Search - Dwight Ashley, Tim Story :: Drop

Drop, the second full-length recording by Dwight Ashley and Tim Story, takes the listener on a journey from the absurd to the fantastic, exploring the dark beauty of horror, obsession and sublime ambiguity. Now in its second release, Drop blends Ashley's neo-expressionist approach to composition with Story's intimate minimalism to produce a thoroughly unique album, distinct from the solo projects of either artist. And yet, one shared trait of the duo's solo work remains: is at once beautiful and disquieting. With Drop, the duo strives to "move listeners to put something of themselves into the music," says Story. "We want to prod the listener to find his or her own feelings about a piece, even if those feelings are sometimes uncomfortable. As Charles Ives said, 'Beauty in music is too often confused with something that lets the ears lie back in an easy chair.' I like to think of good music as a sculpture or a Japanese garden, where you can never experience the whole from any one point. You must move through it, live with it for a while, before it yields its secrets." Grammy nominee Tim Story, acclaimed for his elegant, enigmatic recordings for Windham Hill, Hearts of Space and others, developed his intensely personal style as a pianist and synthesist developed from years of experimentation in his home studio and a love of composition. Along with his idiosyncratic, self-taught approach to the piano, Story integrated into his work the new breed of electronic instruments that have been evolving since the mid-70's. His deceptively simple pieces distill harmonic and melodic ideas that are themselves quite complex. His discography includes 15 releases, dating from 1981 to 2005, and an 16th project is currently nearing completion. Referred to by Story as "a true experimentalist," Dwight Ashley joined his inventive approach with Story's artfully timed lyricism to produce"A Desperate Serenity" in 1991. Since the original release of Drop in 1! 997, Ashley has released two solo projects, "Discrete Carbon" in 2004, and Four in 2005, with a third solo release slated for later this year. A third Ashley|Story release, "Standing and Falling," is scheduled for August 2005.