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Opening the Mountain

by West Riding

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1.
Opening the Mountain 03:56
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2.
Deep In Cold Mountain 05:20
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3.
Dance of the Five Mountains 03:07
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about

"Opening The Mountain" is another installment in my yearlong effort to release short EP's every few months.

With this album, I leaned away from my more sedate, ambient fare and back towards the more cinematic, "soundtrack without a movie" style I had experimented with in previous releases.
I am particularly enamored of mixing electronic elements with more traditional orchestral structures, as is evident here. With the exception of the third track, I use the same 3 electronic instruments as the primary voice, and allow the virtual orchestra to take on a supporting role, often with other electronic instruments adding color.

The theme of this album, quite obviously, is "mountains." Mountains figure heavily not only in the metaphors and analogies of Zen Buddhist practice, but also in the hearts and psyches of humans everywhere. Our deeply-entrenched awe upon seeing a tall mountain range stretch towards the sky, our yearning to climb those mountains and experience their grandeur, and our wonder at the mysteries they hold is one of the more unifying common responses shared by humanity across generations and across continents.
I did specifically peg each work in this 3-part series to a bit of Buddhist or Zen imagery, as explained in the unusually brief track notes listed here.

And as is my usual custom, any and all monies received from this work are donated to worthy causes for the sake of all sentient beings. May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be well.

credits

released August 30, 2023

James M Gregg - trumpet, virtual orchestra, electronics
composed, arranged, and mixed by James M Gregg at Rioghal Studios
mastered by CloudBounce

cover photo from "On My Walks" by Jessica Beer
artwork designed by James M Gregg

copyright 2023 by Rioghal Music

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West Riding Portland, Oregon

West Riding (aka James M Gregg) produces ambient, neo-classical and cinematic music inspired by quiet mountains, intrepid journeys and Zen koans, as well as artists such as Olafur Arnalds, Phillip Glass, Max Richter, Arve Henriksen, Hans Zimmer, Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Gustav Mahler and many more westriding.net ... more

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