Just hit play and then keep reading.

ILEVENS describe themselves as a psych-pop band.

So what, you say? Well compared to other acts who are working within this style, you might (if you’re like me) notice something you just can’t put your finger on with the sound. Something sounds almost brighter, deeper, richer… What is that?

Take a closer look at the guitar. There are way too many frets on that damn thing. What’s going on?

Well ILEVENS are playing in a new intonational system that abandons traditional musical values. In other words, this music is microtonal. They’re using a system with 22 steps in an octave.

Shit, somebody has finally done it! Somebody has finally made microtonal music that’s not all theory and MIDI trumpet sounds!

ILEVENS’ frontman Brendan Byrnes isn’t just the handsome face of the band but also a bit of a mastermind for bringing this group and this sound into existence.

You see, it’s now very clear that having depths of knowledge about microtonality (read: the future of music) isn’t enough to get people interested in this style. You need to have the ability to write clearly, play with enthusiasm, and have fun. ILEVENS do this to such a high degree that it becomes “music” first and foremost and “a whole new paradigm of musical intonation” second. That’s the way things should be. That’s how we can show the world what microtonal music can do.

Brendan also made the rather mesmerising Micropangaea album a couple years ago, so if you’re getting into ILEVENS then this is recommended listening too.

My piece Guano Sequence was featured in a compilation album from the music blog Can This Even Be Called Music?

There are some really far out sounds on this album, so check it out! Can This Even Be Called Music promotes unique underground bands and genres by reviewing their music, art, and lyrics. Dave Tremblay, who founded the blog, is even a microtonal musician in his own right!

Last weekend I put on a live stream about making microtonal music in Ableton Live. While there were a few technical issues, I did manage to get my head into a spacey improvisation in the Bohlen-Pierce scale. The improvisation was played with my AXiS-49 by C-Thru Music (a company which unfortunately went out of business recently).

The Bohlen-Pierce scale provides an exciting alternative to the Western 12-tone equal temperament. Instead of using major (4:5:6) and minor (10:12:15) triads as the basis of its harmony, it uses 3:5:7 and 5:7:9 “triads”. The ratios refer to the frequencies of the notes which form its harmony. To my ear, BP is spaced out, sparse and atmospheric. It sounds alien but it makes sense in its own weird way.

Actually the chords that are in the background of my improvisation don’t use the 3:5:7 or 5:7:9 chords, but to my ear they still capture that unmistakable BP sound. Definitely a great xenharmonic scale to go back to now and again.

If you want to hear more, you’ll find a plethora of Bohlen-Pierce recordings on YouTube.
For more reading, check out the Bohlen-Pierce site!

And just for good measure, here’s another Bohlen-Pierce track that I wrote way back in 2010.

Just for fun I’ll will be live streaming my next music making session. Tune in here:
http://www.twitch.tv/sevishmusic/
Sunday 2:30am UTC

There will be live chat so we can discuss approaches to microtonal composition, sound design, audio engineering etc. Just follow the link to start watching. You’ll need to sign up for a free Twitch.tv account to get on the chat, and I hope you’ll do that so I can have some company while making noises.

I’ll be working on some new stuff, and maybe also creating some synth sound designs to be used later. I’m happy to load up the songs from Rhythm and Xen if you want to see how they were made. Never tried anything like this before so let’s do something new!

I’ve been gradually releasing all the tracks from ‘Rhythm and Xen’ on Soundcloud and YouTube since May. Now you can finally stream the whole album for free on either service! So pick one and listen to the whole thing uninterrupted as much as you like. :)

If you wish to support my work, please consider buying Rhythm and Xen from Bandcamp. I’ve been blown away by all the support so far, and happy that people are enjoying these sounds. I can’t wait to get back to writing some new stuff again.

UPDATE February 2017: You can now stream this Rhythm and Xen on Spotify. While you’re there, please follow my Sevish artist page on Spotify!

Rhythm and Xen: An album of atmospheric drum & bass, breakbeat and electronic music.

Download Rhythm and Xen by Sevish

I won’t spoil all the surprises here, except to say that it’s the spiritual successor to my album Golden Hour, and has some influences from Sean but not Heard too. I hope you find it deep & wide; full of layers, details and surprises.

A full-length album like Rhythm and Xen is a huge undertaking. Almost 3 years is how long it took to complete the effort, all in my spare time, while trying to develop my career. For the first time, I’m selling an album of my solo work. Grab it for £4 – it’s more than worth it.

Facebook comments from people who listened on day 1:

“new electronic beat music that’s *actually new*”
“Better than coffee. Springer than spring. You best be listenin'”
“Wild, out of this world textures and sounds. Microtonal, hybrid, dreamy goodness. Kickass sound design.”

https://sevish.bandcamp.com/album/rhythm-and-xen

– Sevish

Sometimes when I am working on a track and I get excited, I will put a demo version up online. Some of those demos were later finished and made it onto Rhythm and Xen, the album that I’ll be releasing on May 10th. Listen back to these lil things and get a glimpse of what’s coming:

5 days to go!

Update: Download Rhythm and Xen now! :)

Release date: 2015/May/10

The wait is almost over!

Announcing Rhythm and Xen, a new album of xenharmonic drum’n’bass and electronic music by Sevish. Rhythm and Xen is the spiritual successor to the album Golden Hour.

It’s called Rhythm and Xen because it’s got rhythm and it’s got xen. Xen means it uses unusual tuning systems (and I’m not talking about drop D here). Most of the melodies in this album can’t be played in standard Western tuning at all. My goal is to explore the vast possibilities of xenharmonic music while keeping the beats fat.

The album touches on drum & bass, breaks, UK bass, 8-bit and 12-bit so it’s quite a mix. It’s 2010s music with a big 1990s influence and a few dreamy throwbacks to the 1980s. I can’t wait to show you more.

7 days to go!

I’m busy working on my new album. I’ve still got a ways to go, but thought it would be nice to recap and post up these very colourful liner notes from 2012’s Sean but not Heard.

Sean but not Heard (Download at Bandcamp)

Microtunings used

Suddenly, lots of new microtonal music to hear all at once. Oh joyous day!

The results from the 2014 Untwelve Composition Competition are in, and you can listen to the finalists’ and all participants’ works from their results page. You’ll hear many tracks with a potently trippy, higher-dimensional tonality. Xen to the core. Well done to all who got involved.