Albums

63 albums available

Breathe

A collection of solo piano pieces inspired by the reflective and connective moments in a dance class. These compositions are spacious yet grounding, evoking a sense of breath and presence. They support movement, whether in warm-up exercises, improvisational practices, or moments of rest, without becoming overly dreamy or vague. The music strikes a delicate balance—open and ambient, yet always gently urging forward motion. With its calming yet intentional tone, "Breathe" invites listeners to immerse themselves in a timeless space where stillness and movement coexist.

Blueshift Redshift

Blueshift - sound of an object coming nearer. Redshift - sound of an object moving away. Enormous gratitude to Melissa Lanham and Chloe Keating of LJ Projects Dance for the inspiring collaborations and conversations that helped create this music.

Maquina de Humo

"Maquina de Humo" emerged from a captivating collaboration with Charles Anderson, performed live at the American Dance Festival. Positioned behind the scrim at the back of the stage, I was enveloped in smoke and could only see the dancers' silhouettes, creating a powerful visual impact. "From Over There" also stems from working with Charles; it evokes memories of my early gigs as a musician, playing trumpet secluded in the woods and awaiting my cue. "Time Passes" is a remix of a work made for Lachan Jaarda, where I adore her idea for the simplicity of repeating notes and the unique interpretation of each instrument. "Brush Wire" originated from a project collaboration and features a blend of "wire brush particle" with piano from Nil Frahm's "Noire" piano instrument; it’s a piece I revived from an unused section, echoing a former housemate's belief that "One person's garbage, is another person's art." Lastly, "Hills and Valleys" was developed during a project with Joey Anderson and includes what I consider one of the coolest sonic textures I've ever created, marking a deep, resonant moment during the peak.

Sonar

Thank you to Derion Loman, Michael Wells and Diablo Ballet for the inspiration for the music.

Moonlight

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. 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. 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. “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.

Amiss

The title track, "Amiss," was the result of a wonderful creative process with Madison Olandt and Derion Loman. I enjoy working with these two amazing artists because of how deeply we delve into the process to find incredible moments of creativity. Most of the percussion was sampled directly from the performers in the space. In addition to the driving rhythm, there are sounds from a modular synth, Buchla soft-synth, and many different harmonic rhythm generators. "Step by Step" was also created through this process. The track is a collection of layers made from the same pizzicato string sound, each processed with different delay and granular effects. "4 162" is a rhythmic track made with marimbas staggered and played like a balafon. This was the ending section of a score for Kathy Dunn Hamrick, so it has many unfolding layers of strings, trumpets, guitars, and percussion. We talked a lot about Wes Anderson and the mood of his films, especially "Moonrise Kingdom". In "Long Walk," I aimed to incorporate similar stylized sounds such as clarinet, pump organ, samples of outdoor dog walks, and piano. If I were setting off on an adventure across that island, I imagine this track would be the perfect accompaniment for a sunrise or sunset walk. In 2022, I was asked to submit a video performance for the online portion of the Phoenix Synthesizer Festival. Since I was able to produce the performance from my studio, I could use all of my instruments in one giant setup. The piece begins with "Portal", a piano solo fed through the amazing granular effect by Output with the same name. I love combining acoustic instruments with Ableton Live and my modular synth, as I did with "Look Out". Although not in the recording, the piano originally transitioned with a crossfade into the modular synth. I combined clips of my voice, percussion sounds, strings, and a bowed piano melody soaring over the top. The last track, "The Madness", is a trumpet solo processed through the Portal effect, played over a prerecorded piano improvisation. During a collaborative process with choreographer Leah O’Donnell, the tracks “Lilies in the Lake” and “Shore Walk” were created. Cellist (and amazing dancer) Lily Gelfand was hired to create a collection of samples, which were mixed and processed throughout the score. Both tracks use multiple layers of Lily's samples as well as piano. The screendance that these tracks were composed for had many compelling scenes featuring characters interacting with bodies of water, such as lakes and the ocean. I recently obtained the "Noire" instrument, created by Spitfire Audio in collaboration with the talented Nils Frahm. I selected the first preset and began playing what would become the track “Shift” almost immediately. After making some minor adjustments to the particles and reverb, I hit record and captured this track in one take. I am continually inspired by the new variations on instruments made by composers and musicians.

