Other Niclas Tamas
Morphogenetic Fields

Morphogenetic Fields
Morphogenetic Fields (2013) ends my iOS music suite Pieces of Life. Previous releases are:

• Shopping Cart Romance (2011)

• The Ta(i)les and Mysteries of Electric Elephants (2011)

• Lullaby for sleepy NanoBots (2012)

• Dr Heisenberg's final decision (2012)

Pieces of Life are available for listening on SoundCloud. Three conditions bind these five ambient music compositions together.

• they are all composed, mixed and produced entirely on my iPhone
• they are all based on the same initial musical pattern but delivering five totally different listens
• they form the first coherent iOS electronic ambient music suite, comprising of over three hours of evolving and consciously crafted thematic music

Background
The work on Morphogenetic Fields started on the 12th of September 2012. The title refers to the controversial and thought provoking theories of English biologist Rupert Sheldrake at Trinity College, Cambridge University. In essence he claims that all living things are capable of communicating with each other through what he calls morphic fields. Morphogenetic fields are sub sets of morphic fields which influence and are influenced by all living things.

This concept, with limitless communication between man and nature regardless of time and space, appeals to me and has been the underlying force during my work with Morphogenetic Fields.

This piece, as well as the other pieces in the suite, is composed with my method of reductive composing. They all share the same initial midi pattern. By reduction I then sculpted the pieces out of this block of notes. With five totally different results.

Morphogenetic Fields
There are some key musical elements that binds this forty minute piece together.
On my stay in Budapest during the summer of 2012 I did a lot of field recordings. One of them emerged naturally as the glue for this piece, a tram ride on route 4 from Szent István körút in Pest over Margit Hid to Margit Körút on the Buda side. This theme reoccurs and different sounds form vital ingridients in the musical structure.

I introduce two new elements in the suite Pieces Of Life in Morphogenetic Fields, voice and symphonic arrangements. There are two voice samples used and they are given the leading part for the third and fourth movement. The first voice sample is Ronald Reagans speech in West Berlin on the 12th of June 1987 where he urges Mr. Gorbatjov to "tear down this wall".

The other is the voice of Mr. Imre Nagy, Hungarys Prime Minister, on Radio Kossuth on the 25th of October 1956 during the uprising against the Soviet occupation of Hungary. The speech promises "the far-reaching democratization of Hungarian public life".

The third voice is my own reading the text:
"A favourite theme in science fiction is the portal. An extra ordinary opening in space or time that connects travellers to distant realms. A good portal is a shortcut, a guide, a door into the unknown. If only they actually excisted. It turns out that they do"

By combining the voices of Mr. Reagan, Mr. Nagy and myself with the field recording of my tram ride, I create my own morphogenetic field. Influenced by events that shaped my life from the ground up. But they are events that I in no way taken part in. Still, these events have influenced my life and still play a major part in shaping who I am. As a person and human being.

The only exception from my iPhone purist view of composing, mixing and producing is Gestrument. The symphonic theme for the sixth, seventh and eighth movements are composed in Gestrument and ACP into NanoStudio using mail and AudioShare.

Morphogenetic Fields is divided into eight five minute movements set apart by silence. I concider each movement as a stand alone part within the frame work. This approach by dividing the piece with silence is new for Morphogenetic Fields. It's predecessors has been a continuous stream from A to B. The eight morphogenetic fields form and influence the morphic field.

The movements
In the first movement the tram ride and the excistence of portals are established. A lush wave theme created in Sunrizer is introduced along with the basic rythm sound. This sound is a processed sample taken from the tram ride field recording.

These sounds will re occur in the following movements. The processed field recording is repeated four times with different velocity making it come and go in the background. It establishes the feeling of an on ward movement. Creating a pace and an atmosphere.

The second movement consists of two parts. It is divided in the middle, marked by distinct sounds from the tram ride. Two elements and a theme is introduced. Firstly a deep base which brings along a deep motion. Secondly three different pads. All lush and atmospheric. In combination with the long base notes they create some very deep sounding and beautiful soundscapes. The theme consists of five notes. Played in different ways forming the first melody. This melody returns in the third movement.

The first two movements has created a relaxing ambient atmosphere with interchanging soundscapes for the listener. The third movement starts with a dramatic string theme created in Gestrument and a hollow time bending sound from Alchemy. The morphic fields are starting to interact and searching for new ways. The theme introduced in the first movement appears in yet another disguise, but quite distinguishable. Then the first loop of Mr. Reagans speech plays. It will repeat four times, dividing this movement into four subparts. The theme initially started in the first movement resolves itself here right after the second Reagan loop. Opening up the piece and the journey forward.

In the fourth movement the overall ambient atmosphere returns. The piece glides into a more reflective state and this movement is arranged as four meditative parts. All introduced and paced by Mr. Imre Nagy's speech on Kossuth Radio in 1956. This is accompanied by the Sunrizer wave like theme from the first movement. A series of short bursts of EP-clusters from the magnificent Eden synth creates a dreamy and vintage like soundscape. Between the loops of Mr. Nagy, the tramride pushes itself into focus. Details such as the driver's announcements, the signal from opening and closing doors and the attention signal for the next stop is clearly audiable by the listener. They form a subtle and recognisable pattern.

The fifth movement is the middle movement. Its theme is a four note song sung by a light female voice from Alchemy. The wave like Sunrizer pads keeps creating a dreamy atmosphere along with a simplified variation of the EP-cluster. The tram field recording steps up even more in this movement. The different tram sounds are at this point an integral part of the music. You can for instance hear the characteristic bell sound clearly intergrated as part of the music in this movement. In the latter part of this movement a new sound is introduced. The electric birds. They will sing the theme in the preceding movement. The sampled rhythm sound picks up again after not being heard since the second movement. All this combined is picking up the pace and leading the listener into the finishing movements of Morphogenetic Fields.

The sixth movement starts with a symphonic theme of brass and strings. It is the main theme for the beginning of the final movements. The theme reveals joy and the fanfare like brass calls for attention. The theme re occurs four times and between them the deep base returns from the third movement to build structure and tempo. A little melody is repeated twice with an Eden sound that only appears here. Its light and joyfull pitch contrasts to the heavy artillery of the brass and string theme for this movement. Further on we hear the electric birds talking to each other again. This movement builds momentum for the two finishing movements of Morphogenetic Fields. And we clearly hear the tram ride, regardless of the lower velocity setting. It has at this point established itself as the key element in the listeners sound structure.

The seventh movement and eighth movement form a distinct final part of Morphogenetic Fields. They are closely connected, yet separated by silence. The main closing theme is introduced by a string orchestra in the seventh movement and continued in the eight, adding a piano.
The seventh movement is like the previous sixth movement divided into four sub parts. The brass is gone and the string theme awakes a melancholy feeling of loss. The deep base returns and along with another Eden sound and a sampling, they enhance the illusion of movement from the tram field recording. In sub part two and three a melody is made a temporary lead. Then the last voice sample appears. About the portal and travels in space or time.

The eighth movement consists of a string and piano theme. It resembles a typical adagio mid movement of a romantic piano concerto. It is repeated twice and divides this last movement into two separate parts. The electric birds return giving the first part a pastoral flavour. The second part is announcing the end of the listeners journey. Only piano, strings and a low velocity tweaked 7th Heavan pad from Eden.

After the final piano note there is only the fading out of the tram ride left accompanied by the last appearance of the electric birds.
The journey has ended and reached its final destination.