Changing Stations

Last updated

Changing Stations
Changing Stations album.jpg
Studio album by
Released28 October 2016 (2016-10-28)
RecordedJuly 2015 – May 2016
Venue Manchester, London, Suffolk
Genre
Length50:23
Label Caravan Boy Records
Producer
  • Katie Tavini
Daniel Liam Glyn chronology
Changing Stations
(2016)
Nocturnes
(2020)
Singles from Changing Stations
  1. "Monday"
    Released: 16 September 2016
  2. "Loop"
    Released: 14 October 2016
  3. "Abode"
    Released: 20 January 2017
  4. "Melancholy"
    Released: 24 February 2017
  5. "Diameter"
    Released: 26 May 2017

Changing Stations is a classical-contemporary concept album by British composer Daniel Liam Glyn, released on 28 October 2016 via Caravan Boy Records. The album's first single, "Monday", was released to digital music retailers on 16 September 2016.

Contents

Background and release

Shortly after graduating from The University of Salford, Glyn relocated to London and began seeking inspiration for a collection of new piano pieces to coincide with his neurological condition, Synaesthesia. Glyn soon began to study the London Underground tube map and felt a connection between his Synaesthesia and each of the tube lines colours, and decided to study them in more detail to gain a better understanding of each line and their contrasting atmospheres and type of commuter. [1]

Work on the compositions began in late 2012 and concluded in 2014. The eleven tracks featured on the album are based on each of the London Underground's main tube lines: Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, and Waterloo and City, and are composed in the keys of G minor, A major, C major, F♯ minor, E major, B major, A♭ major, D major, D minor, B♭ major and D minor respectively. Each track focuses heavily on the different speeds, sounds, and mood of each line, and are composed in the key signature synaesthetically assigned by Glyn with reference to the colour of the tube line on the map. [2] The thoughts, opinions and descriptions of the London Underground can be heard throughout the record by commuters of the network, along with stories of different events in the city. The recording of the album took place between 2014 and 2015 in both Manchester and London through the use of computers and mobile phones, paying homage to the revolution in technology on the London Underground since its inception. [3] Elements of prepared piano can be heard on several tracks on the record, replicating and imitating the sounds of the train carriages and train tracks in movement. Items such as credit cards, oyster cards, paper money, coins, and tube maps, (all of which are frequently used to travel on the London Underground), were strategically placed between the strings of piano to produce an array of different rhythmic and percussive sounds, [4] drawing inspiration from composers such as John Cage and Maurice Delage who also used this technique.

"Melancholy", the ninth track on the album, is based on the 7th July 2005 terrorist attack on the network's Piccadilly Line, and features a narration by one of the survivors of the attacks. [5] [6] The final track on the album, "The Drain", takes its name from the colloquial term for the Waterloo and City line. [7]

The album was successfully funded through Kickstarter in April 2016 [8] and subsequently released worldwide on 28 October 2016.

In May 2017, every piece from the album was remixed by electronic music producer Damion O'Brien, turning the original compositions into a new collection of Electronica, Ambient House, Nu-disco, and Drum & Bass themed tracks. The project 'Changing Stations: Derailed' was described by Annabelle Carvell of Synaesthesia Magazine as "injecting a new lease of life into the original classical piano compositions, with the tracklisting re-arranged to form a new 'journey' on the London Underground" [9]

Critical reception

Barry Adamson from Piccadilly Records described the album as "a beautiful, and conceptually superb suite of plaintive modern-classical utterances and spoken word narration. Somewhere between the grand, filmic post-rock of This Will Destroy You and the soundtrack work of Adam Wiltzie and Max Richter." [10] Aliya Ismangil of The Mancunion stated the compositions have "a feel of constant frantic energy from the minor pulsing chords under eerie synth sounds, reflecting the haphazard contrasts of the different stations on a line". [11] Sam Liddicott from Music Musings & Such defined the album as "unique and highly illuminating music". [12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Daniel Liam Glyn and produced by Katie Tavini, except where noted

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Monday"
3:29
2."Diameter"
5.52
3."Loop"
5.07
4."The Waltz of Lethargy"
6:36
5."On The Periphery"
3:51
6."Oxymoron"
3:39
7."The Début"
4:56
8."Abode"
6:00
9."Melancholy"
6:26
10."Route C"
2:40
11."The Drain"
1:47
Total length:50:24
Changing Stations: Derailed
No.TitleProducerLength
1."Abode (Designer Thumbs Return Single Mix)"Damion O'Brien4:36
2."Oxymoron (Designer Thumbs People In Glass Houses Remix)"O'Brien3:50
3."Monday (Cassini Division Hope Not Hate Remix)"O'Brien3:20
4."Diameter (Designer Thumbs Time Tunnel Remix)"O'Brien2:57
5."Melancholy (Afferent Remix)"O'Brien3:59
6."The Drain (Designer Thumbs Intercity Remix)"O'Brien4:28
7."Route C (Designer Thumbs Remix)"O'Brien3:02
8."The Début (Designer Thumbs Remix)"O'Brien4:38
9."The Waltz of Lethargy (Designer Thumbs Time Slave Remix)"O'Brien6:38
10."On The Periphery (Designer Thumbs All Alone Down Here Mix)"O'Brien3:50
11."Loop (Designer Thumbs Stopped Clock Remix)"O'Brien5:24 Notes
Total length:46:42

