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James Romig: The Complexity of Distance

by James Romig & Mike Scheidt

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about

At the onset, we hear a single, heavily distorted power chord. The chord fades, and then we hear three more iterations of the chord in regular, pulsed attacks. To some, especially fans of metal and its many subgenres, this sound is welcoming and familiar. To others, this sound is surprising, perhaps arresting—an unexpected opening from a composer known for music of quiet, prolonged stillness.

This chord and its four attacks signal the opening of The Complexity of Distance, a 58-minute collaboration between composer James Romig (b. 1971, 2019 Pulitzer Prize finalist) and guitarist Mike Scheidt (founder/guitarist/vocalist of the doom metal band YOB). For Romig, the chord came to symbolize his “self” and his “place” in the process; as the composition of the piece evolved and developed, it became the chord to which he could relate. For Scheidt, the chord takes on several meanings: the physical (a moment of rest); the spiritual (like the OM syllable in a Buddhist mantra); the psychological (its cyclic recurrence becoming hypnotic); a defiant “assertion of intention.” These four attacks also set the piece’s formal and harmonic structure into motion. The Complexity of Distance is completely built upon a 13:14:15 ratio, which Romig describes in the program notes:

“The work’s formal structure comprises three simultaneously unfolding strands of evenly spaced rhythmic pulses, each articulating a unique pair of foundational chords that mutate and combine only when heard coincidentally with, or in close proximity to, others. The first rhythmic strand alternates, at a time-interval of 13 beats, between chords with roots written E and G (sounding A and C in A-standard tuning). The second strand alternates every 14 beats between chords with roots written C and D (F/G). The third strand alternates every 15 beats between chords of B and A (E/D). Beginning and ending with a unison pulse in all three strands, the 13:14:15 ratio takes 2,730 beats to resolve. At a metronome tempo of 48, the cyclic process lasts nearly an hour.”

Similar to how a percussionist will choose specific instruments and mallets in order to achieve the particular timbral quality of a particular piece, Scheidt took great care and precision in choosing the materials to express Romig’s score. In collaboration with engineer Billy Barnett of Gung Ho Studio and the Hult Performing Arts Center in Eugene, Oregon, Scheidt assembled a wide-ranging arsenal of equipment to craft the sound of this recording.

credits

released June 22, 2022

James Romig, composer; Mike Scheidt, electric guitar

Producers: Billy Barnett, Jake Pavlak, James Romig, Mike Scheidt
Engineer: Billy Barnett
Recorded October 22–27, 2021 at Gung Ho Studio, Eugene, Oregon.

Additional mixing and editing January 4–10, 2022 at University of Wisconsin–Whitewater Recording Studios.

Producers: Jeff Herriott, James Romig
Engineer: Jeff Herriott

Digital mastering: Paul Zinman, SoundByte Productions Inc., NYC
Cover art: Horizon V, by Juliarose Triebes
Design: Jim Fox

The Complexity of Distance is published by Parallax Music Press (ASCAP).

Special thanks to: Jake Pavlak, Billy Barnett and Gung Ho Studio, Jason Johnson and Fuzzlord Effects, Black Arts Toneworks, Monson Guitars, Simon Henderson, Pamela Ausejo, Ashlee Mack, Robert Amling, Jim and Teri Gallagher, Jim and Angela Romig, Jeff Herriott, Anthony Donofrio, Juliarose Triebes, the WIU Foundation, Michael Boriskin and Copland House, Paul Zinman, Jim Fox, Paul Tai, and New World Records.

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New World Records Brooklyn, New York

Anthology of Recorded Music, Inc., which records under the label New World Records, was founded in 1975.

We are dedicated to the documentation of American music that is largely ignored by the commercial recording companies.

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