RELEASES
ARTIST ALBUM TEXT
Leighton Craig




11 Easy Pieces

Since 1995, Brisbane resident Leighton Craig has etched out a varied musical existence, from solo keyboard studies to an extensive body of collaborative work. His solo works, which span delicate ambient keyboard excursions through to site specific live documents and most recently song based explorations, have mapped out a focus of tone, duration and 'situations' for sound.

On 11 Easy Pieces, his first widely available solo LP, Craig offers an intimate yet robust collection of works recorded on an array of cheap analogue keyboards, including his instrument of choice the Casio MT40.  Recorded to cassette at the kitchen table between 2003-04, these recordings have been lovingly toasted by valve tubes during mastering to reveal not only a true sense of analog adventurousness inherent to Craig's mode of operation, but also his ability to unveil a rare tonal richness from his instruments. 

Leighton Craig casts out an audio net and collects together an essential haul of tonal gradients, phased rhythm and collapsed chordal interplays. 11 Easy Pieces (and two somewhat less 'easy' works), is a warm collection of distorted hymnals and blurred geometry - all of them visionary in their purity and timbral sensibilities.

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REVIEWS

"Craig revels in deliberate, simple patterns and the warm, spongy tones of his vintage keyboard collection are invitingly sensual throughout" The Wire

"the volume of rich, thick, professional tones Leighton Craig is able to produce is staggering. “11 Easy Pieces” is ripe with simple, lulling vignettes that reveal Craig’s mastery over the most inconspicuous of instruments" Foxy Digitalis

Craig's way with an attractive melody is one of the features, alongside his ability to create warm and fuzzy chord sequences. More than any of his peers, 11 Easy Pieces harks back to Eno's Music For Films" The Silent Ballet

The truly remarkable thing about Leighton’s work is his gift for taking such simple keyboard instruments and extracting the seldom revealed singular tonal fullness that they are capable of producing... a highly listenable and pleasantly satisfying release. 10/10" Earlabs

"a charming travelogue through evanescent moods" Textura.org

"While some pieces are simply inconsequential doodles, at least two tracks manage to compress the idea of Philip Glass into a three-minute ditty, while the ten-minute ‘Threnody’ summons a dark atmosphere in short order using minimal means and two HP4 batteries." Soundprojector


Related ROOM40 titles:
Janek Schaefer - 'In the Last Hour'
Tenniscoats - 'Totemo Aimasho'
For Barry Ray - 'New Days'

Leighton Craig - 11 Easy Pieces
Leighton Craig