Summary: 315 ENSEMBLE CHRIS CRESSWELL Arjun Jethwa Luke Newby Laurie McGee Laetitia Van Wyk Heather Duncanson Chris Cresswell Ravello Records presents 315 ENSEMBLE, the self-titled debut album of composer/electric guitarist/sound artist Chris Cresswell’s sextet, recorded live at Birmingham Conservatoire in England. Cresswell’s 315 Ensemble is dedicated to exploring possibilities in electroacoustic music as well as commissioning works from outstanding composers worldwide. This album premieres two compositions by Creswell exclusively. 315 Ensemble is “a chamber ensemble masquerading as an electro-acoustic band or an experimental band masquerading as a chamber ensemble,” includes Arjun Jethwa (flute/bass flute); Luke Newby (clarinet/bass clarinet); Laurie McGee (violin); Laetitia Van Wyk (cello); Heather Duncanson (piano); and Chris Cresswell (electric guitar/electronics). In Cresswell’s blurs the line between white noise, digital sampling, ambient electronic textures, and classical instruments, with an organic structure and a restrained instrumentation. This culminates in a provocative exploration of tonalities through which the listener is challenged to hear sound graphics as the foreground. This journey is aptly reflected in the first work “From Dreams, We Emerge,” about which, the composer writes: “the work explores subtle, shifting electronic textures built from white noise, sampled instruments, and static.” The album also premieres “The Lost Art of Losing Sleep,” the first work Cresswell wrote specifically for the ensemble. The music, an exploration of electroacoustic tone clusters, is accompanied by a poem: woven fragments wash over him as he rediscovers the lost art of losing sleep