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Changing Stations. [13]

Personnel

Additional personnel

Changing Stations: Derailed

Release history

RegionDateFormatEditionLabel
Worldwide28 October 2016 CD2x LPdigital download StandardCaravan Boy Records

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Underground</span> Rapid transit system in London, England

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central line (London Underground)</span> London Underground line

The Central line is a London Underground line that runs through central London, from Epping, Essex, in the north-east to Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip in west London. Printed in red on the Tube map, the line serves 49 stations over 46 miles (74 km), making it the longest line on the Underground. It is one of only two lines on the Underground network to cross the Greater London boundary, the other being the Metropolitan line. One of London's deep-level railways, Central line trains are smaller than those on British main lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piccadilly line</span> London Underground line

The Piccadilly line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the north to the west of London. It has two branches, which split at Acton Town, and serves 53 stations. The line serves Heathrow Airport, and some of its stations are near tourist attractions such as Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace. The District and Metropolitan lines share some sections of track with the Piccadilly line. Printed in dark blue on the Tube map, it is the fourth-busiest line on the Underground network, with over 210 million passenger journeys in 2011/12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Cross fire</span> 1987 fire in Kings Cross St Pancras tube station, London, England

The King's Cross fire was a fire in 1987 at a London Underground station with 31 fatalities, after a fire under a wooden escalator suddenly spread into the underground ticket hall in a flashover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finsbury Park station</span> London Underground and railway station

Finsbury Park is an intermodal interchange station in North London. It serves a number of National Rail, London Underground and bus services. The station is the third busiest Underground station outside Zone 1, with over 33 million passengers using the station in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piccadilly Circus</span> Road junction and public place in London, England

Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Cross St Pancras tube station</span> London Underground station

King's Cross St Pancras is a London Underground station on Euston Road in the Borough of Camden, Central London. It serves King's Cross and St Pancras main line stations in fare zone 1, and is an interchange between six Underground lines. The station was one of the first to open on the network. As of 2022, it is the most used station on the network for passenger entrances and exits combined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Kensington tube station</span> London Underground station

South Kensington is a London Underground station in the district of South Kensington, south west London. It is served by the District, Circle and Piccadilly lines. On the District and Circle lines it is between Gloucester Road and Sloane Square, and on the Piccadilly line between Gloucester Road and Knightsbridge. It is in Travelcard Zone 1. The main station entrance is located at the junction of Old Brompton Road (A3218), Thurloe Place, Harrington Road, Onslow Place and Pelham Street. Subsidiary entrances are located in Exhibition Road giving access by pedestrian tunnel to the Natural History, Science and Victoria and Albert Museums. Also close by are the Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College London, the Royal College of Music, the London branch of the Goethe-Institut and the Ismaili Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rayners Lane tube station</span> London Underground station

Rayners Lane is a London Underground station in the district of Rayners Lane in north west London, amid a 1930s development originally named Harrow Garden Village. The station is on the Uxbridge branch of both the Metropolitan line, between Eastcote and West Harrow stations, and the Piccadilly line, between Eastcote and South Harrow stations. The station is located to the west of the junction of Rayners Lane, Alexandra Avenue and Imperial Drive (A4090). It is in Travelcard Zone 5. Just east of the station, the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines tracks join for services to Uxbridge and separate for those to Central London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloucester Road tube station</span> London Underground station

Gloucester Road is a London Underground station in Kensington, west London. The station entrance is located close to the junction of Gloucester Road and Cromwell Road. Close by are the Cromwell Hospital and Baden-Powell House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barons Court tube station</span> London Underground station

Barons Court is a London Underground station in West Kensington in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Greater London. This station serves the District line and the Piccadilly line. Barons Court is between West Kensington and Hammersmith on the District line, and between Earl's Court and Hammersmith on the Piccadilly line and is in Travelcard Zone 2. East of the station, the Piccadilly line descends into tunnel towards Earl's Court and the District line continues in a cutting to West Kensington. The station is the last open air stop for eastbound trains on the Piccadilly line until Arnos Grove and has cross-platform interchange with the District line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Harrow tube station</span> London Underground station

