The Green Brain Cycle

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The Green Brain Cycle

This is Michael Kieran Harvey’s 92 minute multi-instrument solo extravaganza inspired by Frank Herbert’s 1966 futuristic ecological novel “The Green Brain”, with amusing concrete poetry by Arjun von Caemmerer.

The work takes inspiration from Frank Herbert’s 1966 futuristic ecological novel The Green Brain, in which insect intelligence evolves leading to a resistance against the devastating impact of humans on the biosphere.

The work is in 20 movements for keyboards and piano, each named after major insect genera, and is accompanied by a series of ‘concrete’ poems by poet Arjun von Caemmerer.

By including this narrative anchor and integrating key passages from the book, (spoken in a strange techno-insect voice), the work provides an entry point for listeners to engage with the intense and seemingly discordant music of Harvey. Indeed, the quick movements, sharp clangs and odd mix of electronic sounds prompted imaginative visions of insect movement and debate.

Brigita Ozolins worked collaboratively with Harvey and von Caemmerer to design the set for the world premier performance of The Green Brain Cycle at Mona Foma in January 2018. It comprised poems in gold lettering on the walls, faux lawn, hundreds of small plastic insects, live plants and trees, shiny gold beanbags and a giant green glowing orb that was suspended almost threateningly over the grand piano. The set provided a good balance between the familiar, futuristic and otherworldly, creating a comfortable dramatically lit jungle-like atmosphere, which helped the audience relax into the performance.

Included are interviews with Michael Kieran Harvey who talks about composing The Green Brain and with Arjun von Caemmerer who talks about creating the concrete poetry.

Artist

Michael Kieran Harvey

Australian pianist and composer, Dr Michael Kieran Harvey FAHA, is one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary piano music of his generation. A champion of Australian music and himself a composer, he regularly commissions new Australian music and has performed with Australia's leading contemporary music ensembles and orchestras.

Press quotes

“This extraordinary album, recorded in a live performance of the work at MOFO in January 2018, is inspired by the science fiction novel, The Green Brain, by the American writer, Frank Herbert. What homage! The tracks are all so different and beautifully conceptualised. Mosquitoes is the final piece on the album. It is a blissful riot where ascending and descending scales, melodic motifs and sequences are the basis around which all parts gravitate. These develop at varying paces throughout on vastly different electronic instruments and some beautiful harmonic progressions are built into this layering. But often it is timbre that is used to convey the message. The piece is rhythmically complex and simply intoxicating in its complexity and the technical precision required to communicate it. It is the complex, diverse interweaving of parts evoking the intricate structure of organisms we are gradually annihilating that is the feature of these compositions. Given that it is a live recording, the quality is superb. Let’s hope for another performance at some time. I can’t wait to use this album in my teaching!”

— Mandy Stefanakis, The Music Trust - Loudmouth

“Harvey uses various keyboards. ... Harvey’s creative process is so packed with energy and surprises that the constructional steps and formats become backgrounded, intellectually satisfying as they may be. ... From the start, Harvey’s melange of sounds is close to overwhelming. ... The texture is multi-layered and multi-faceted ... technical wizardry of a high order ... Last of all, Mosquitos is yet another brilliant demonstration of Harvey’s unmistakable dexterity, a presto that never lets up, climaxing in a unison/octave flight that leaves you breathless through its sheer velocity. It’s a modern-day toccata in the truest sense of that term where the composer/performer takes you by the scruff of the neck and demands that you keep up with his mental and physical athleticism. It makes a celebratory end to this vital compendium which celebrates the smallest among us with a wide-ranging humanity.”

— Clive O'Connell, O'Connell the Music

Audio previews

Track Listing

Disc 2

Slaters Michael Kieran Harvey
Aphids Michael Kieran Harvey
Mosquitoes Michael Kieran Harvey
Interview: Michael Kieran Harvey (Anonymous)
Interview: Arjun von Caemmerer (Anonymous)

Performers

Michael Kieran Harvey · keyboards · all except track 2-5
Arjun von Caemmerer · voice · tracks 1, 7, 11, 13—15, 2-2 and 2-5

Where to buy

The Green Brain Cycle is available for download from the iTunes Music Store.
It's available for streaming through Apple Music.

The Green Brain Cycle is available as as CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer secure online ordering.

Move CDs can be ordered through music retailers across Australia including Readings.

Product details

List price: $25.00 AUD (around )
Contributor: Arjun von Caemmerer
Release date: July 2018
Phonogram: ℗ 2018 Move Records
Categories: Classical, Keyboard, Spoken word
Catalogue number: MD 3434
Alternate catalogue number: MD3434
Barcode: EAN 9314574343427

Move Records

Australia's longest running classical music label