Recently I was asked to give a small interview for the Imagekind Blog. For those who are interested here it is.

"Though the artwork of husband and wife team Duirwaigh (pronounced “door-way”) is hard to describe, it is anything but hard to fall in love with. Through a blend of mixed-media, typography and traditional poster art, Silas Toball & Angi Sullins create some of the most beautiful and inspiring work I have seen. Take a look below to see 10 marvelous works by Silas and Angi and learn more about their style and background. Silas even sent a picture of the Studio!" (...) Read on...

We have been back in the studio now for a while and while we are producing new art and many fun things every once in a while the clock strikes Geektime!

 Yes, computers need love too. and new toys. and peace has to be maintained in the ethernet. So this is now in appreciation  of those who keep all the gears greased and oiled in order to make digital art music and what-not productions possible. Besides my creative work I have been maintaining our flock of (at times up to seven) computers at Duirwaigh Studios since 2003.

So, lately the clock struck again. Time to do maintenance. On my main graphic machine, a Mac Pro, I finally moved everything to Mac OSX 10.6 because this version is more streamlined and efficient. But withit came the need to re-format the boot drive. Basically installing everything from scratch and weeding out old programs that will no longer work in 10.6. Wonderful new start. Photoshop still loves to crash every once in a while, hey, what's new! Bug fix releases are a foreign concept to Abobe. Sigh.

The music machine needed help too. The big switch to 64bit was imminent for me as my goal is to run full orchestrations on a single machine. With 32 bit you can only use 4GB of whatever RAM you have (I have 14) and when you hit this 4GB roof, programs will crash. Might as well send the violins home, while practicing with the French horns. Not always what you want to to.

In addition I experimented with a new concept. The installation of the first SSD drive to replace the old fashioned boot-harddrive. Now that was probably the best hardware upgrade I ever did in a computer. I am sure over time I will do this on the graphic machine as well and - once the SSDs get cheaper - I will definitely want them to hold the main orchestral sample libraries. The gain in speed is tremendous. My music computer is now booting in just a few seconds. Imagine Photoshop using SSD to use as a scratch disk... It is really worth mentioning, because no computer upgrade never posed such a big step of an improvement. SSD for a boot drive, I think everyone should have that!

 

A little while ago I had the opportunity to have one of my illustration featured on a CD cover of a solo album of Flower Kings mastermind Roine Stolt. The Flower Kings are one of the major players in today's revived progressive rock scene and many of their numerous albums impressed me with their creativity and strikingly engaging music.

Even though nowadays my listening habits have moved to about 90% classical music, I still would like to introduce some music from the general "progressive rock" genre here from time to time. Simply because among them are many hidden gems of pure genius that really deserve much more attention than they often actually get.

Agents of Mercy is now a solo album of singer/guitarist extraordinaire Roine Stolt. Besides mentioning my contribution existing of cover artwork and backgrounds textures on the inside of the foldout sleeve (with exception of layout and typography), I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the music.

Throughout the album we will hear a well crafted, not over the top sophisticated but rather accessible progressive rock. The overall theme is about invisible beings that offer guidance and insights for our lives - when we listen...
Specifically the first track got my attention immediately as it captures the spirit of the 70s era Genesis in a fresh and wonderful way, something that many bands have tried to capture but not often succeeded - noticeably in the arc of emotional tension in the composition that works particularly well.
Singer Nad Sylvan on the first half of the album does indeed sound quite close to Peter Gabriel. On the second half of the album Roine is providing the lead vocals which I find pleasant as well.
The keyboard work deserves also attention. At first I thought it was Flower Kings keyboard player Tomas Bodin but only later I discovered that it was Biggo Zelfries with whom I was not familiar with but who evidently does an outstanding job displaying a great sense for sound colors and when to use them.
Of course, like all releases from the Flower Kings family this would not be complete with an equally talented rhythm section. Zoltan Csörsz, Pete Masteletto and Jimmy Keegan are passing around the drum sticks while Jonas Reingold lays the excellent bass foundation as we know it from the Flower Kings or his own solo albums. Do I need to mention Roine Stolt again? One of the most versatile and talented guitarists in the genre that I know... This may sound like a recipe for a flashy talent show, but none of the musician are falling into that trap but instead deliver a very well balanced performance, rather focusing on more subtle details than on energetic outbursts.

In summary: It's really good music. Period. A beautiful blend of intelligent yet soulful (prog-) rock. There are free sound samples on their myspace site. Go check 'em out. 'Nuff said.