South Harrow is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly line. It is between Rayners Lane and Sudbury Hill stations. It is located on Northolt Road (A312). The station is in Travelcard Zone 5. There are several bus stands outside the station as well as overnight train stabling sidings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 tube station</span> London Underground station

Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 is a London Underground station at Heathrow Airport on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, which serves Heathrow Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. It was named Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 until January 2016, when Heathrow Terminal 1 was closed. Despite the renaming of the station, the signage on the platform still says Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3 as of December 2023. The station is situated in Travelcard Zone 6, along with the nearby Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 railway station served by Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turnham Green tube station</span> London Underground station

Turnham Green is a London Underground station in Chiswick of the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. The station is served by the District and Piccadilly lines although currently Piccadilly line trains normally stop at the station only at the beginning and end of the day, running through non-stop at other times. To the east, District line trains stop at Stamford Brook and Piccadilly line trains stop at Hammersmith. To the west, District line trains run to either Chiswick Park or Gunnersbury and Piccadilly line trains stop at Acton Town. The station is in both Travelcard Zone 2 and Zone 3.

Synæsthesia was a Canadian ambient band formed by industrial musicians Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber as a side project of their main band Front Line Assembly. Keyboard magazine writes: "Synæsthesia explores dark tribal ambient sounds, composers have a flair for cinematic electronica, and favor epic pieces that unfold slowly."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heathrow Terminal 5 station</span> National Rail and London Underground station serving London Heathrow Airport

Heathrow Terminal 5 is a shared railway and London Underground station serving Heathrow Terminal 5. It serves as a terminus for Heathrow Express services to Paddington, and for Elizabeth line and London Underground Piccadilly line services to central London. It is managed and staffed by Heathrow Express.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art on the Underground</span> Public art programme on the London Underground

Art on the Underground, previously called Platform for Art, is Transport for London's (TfL) contemporary public art programme. It commissions permanent and temporary artworks for London Underground, as well as commissioning artists to create covers for the Tube map, one of the largest public art commissions in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synesthesia</span> Neurological condition involving the crossing of senses

Synesthesia or synaesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. For instance, people with synesthesia may experience colors when listening to music, see shapes when smelling certain scents, or perceive tastes when looking at words. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes. Awareness of synesthetic perceptions varies from person to person with the perception of synesthesia differing based on an individual's unique life experiences and the specific type of synesthesia that they have. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme–color synesthesia or color–graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored. In spatial-sequence, or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, or days of the week elicit precise locations in space, or may appear as a three-dimensional map. Synesthetic associations can occur in any combination and any number of senses or cognitive pathways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Liam Glyn</span> British music composer (born 1986)

Daniel Liam Glyn is a British music composer. He is most known for combining his music writing with his neurological condition, synaesthesia. Glyn's work has been heavily influenced by his unique way of visualising numbers, letters, and words in his mind with specific colours, and was the inspiration for his first album, Changing Stations. Glyn founded Caravan Boy Records in 2016.

<i>Nocturnes</i> (Daniel Liam Glyn album) 2020 studio album by Daniel Liam Glyn

Nocturnes is the sophomore concept album by British composer Daniel Liam Glyn, released on 18 September 2020 via Caravan Boy Records. Glyn describes the album as 'a collection of electronic, ambient soundscapes influenced by my dreams and inspired by the enigmatic thrill of night-time' and was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. On 14 May 2021, Glyn released a special edition of the album titled Nocturnes . This release included all the original tracks plus 5 exclusive new tracks.

References

  1. "Sounds of the Underground: Synaesthetic Musician Creates LP Based on Tube Map". The Big Issue. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  2. "Do all London Underground lines have a unique sound?" (PDF). Norwegian Air Magazine. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  3. "Changing Stations 2016". Daniel Liam Glyn Website. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  4. "Daniel Liam Glyn - Monday". Discogs. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  5. 'Going Underground' RTTV (27 March 2017). "Terrorism, the London Underground & the Music of Synaesthesia" . Retrieved 15 May 2018 via YouTube.
  6. "This synaesthetic composer turned the tube map into music". TimeOut Magazine. London. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  7. "Take The Drain, The Misery Line, Then The Viking Line". Londonist. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  8. "Changing Stations; London Underground Album Project". Kickstarter. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  9. "Interview with a Synaesthete: Daniel Liam Glyn". Synaesthesia Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  10. "Piccadilly Records, Manchester - Daniel Liam Glyn: Changing Stations" . Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  11. Changing Stations' music album tells story of synaesthesia The MancUnion, 13 March 2017 Archived 24 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "Music Musings & Such - June 2018" . Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  13. Changing Stations (CD liner notes). Daniel Liam Glyn. Caravan Boy Records. 2016. CBR16CD001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)