Simple Music for Complicated Times – A New Album

My new album called “Simple Music for Complicated Times” is out now. This music came about when I accidentally messed up my hands earlier this year and couldn’t do much on the piano. So I decided to write really simple piano music and then use the computer to manipulate the piano sounds the way electronic music producers do.

I’m really pleased with the results. It’s 100% a piano record – all sounds on the recording are generated by the original piano performances. But the extra tools the computer gave me helped to create emotions and moods that I can’t do on the piano alone.

You can check out a video I made of the opening track called “After” here:


Here are links to all the streaming services where you can listen or buy:

Spotify

Apple Music

Amazon

Bandcamp (Download High Quality for Free Here)


Stream on Spotify:

or Bandcamp…

I hope you enjoy the music. Let me know which tracks you like. And share it with your friends if you think they would like it!

If you can’t access any of the links or music via the email newsletter, click here to go to the webpage.

“Lapses” – New Improvised Piece – Video and Free Download

Today I released a new improvised piece called “Lapses”. This is a moody journey that relies on sonic development and manipulation to create a “scene”. Sometimes when improvising with these instruments it feels like I’m on a ride – this was certainly the case for this one. Headphones or good speakers are highly recommended for this one. I hope you like it!

You can download the recording for free here:

The sounds used on this piece were created by the Moog Mother-32, Nord Lead2 and Fender Rhodes.

Obsintha – Improvisation with Nord Lead 2, Rhodes, Moog Mother-32

Today I was improvising with three of my old inanimate friends and thought I would share the result. The red keyboard on the top is called a Nord Lead 2 and I’ve probably had it since the year 2000. The little black synth sitting on top of that is called a Moog Mother-32 and I used it for the bass sounds by playing the keyboard in the middle. The bottom instrument is an 88-key Fender Rhodes.

I hope you like it!

Downtempo Synth and Piano Remix of Claws

Since I had the stems to Charli XCX’s “Claws” I used them to experiment with some emo chords with synths and pianos to create a downtempo version. You can download it for free here…

 

I hope you like it!

New Remix of Charli XCX’s “Claws”

Here’s a new remix I did this week of Charli XCX’s new song “Claws”. She released the stems (individual tracks) online this week so people could create new versions. Charli and her production team with AG Cook have been really inspiring to me over the past couple of years. It was really fun to work on this.

It’s available here for free download if you like it or want to share it…

 

You can check out the original version here:

New Music – “Seens”

I released new music today. For the past few months I’ve been in a deep dive into the world of sound design and synthesis. It’s pretty overwhelming but I thought I would share a song I made a few days ago while learning some new equipment.

This one took a cinematic turn as I was improvising over the original chord progression. I hope you enjoy!

 

If you can’t see the player and want to check it out, click this link – https://michaelstegner.bandcamp.com/track/seens

“a bac” – New Music & Video

One of my more recent projects has been creating a suite of electronic music pieces that are meant to be music to sleep or relax to. I’ve been enjoying the process so much because it forces a unique approach to writing and recording.

This song “a bac” is one that I wrote a while back for a project called Spirit Tuck. This version is a reworking of the song. For this recording I recorded a lot of strange sounds from my voice, scissors, a metal-framed chair and some field recordings from outside my window.

Here is the video and song…

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