Almost Composed

Meditation and curiosity

Moving house, the not-so-minimalist way

April 23, 2015

Moving house is a time for deciding what to keep and what to throw away. A chance to be minimalist, if only I had the cojones. We’ve decamped from Cornwall and marched on Devon. Now we are faced with many Things To Do, not least of which is deciding which of my faded treasures and […]

categories: essays, music, reflections

The zenith of stuff

February 24, 2015

There’s a statistic doing the rounds that claims more than 50% of Earth’s species will be extinct within 85 years. E.O. Wilson, the Harvard professor behind this proclamation, has written about interdependence within ecosystems and the increasing pressure human activity is placing on life on Earth. The idea that more than half of our biodiversity – both species […]

categories: essays, reflections

You had to be there

February 3, 2015

We were talking about travelling and a friend said that if he were to embark on another big trip, he wouldn’t pack a laptop, tablet, smartphone or a camera. Not even a notebook. We’d been in total agreement until that moment. What would be the point of travelling if you didn’t take artsy photos with […]

categories: essays, reflections

Rain journey

April 23, 2014

Easter provided the opportunity to work on some new music; a crazily difficult game called Dwarf Fortress provided the impetus. More on that later perhaps but suffice to say playing and understanding that game made music technology and child rearing both seem simple. The soundtrack had a layered keyboard part that gave my fingers some ideas. Off […]

categories: music

Minimal minimalism

March 26, 2014

I’m clearing out my house in preparation for the big move. As it happens, I’ve also been reading about minimalism. Surprisingly for someone who hoards books and hankers after new gear, I’ve found minimalism appealing. It’s a good counterbalance to consumerism as it invites us to question what we really value and what we can […]

categories: essays, reflections