Emergency Drinking Water

Emergency Drinking Water, Light User’s third release, is a collection of electronic listening music. Abstract and ephemeral, the songs explore diverse sonic territory: noisy tape loop samples, glitchy microbeats, pointillistic synthesis bursts, morphing wavetable pads, blissed-out brass, existential vocoder refrains. Light User has never been particular about any single mode of music production; the group embraces a distinct focus on eurorack modular synthesizer technology but also incorporates software and electroacoustic instrumentation to achieve unusual textures and intricate arrangements. Light User explores the relatively rare music-making space of experimental electronic ensemble performance. Embracing the inherently chaotic nature of modular synthesis and the uncertainty of composing music with machines, Light User is committed to the practice of locating and inhabiting hidden structures within the nearly infinite architectures of soundspace (and has as a result endured hundreds of hours in uncomfortable sonic failure states). Emergency Drinking Water doesn’t fit easily into any genre and is not aimed at consistency. With this collection, Light User hopes to have succeeded in making an offering to be embedded within a long lineage of innovative sounds.

Myself Through You

"Myself Through You" is a collection of eight new pieces made in collaboration with Madison Olandt, Flock, South Dakota Ballet, ShaLeigh Dance Works, Jennifer Mabus and Annex Dance Company. I am very grateful to these truly inspiring artists and proud of the work we have created together. (Album Art by Joy Isabella Brown)

Embodied

Embodied is a collection of recordings made in collaboration with The Heartland Collective, Penny Saunders, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Hussein Smko, Whim W'Him, Alysia Ramos, Wendy Wischer, Mary Sigward, Maxine Flasher-Duzgnues, Bashaun Williams/Fausto Rivera, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company and Dante Johnson. credits released November 11, 2022 Photo: Bashaun Williams (Dancer) Tori Duhaime (Photographer), courtesy of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company.

Eddie's Thing

Branches

I love to stand under a giant tree in the winter and stare up at the sky through all of the branches. The angles and lines have always been inspiring to me. The different paths the branches make as the tree grows reminds me of all of the paths we create as artists. “Branches” is a collection of five new tracks, from a large body of work I have created over the last few months. I feel all of the paths in front of me and behind me so strongly in my life right now. I am grateful to all of the choreographers and dancers that continue to inspire me to discover all of these new branches of creativity. Special thanks to Groundworks Dance Theater and Bailey Holladay.

It Fits

I am so excited to share this piece. I have been working on it for the last few months...which is a long time for me these days. Most of my work is on a quick turnaround. I worked with the brilliant musician Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, who coached me through a completely new composing process. The album art is by Colleen Klock, based on a photo by Becca Webb which you can also see below. The piece is made with layers of my voice and modular synth. lyrics I am writing a little thought, a known struggle. A scattered wholistic plan. Making things feel passive, in line and boring. A flash of someone wanting progress. What would they think? Choices know community, the right things feel moving. So, maybe the choreographer’s best routine is restarting who I am. Lyrics compare talking, trying and feeling. I’m not there yet, the thing is so long. It fits to do myself. Album Art by Colleen Klock

An Agreement

This is five duets made with piano and modular synth. I was inspired by the artist KangHee Kim (@tinycactus). She takes a photo and finds one area to add a bit of surrealism, like the title of track one "Clouded Street Sign". I wanted to find ways that I could pair these two very different instruments. Through compositional guidance from the amazing Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, I used time based effects like the Echophon and the ErbeVerb to bridge the gap...also some real inward listening.

