Graham Bowers

After some years spent writing scores for contemporary dance, mime and experimental theatre, Graham Bowers developed his approach to composition into a genre of music which he describes as "sound theatre". Although the music works follow a traditional approach to composition, they take in aspects of contemporary, classical, experimental and avant-garde sounds. The movements of Bowers' work flow seamlessly into each other creating one continuous lengthy piece. Bowers works with acoustic instruments, which are digitally processed in the studio. The instrumentation includes saxophone, clarinet, trombone, violin, cello, piano, hammer dulcimer, guitar and percussion. Although a solo artist, he almost always collaborates with others on the projects. The Anglesey-based composer has released a "multimedia triptych" which began with the gothic-sounding 728697 (1996), accompanied with surrealistic artwork. The following year's 728759 was a single 49-minute composition featuring a number of collaborators. The piece included a succession of subtle changes, before exploding in an apocalyptic crescendo. 1998's 728803 completed the trilogy, and was followed by the Pilgrim CD. All were released on Bowers' Red Wharf label. On June 3rd 2015, it was announced, that Bowers has passed away after a long illness.