited my love for harmony.

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Most people know the second movement of Beethoven's piano sonata No. 14 as the "Moonlight Sonata". One translation of Beethoven's original title is "sonata almost a fantasy", and Franz Liszt describes it as "a flower between two abysses". This resonates with me. I have always thought of that movement as something to be improvised, meaning improvising all parts of the piece while outlining the harmonic progression and keeping the melodies solidly intact.

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The talented artist Madison Olandt was interested in choreographing a piece using the "Moonlight Sonata," and I suggested the improvisational idea. She created a chronological outline of the choreography, and I incorporated the times directly into my score. I am thrilled with the end result and grateful to Madison and the dancers from UC Santa Barbara Theater/Dance for bringing this idea to life.

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“Possibilities” and “With a Tainted Heart” both come from a collaboration with Alexa Steven’s on her film “moonhoney”. “Long Fall Back” was commissioned by Anna Gutierrez. “iPretty Sing” is a remix of one of my favorite musical moments that I have created. It has been 20 years since I created the original piece, and looking back on it now feels fuzzy, like the distortion pedal I ran the remix through. Like “Moonlight”, all of the songs in this collection reflect blurred memories of relationships and deep shades of nostalgia.

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releases June 14, 2023

Album Art was sourced from Pascal DeBrunner on Unsplash.