The Arena

This is a special album for me for many reasons. First, it is my 50th release! Secondly, the two tracks are pieces that I performed live at Salt Lake City's amazing new music venue, Diabolical Records. Lastly, my son reads the "Man in the Arena" speech which has been a big inspiration for me my whole life. It has helped me continue to "dare greatly" in my art making.

Body Becomes the Measure

Three section from a piece commissioned by Ann Sofie Clemmensen in collaboration with the Kennedy Center. This piece was premiered in the Fall of 2019 at the REACH Sky Building. The album art is a picture of the space before the performance.

Meditation 2

This 30 minute album was made with piano, Wurlitzer and PaulStretch. I started with a piece of mine, "Gesture 2", stretched it from 7 minutes to 30 minutes and then improvised over it. It is calm with a very slow, single idea build. Perfect also for yoga, cool downs or quiet improvisation.

Meditation 1

A 30 minute track for meditation. Balinese Gongs, Wind Gongs in the mountains at night, Bowed Piano, Novachord and Geosonics.

To Have it All

During the month of January, I began working on piano music for a collaboration with Katie Scherman. "To Have it All" is each of the six ideas we worked with in the show. "South Ballad (2018)" is a new version of a song I made almost 20 years ago. I would like to thank both Katie and the dancers for working together.

Light User

Korophon

September 2017

Here is my first vocal recording of many to come - "I Rode on NYC". It talks about my time in NYC in the early 2000's. It feels like many lifetimes ago, but this song brings me right back to it and I hope you can feel it with me. The other tracks on September 2017 are a mixture of piano and synth recordings.

May 2017

May 2017 is made primarily using "Analog Strings" by Output. It is a intensely sampled string instrument with many different solo and ensemble options. I explored rolling lush chords with distortion, fat classic synth strings, rhythmic pizzicatos and straight up string ensemble arrangements.

March 2018

June 2017

"3 92" is a trumpet piece in 3/4. "5 176" uses my new MiniBrute synth from Arturia. "7 189" is in 7/4 and is built from manipulating samples, originally in 4/4, from Samplephonics newest project Noiiz. "Chapter 2, 3 and 10" were composed for Molly Heller's piece "Vary, Vary". "Burr" is a composition that I made for a recent ballet. The first instrument you hear in the piece was made from my "Burr coffee grinder" using Sampler in Ableton Live. "Synth 1" was made with Korg's "Little Bits", a small but powerful modular synth. "The Warrior" and "The Queen" are both commissions from Taja Will for her piece "Bruja".

July 2017

This album features 10 ambient pieces made with my upright baby grand piano, Nord Piano 3 Rhodes/Wurlitzer and wicked out of tune toy piano. Perfect for improvisations and quiet listening.

December 2017

August 2017

This album was inspired by a trip to the American Dance Festival, including new ways of working in Ableton Live inspired by other ADF musicians. I captured sounds from my flight out, an air conditioner that was pumping out a drum and bass glitch rhythm and a huge hail storm. The album has six new metered tracks for teaching class and four non-metered tracks for improvisation or choreography.

November 2017

April 2017

For this album, I wanted to dig deep into Native Instruments amazing new piano, Una Corda - "Una Corda faithfully captures the special sound signature of a custom-made contemporary piano with one string per key – originally created by David Klavins in close collaboration with composer Nils Frahm.

October 2017

Inspired by fall beauty. There are new metered tracks for technique phrases and new non-metered tracks for improvisation or choreography...or reverse those if that is how you roll!

Summer 2016

New music from collaborations with Daniel Charon (Ririe Woodbury Dance), Jenny Stulberg and Lauren Simpson, Katie Sherman, Erica Buechner, Stephane Glenn and couple of remixes from student works.

Trumpet

Scores made for trumpet.

Music for Solo Piano

Small set of piano recordings.

May 2015

Three scores from collaborations with Jenny Stulberg and Lauren Simpson, Randy James and 10 Hairy Legs, Jennifer Archibald and the Alvin Ailey II company and a track from class with Daniel Clifton.