Neoclassical Suite is a column that will present 7 recent, distinctive tracks of the neoclassical-modern classical-contemporary -and beyond!- music field.
The Players
Ink Sticks & Stones
(neoclassical, cinematic)
Ink Sticks & Stones is the moniker for Toronto based composer-singer-songwriter Ai Rei Dooh-Tousignant.
Her latest single, Vaste III is the 3rd piece from the instrumental Vaste suite. Slow, introspective, and meditative, the song blends a string ensemble, piano, vibraphone, and synthesizers to create a moment of calm. The full EP will be released on May 14th 2021. It is an intimate voyage based in electro-ambient and contemporary classical music.
Her first album, All That Gets Left Behind, is a collection of 10 folk/rock songs centered around stories written by the artist herself. The release was marked by an interview on Radio-Canada, along with a glowing review. Singles from the album were played on multiple radio stations across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., more specifically the 2nd single called Full Blue Moon. Four music videos, all directed by Ink Sticks & Stones were released to help promote the album.
Being of mixed descent, Ink Sticks & Stones is constantly searching for different ways to express her many cultures, and openly advocates for a more inclusive Canadian music scene.
Secret of Elements
(Interpretation: Mischa Blanos)
(waltz, modern classical)
Johann Pätzold aka Secrets of Elements is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer from Rostock in northern Germany.
In 2015, he participated in the compilation #Explorer released on InFiné, focussing on young talents. A year later, at the request of Alexandre Cazac, he re-edited and rearranged the initial 2010 classical recordings of ‘Versus’ and helped relaunch the project with Carl Craig, which was then released in 2017.
Pätzold is a “music activist” in the broadest sense. In 2014, he was the spearhead of demonstrations preventing the closure of the city’s historical “Volkstheater”, mobilising the local population and elected officials to save a theatre that is one of the last areas of expression in a predominantly conservative city known for having an active and violent far right. The theatre has become a privileged place for the artist to collaborate with local cultural actors of dance and theatre. The latest “Saturn Return”, developed in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, is a choreography by Lester René González, whose music is entirely composed by Secret of Elements and includes pieces from ‘Chronos’.
With InFiné, he released two EPs: ‘Monumentum’ (2017) and ‘Odesea’ (2018), both of which are heavily influenced by the migration crisis and the reception of Syrian populations in Germany from 2015/2016. Pätzold actively participated in the organisation of the reception of migrants with local associations. In 2016, he travelled South to actively save lives in the Mediterranean. He made several of those journeys thereafter.
Mikael Oterhals
(neoclassical, solo piano)
I’m a classical pianist and composer located in Stockholm, Sweden. I’ve studied classical music, jazz music and composition for several years which resulted in composing mostly compose classical music, but with influence from other styles as well.
My debut EP “The End of the Begninning”, released on June 19, 2020, contains four piano pieces written and performed by me. The sound of the EP is classical but you can hear the modern influence from pop music thoughout the entire EP.
Diane Arkenstone
(neoclassical, new age, epic music)
New age sensation Diane Arkenstone came from a varied musical background before focusing her career on Celtic music in the 1990s. Trained as an opera singer, Arkenstone experimented with punk, heavy metal, and folk music until she co-formed the duo Enaid & Einalem with a musician friend named Melanie. While with the duo, she married like-minded musician David Arkenstone and formed the label Neo Pacifica with him. She broke out on her own to make meditative music in 2001, but several other projects developing around the time reflected her love of rock and Celtic music as well. ~ Bradley Torreano, Rovi
Luminem
(feat. IKSRE)
(neoclassical, epic music)
Luminem plays from the heart to bring more light, love and harmony into the world.
Inspired by composers like Erik Satie and Ludovico Einaudi, Luminem creates soundscapes to evoke feeling and reflection in the listener.
Emotive piano, with occasional accompaniment, combines gently undulating tempo and elements of space. Music that creates a background ambience or reveals intricacies on closer listening. Fragments of Luminem melodies often linger in the mind.
Janis Neteler
(Composition: Tōru Takemitsu)
(jazz, contemporary music)
Janis Neteler is a prizewinner, finalist and semi-finalist in a number of international guitar competitions. Neteler`s repertoire encompasses solo and chamber music works from various epochs. He performs regularly in duets or trios with flute, cello or voice. His orchestral repertoire includes works not only by Vivaldi (e.g. Concerto for Lute and string orchestra), but also 20th Century works such as M. M. Ponces Concierto del sur.
Andrew Tasselmyer
(ambient, neoclassical)
Andrew Tasselmyer is a musician from Baltimore, MD currently living in Philadelphia, PA. He utilizes homegrown samples, field recordings, and lo-fi recording techniques to inject personal and tactile sound into his expansive ambient compositions. In addition to an extensive catalog of releases on labels such as Seil Records, Eilean, Home Normal, Constellation Tatsu and more, he is a member of Hotel Neon, Gray Acres, and Mordançage.
The Music
Christos Doukakis