There is a pile on my desktop, well, actually more on my screen. We are in the digital age after all. The reason why there was so much silence (oh so deceptive) was because we are buried deep in so many projects and as often in fall - the deadlines approach wearing a black cloak, holding the hour glass in one hand and the c in the other.

So there is a little sneak peak now on what is right now on my desk. Various calendars for 2011 are in the making, Alice in Wonderland (have you seen the new art yet?), Guardian (more on that one later), calendars with new commissioned artwork for Shakti Gawain and Judith Orloff. On top of that it is time for new greeting cards. And rumors about a new book on tutorials and more Alice does not want to stay "just" a calendar only... she may want to lead us out for new adventures... stay tuned.

Just finished a tutorial on our popular image "Visionkeeper". We intend it to be part of a proposal for a possible book deal. Hopefully sometime soon you'll be able to get your hands on some terrific how-to material in which we are revealing step-by-step instructions of mixing the magic pixel potions that were used on many Duirwaigh art pieces and designs.

What is for you, in your own personal view, the highest form of art? One day I found myself confronted with this question when I reviewed my own place in the world of art and where I would like to direct my future steps.

 Truth be told music to me is the most exciting thing in the world (with the exception of my beloved Angi) and music, for me comes even before visual art. What is it that carried me through dark times, what lifted my spirit the most when it was in dire need? What causes me to trip without drugs and what extends my consciousness?

The answer seems to be romantic, symphonic music. In my childhood I had a record of Mahler's 1st symphony playing in my head. It played on a constant round, hundreds of times, while other children were playing soccer or watching television.

Since then my musical interests have meandered between worlds of progressive rock (that showed symphonic tendencies) to vintage electronica, film music and other dramatic sounds from various genres. (I have several thousand albums and will be happy to share some of my treasures in future articles.)

All these influences lived in a peaceful chaos orbiting my personal sphere until a few years ago when this question arose "What is your highest form of personal expression or art?" And based on that answer, another question: "To what will you give your attention?" The answers to those questions started a major body/mind/spirit earthquake. In this light, the word "focus" took on a new meaning. How much did I want to divert myself, how many detours (even the enjoyable ones) did I want to choose before I point my attention to what moves me most? Why not go straight to the center more often? My answer to the question "What is your highest form of personal expression"  came in a clear and resounding inner voice "the romantic symphony." With this insight I re-focused and picked up again studies on music theory and composition. In the middle of a demanding, rewarding and expansive career in graphic arts, I am now taking aim at the world of symphonic music, as I strive to express what is, for me, the highest and purest demonstration of my soul's voice.

So now I would like to share with you my all-time favorite composer: Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). Without further going into personal details I can say that I experience strong soulful bonding whenever I get in touch with his music. With most composers I like certain pieces more and others less, but with Mahler I love his entire oeuvre. His music is of late romantic style and he pushes it to extremes. It is often said his music paved the way for further modern developments that would surface after his death. The music lives from an immense amount of contrast and complexity but it never loses melodic bedding. To juggle the notes between the ends of this juxtaposition resulted in nothing but masterpieces. After Mahler's death his music was not played a lot. Nazi-Germany did not approve of his music because Mahler had been born a Jew. Mahler himself said "my time will come" and it sure did when later in the 2oth century a few conductors, especially Leonard Bernstein, brought Mahler's music back into the spotlight. Since the 1960s Mahler concerts are frequently performed and enjoy widespread popularity. Let me share a link here to a performance with Leonard Bernstein:

The first symphony was not so well received at its debut in Budapest in 1889. The very first note, an extremely high pitch (to be played as flagolet) was difficult to play and violinists screamed revolt, setting a dis-harmonic tone throughout the rehearsals. At the concert many people were confused and one lady dropped her handbag from the balcony when the fourth movement started with earth-shattering fury!

One of my favorite movements is the third from this first symphony. It's a funeral march using the children song "Brother Jacob" in a minor mode, followed by something sounding like Eastern European humor. The movement was inspired by an illustration by Moritz von Schwind depicting animals in a funeral march; they carry their hunter.

I hope you enjoy listening to one of my muses. And in the meantime, my question to you is: What media, for you, is the ultimate joyful expression of your creativity? Would it be film, painting, theater, or music? What kind? Which form of art is most awe inspiring to you?

And in light of that answer, to what are you devoting your attention?