The Grand Illusion (1992)

by Rand Berke

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1.	All We Know Today 04:27	download
2.	Beautiful 04:25	download
3.	Drive 03:17	download
4.	Idiot Savant 04:54	download
5.	Love 06:19	download
6.	No Direction 04:39	download
7.	Rainsong 04:50	download
8.	Random Steps 06:19	download
9.	Ritual 05:08	download
10.	The Grand Illusion 03:06	buy track

about

This "album" was my first foray into musical territory outside the 3 minute pop format, circa 1990-91.
After this initial attempt, my efforts collapsed on themselves and I left music entirely with brief intermittent visits to singer songwriter land.

The Grand Illusion is a collection of tunes written on an Ensoniq EPS 16 Plus digital synthesizer. It used floppy disks for sound cards and memory. My apologies for the less than perfect audio quality but this is what happens when songs are transferred from 30 year old cassette tapes found in a box. I've done what I can to improve them with the much advanced tech now available.
These songs are melodic and chaotic but always have a center. No lyrics; just tonality. (except for the title song which was part of another more band-ish collection)
My goal is that there are enough melodies, counter points and rhythmic noises to keep someone occupied for more than one listening. If you merely click through the tracks trying to see what's going on, which I suppose is the modern way of listening, you probably won't get it.

With the dead horse of guitar music severely beaten to a pulp, it seemed good to open up to this field of digital music exploration. These songs were an effort to let go of the old and move toward discovering new possibilities.

credits

released May 11, 1992

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Rand Berke Hawaii

This Rand Berke site is filled with music created from joy, exploration, and a large dash of ennui.

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