Deluge Grander: August in the Urals (2006)
1. Inaugural Bash (26:57)
2. August in the Urals (15:52)
3. Abandoned Mansion Afternoon (12:14)
4. A Squirrel (8:45)
5. The Solitude of Miranda (7:18)
Inaugural Bash: (sample 1) (sample 2)
This is a 7-part collection of ideas that, in spite of their diversity, hold together well as an extended piece. The first 4 sections were originally intended to be the bulk of the piece, but new sections were added on while those original 4 were being worked on.
August in the Urals: (sample 1)(sample 2)
Another extended piece, this one is basically in four parts, though there are a lot of sections that get reprised in alternate forms throughout the piece. The main theme, stated in the beginning on acoustic guitar, at around 3:00, and again at the end as a coda, is based equally around a simple melody and chord sequence, as well as Brett's distinctive bassline. In fact, the bass is one of the most important elements of this track.
Abandoned Mansion Afternoon: (sample)
Although it's 12 minutes long, there aren't a whole lot of changes to this piece, which in some way incorporates both ambient and jazz sounds. (The working title for it was "Hancock/Schulze"). Although the rhythms rarely deviate from a steady 5/4 rhythm, the track ebbs and recedes several times. There are also a large number of snippets of some obscure albums thrown in for seconds at a time in many spots. There were some problems encountered after this song was mixed that necessitated some tricky remixes at home- it was tough to tell for sure whether this would be a problem, but I think it turned out ok.
A Squirrel: (sample)This instrumental goes from baroque to jazz-funk and finally incorporates both approaches at the end. Other than the analog synthesizer, there were no additional overdubs to this one. This one and "Abandoned Mansion Afternoon" were the first two pieces Deluge Grander worked on.
The Solitude of Miranda: (sample)
Although this was the final track recorded for the album, it was actually composed on a cheap $90 acoustic guitar in 2001 by Britton in St. Petersburg, Russia. The middle piano section was added in just before the group started working on it.