Since graduating in 2011, and winning a Yamaha Parliamentary Jazz Scholarship, bassist Chris Hyson has work on his own original compositions and has just released his debut six-track EP Little Moon Man featuring 2010 Mercury Prize Nominee and jazz pianist Kit Downes.
Chris (left) explains his journey since graduating:
“I spent a lot of time experimenting with different musicians and instrumentation to find the right combination for this music. After some time, I came to realise that it was best suited to being played on the piano alone, as that’s where I spend a lot of my time composing – alone on the piano.”
“I got in contact with Kit Downes, a pianist I have always loved as an improviser and a composer and we got together for a day to record it. We were really happy with the outcome so decided to release it for download.”
“When I write music, I try to be as honest as possible, drawing influence from my own personal life experiences, and the relationships I have with others.”
“Studying at RWCMD allowed me to mature and learn about what I wanted from music. Paula Gardiner was a great mentor for me, as she always encouraged honesty and patience in performing and composing music. I was given many opportunities to play and write music for lots of different audiences, notably in excursions to Europe and New York.”
The EP was mixed and mastered by current RWCMD student Alex Killpartrick, who specialises in creative music technology within the College’s composition and contemporary music department.
Alex said, “It was a great project to work on! It was recorded at College graduate Andrew Lawson’s studio, which is great – a beautiful Fazioli 7’8″ piano and great choice of microphones – a really nice atmosphere.”
“I’ve spent a lot of my time at the College working with musicians from the jazz department, which has really helped me hone my approaches to engineering. If you want to improve your skills as an engineer, you simply cannot learn without working with good musicians, and that’s what you get at the College.”
Little Moon Man is available for download from iTunes
Update 21 October 2013: Chris Hyson has released a second album featuring Kit Downes. Alive with Closed Eyes is available from iTunes from today.
Chris has also embarked on a short film project to promote the Button Eyes track from the Little Moon Man EP. The film will feature RWCMD actor and friend Alex Vlahos.
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