Glass Castle Recordings - GC4162

Release date - 12 August 2022

All music written/mixed/produced/performed by Malcolm Galloway

Artwork by Malcolm Galloway using Nightcafe AI art software and Photoshop

Most of these pieces are minimalist, in the sense of the bustling interaction of relatively simple material to form more complex emergent patterns, rather than in the sense of sparsity of sound. I have been greatly inspired by Steve Reich, a pioneer of this style of music. Although individual patterns may repeat, they are often juxtaposed with repeating patterns of different lengths, so although the sound may appear repetitive, very few bars are identical.

I used to be a doctor (neuropathologist). During my medical training, I spent a year doing a degree in developmental biology and neuroscience. I was very interested in how something as complex as the brain can develop given our limited number of genes. As in other areas of nature, the interaction of simple chemical gradients, and processes involving iterative feedback can produce remarkable complexity of form and function. These patterns in nature are an inspiration to me, and led to the title of this collection.

Track listing - 

Kites And Darts
This new track is named after a type of Penrose tiling. The idea of patterns that appear superficially to be symmetrical but on closer inspection are endlessly varying felt similar to what I am trying to achieve in some of my music, although the music doesn't specifically the maths.

Pattern Jugglers
Originally released on the 2019 album 'Transitions'. Named after an aquatic life form distributed in the sea in Alastair Reynolds Revelations Space universe.

Oblong
This track was originally released on the album 'Malcolm Galloway - Minimalist' Glass Castle Recordings 2015

Automatum A
This is a new, previously unreleased track.

Chemistry
Originally released on Dancing About Architecture (2015). My aim with this was to reflect the interaction of particles in a chemical reaction.

Slow
Originally released on the 2019 album Transitions. Unlike the preceding tracks, this one isn't overtly minimalist. It is a gentle, atonal orchestral piece.

Jewel Fish
This track was originally released on the album 'Malcolm Galloway - Minimalist' Glass Castle Recordings 2015. The image in my mind when composing this was of music to accompany an aquarium.

Spiral
Spiral was originally included in the 2015 album Dancing About Architecture. This one is fairly hardcore minimalist - about 35 mins of very gradually evolving patterns around a repeated rising marimba pattern.

Shelter
This track was originally released on the album 'Still Life' Glass Castle Recordings 2016. This is an contemplative, atonal piece.

Lighthouse
This is a first release for this new track.

Wasp-76b
Wasp-76b was originally the title track on the 2021 EP. It is named after an exoplanet.

Reviews of Malcolm Galloway's previous solo releases - 

Sid Smith - Pick Of The Year list, Prog Magazine 2019 

"Packed to the rafters with endlessly dovetailing segments that whizz and whirr with pulse-quickening excitement. Harnessing the power of Reich-like repetition there's both depth and warmth that builds to deliver a coercive momentum... Galloway's ingenious flow of rhythm and melody ensure these tracks are anything but background music." Sid Smith, Prog Magazine 

Progressor.net 5 stars 

“Minimalist perfection. When I close my eyes images of Milla Jovovich spring to mind along with Blade runner, Fifth Element and other sci-fi movies. The songs are a joy to listen to. Thanks for creating another masterpiece. Malcolm Galloway is an absolute genius as what he does ” – Jason Maddock (host/producer of Revolutionary Radio Show, Phonic.FM) 

“Malcolm Galloway is a London-based musical/visual artist with a highly fertile mind and seemingly boundless productivity. As well as fronting the alternative/progressive rock ensemble Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate, he also composes minimalistic/contemporary classical pieces. Parallels could be drawn between his work and the likes of Michael Nyman and Mike Oldfield.” – Radio Wigwam 

“Malcolm takes the listener on a journey that looks at music and its creation through an entirely different lens. Malcolm seems to enjoy tinkering on the logical side of the garden…deconstructing sound as it were and following a different set of instructions to rebuild it in such a way as to lead you on a journey through a crystalline kaleidoscope... mysterious at first but quite remarkable in its simplicity. 
Both Malcolm’s solo work and his music with Hats Off Gentlemen It’s Adequate are excellent additions to the prog garden and, while similar, occupy their own acreage. Flying solo Malcolm tends to be more”cranial” while within the confines of a band he flexes and pushes the prog paradigm. – The Closet Concert Arena 

"Ever so lovely. Great stuff.” - Epic Mondays (Progrock.com) 

“Hypnotic and engaging” - World Of Metal 

"A brilliantly composed neo-classical release" - Homonculus Media 
"Utilising his dab-hand with the studio and its technology, Malcolm Galloway produces moving and energetic electronic compositions. This award-winning musician and his headline-grabbing music work together to continue the journey into artistic sound destinations. Abstraction greets form and beauty in a shimmering dance of juxtaposition in emotion. This phenomenal and room-filling sound knits together a soundscape which tingles the mind.... The Electro Review 

"Malcolm Galloway is an absolute genius as what he does" - Jason Maddocks, Phonic.fm 
One World Music Radio Top 50 Albums chart - Transitions 

"I love the Oldfield vibe and the way those driving ostinatos create an almost hypnotic sense of the music driving forward and floating AT THE SAME TIME. Bravo!" Julian Haylock [personal communication about Malcolm Galloway - Transitions, shared with permission], classical music critic, former editor of CD Review and International Piano Quarterly, and author of acclaimed books on Mahler, Puccini and Rachmaninov. 

"A most excellent listen." [Malcolm Galloway - Transitions] - Progressive Tracks Show