The Enduring and the Ephemeral CD

Hurdy gurdy based multitrack music for the end of time.

This is the first CD by hurdy gurdy player Steve Tyler fully comprising his own compositions. The intention was merely to render in sonic form some patterns from the imagination, rather than following any particular theme or genre. However, as many of the pieces arose from contemplation of the passage of time and the juxtaposition of different chronological perspectives, a theme of sorts has arisen.

The music comprises multi-layered textures and interlocking patterns based around the distinctive sound of the hurdy gurdy but also including other instruments – cittern, reed organ, psaltery, guitar, bass guitar, hammered dulcimer, gothic harp and percussion. Guest musicians add other instruments – Katy Marchant playing bagpipes, recorder, shawm or voice on a number of tracks and Jane Harbour (from the Bristol band Spiro) jointly creating the final track Lullaby with voice and violin.

The other notable addition is the bass viol playing of the late Mike Edwards. Mike, a former cellist from the original lineup of Electric Light Orchestra, had previously performed and recorded in a band with Steve but was sadly killed in an unlikely accident in 2010. He was always interested in new projects and it was felt that he would have loved to play on the spacious track Tethys, following the ethereal, textless singing of Katy Marchant. A single sample of his unaccompanied improvising from 2007 was found and it miraculously fitted, as if he had had this piece in mind at the time.

“It is like something never heard but also, at the same time, as if our heart knew it.” Julie Mackinnon, DecibelFM

“It’s totally gorgeous!!! Mesmeric, rich with creativity, full of flavour, surprising, at times dark but then infused with light, exploratory – really transporting.” Leah Stuttard, medieval harpist and scholar

Steve Tyler is best known as a hurdy gurdy player, renowned for his rhythmic and inventive playing, and is equally at home with early music, traditional melodies or modern compositions. He has performed with such diverse artists as English folk singer Jackie Oates, German industrial/electronic musician F.M.Einheit and South African puppeteer John Roberts, and has played for theatrical productions (including Comus and Secret Theatre at The Globe’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse), historical and traditional dances, mixed media performances and worked with storytellers Clive Fairweather and Dave Oliver.

For many years a performer of medieval music (a key or founding member of bands Misericordia, Daughters of Elvin and Woodwose) his main interest is in patterns, rhythms, the interweaving of different parts and sonic structures, and to this end works on dark multitrack music mixing hurdy gurdies with dulcimer, reed organ, cittern and diverse instruments, inspired by patterns in nature, mathematics and the imagination.

He performs as a duo with Katy Marchant (bagpipes, recorder, shawm, voice) or with their band Woodwose, and is a member of trans-cultural collaboration Meridianum Ensemble.

stevetyler-hurdygurdy.com | stevetyler.bandcamp.com