Composer Lawrence Ball has long been fascinated by the intersection of subjective human emotion and algorithmic mathematical objectivity. In 2012 he released Method Music through Navona Records he created a system which could translate personal information and experiences into sound. Energy Diamond, Ball’s latest release, continues his exploration both of sheer intuitive as well as of systems-based composition...

Energy Diamond is mainly comprised of live performances taken from Ball’s own Planet Tree Music Festival from 1995 to 2011, the music includes the composer’s Harmonic Maths concept and create sounds and structures both expansive and dynamic. It's a refreshing approach to composition and delivers a rewarding collection of original works.

It's not a big thing, but I thought it worth mentioning as it perfectly illustrates how important the structure of the album is. When I originally started listening to this album I played it several times over the course of a few days to get a feel for it. Set it aside and then came back to it ready to listen to it and review it. When I came to go through the running order of the tracks I noticed that they were encoded on iTunes in alphabetical order and not the running order of the CD sleeve notes. So I reordered them as intended and it made a huge difference to the listening experience. Now, the album opened with the mellow and beautiful Energy Diamond suite. This is a much more welcome introduction to Ball's music, rather than the rather busy 'Clown' (which is also interesting but not the best way to open the album).

The album contains 10 tracks (1 hr, 07 min, 42 sec) and is a beautiful modern classical music album that allows Ball to experiment with the form with some quite impressive results.

Track listing:

Energy Diamond (2000)
01 - I
02 - II

03 - Fractal Study 2 (1985)
04 - The Clown (1998)

Viola Suite 2 (1990)
05 - I
06 - II
07 - III
08 - IV

Piano Suite 4 (1998)
09 - Austere Eastern
10 - The Swing

7

Darren Rea