"Skybridge" released digitally at Band Camp!

In 1990 Daniel Crommie acquired a Fostex Model 80 quarter-inch eight track recorder, a Fostex 12-channel mixer and numerous affordable rack-mount effects - and built his first studio "The Living Room". The first album projects completed with this new set-up were "Shadowgraph" and "Skybridge". "Shadowgraph" was a primarily song-based album and "Skybridge" was an entirely instrumental album featuring synthesizers and flutes. Originally released on cassette in 1991 concurrently with "Shadowgraph", "Skybridge" is re-released digitally - you can listen & download from Band Camp.

Reviews:

DANIEL CROMMIE, Skybridge

Here is a lovely, mellow instrumental recording comprised mostly of synthesizer, percussion instruments and various flutes. Its smooth, melodic arrangements provide a relaxing backdrop to work or to meditate by. There are no rough edges on this tape, enabling it to be easy on the nerves, as well as the ears. Artist Daniel Crommie is the sole writer, performer, engineer and producer on this quality recording. This tape is sure to be enjoyed by New Age and fusion fans alike.

Heartsong Review Fall ’91 / Winter ‘92

Skybridge by Daniel Crommie

On this other New Weave cassette, Skybridge, are Crommie’s solo works. His highly creative compositions move through electro-primal and New Age sounds – some potent, others calming, but never boring. Driving synth sequences and drums accompanied by flute are transformed into earthly spirit choruses punctuated with haunting samples and primitive instruments. While playing many synths, samplers, drums/percussion, and some HOT flute licks, he manages to avoid a saturated, fatiguing air. Instead the pieces are sparse and minimal, with a particular emphasis on content. Skybridge lacks the spontaneity and the edge of his collaboration with Jamie Haggerty (see Heat Lightning), but it is still recommended listening material. (Crommie has many solo tapes available and appears on various New Weave samplers.)

Synthesis / 1991 - (JW)

Daniel Crommie's "Shadowgraph" released digitally.

In 1990 Daniel Crommie built his first studio - a Fostex Model 80 8-track, Fostex 12 channel mixer, numerous affordable outboard effects and of course numerous acoustic & electronic instrument filled the room lovingly dubbed "The Living Room". Two albums were culled from a year of recording and both were released simultaneously on cassettes. "Shadowgraph" was the primarily song-oriented album and "Skybridge" was entirely instrumental. "Shadowgraph" is now available for download from Band Camp and "Skybridge" will soon follow. Here's a review from KCMU in Seattle:

“Techno” and “ethno” are what I label the two main elements of Daniel Crommie’s latest album. The line-up of instruments range from modern synthesizers, percussion programs and electric dulcimers to traditional reed pipes, clay flutes, wood flutes and penny whistles. With this combination, Crommie becomes a one-man-neo-Devo band with a twist on getting back to our musical origins. As the album progresses, Crommie reaches the extremes of both elements by stretching his songs from ultra-synth to oriental new age.

In “Small World” there is quite a competition between the “techno” and “ethno”. Crommie plays the flute as Eddie Van Halen plays the guitar. Wind instruments transform “Moon Circle” into a space-age oriental love song. “Reconstruction” is a jump in the “ethno” direction and reveals the diversity of Crommie’s talent. The furthest removed from electronics, it is a soothing, well-crafted instrumental piece. To contrast his two styles, Crommie follows “Reconstruction” with its “techno” antithesis, “Touching Tongues”. “Hall of Fame” expands on this style but sounds like nothing more than a synthesized experiment.

Crommie consistently states rather than sings his songs, which adds to the impersonality of the “techno” side of his music. Generally, the album is dominated by pulsing synthesizers which overshadow the contrast of the wind instruments to such a broad range that the album is left hanging without a definitive style.

Jacqueline Koch / Wire (KCMU program) June/July 1991

Daniel Crommie guests on Thomas Filardo's album

Daniel Crommie was invited to contribute to Thomas Filardo's "Enter the Edit Suite" playing flute on two tracks "I Can Love You More" and "Obsessive Behavior". You can find the album available for download or as a limited edition cassette at Band Camp. Click here for further details. Thomas Filardo played on the "DC Sound Collective" album "Direct Current" which was released in February on New Weave.

Daniel Crommie video resume

You can view Daniel Crommie's video resume here. This video was created to help generate interest in utilizing Daniel's music for placement in commercial, television, feature films, etc.

Direct Current released on February 15th & a Review!

Direct Current is an adventurous collaborative music venture which took root in December 2008 as an acoustic / electronic hybrid project between violist/violinist Leslie Gray (Saturnalia Trio) and flutist/keyboardist Daniel Crommie (Group Du Jour, Saturnalia Trio). As the recording progressed other musicians expressed interest in contributing: Jon Miller (guitars), Brian Davis of Pink Martini (congas), Thomas Filardo of Total Noise (guitars), Larold Will (Theremin), Bo Parker & Paul Parker from Group Du Jour (percussion & guitar / fretless bass respectively) and Paul Evans (alto sax) all came in to add their unique sonorities and textures to the mix. In summer of 2009 Glyn Havard (vocalist & bassist of Jade Warrior) agreed to add his talents to the proceedings and two albums were slated, “Between the Darkness and the Dawn” became a Crommie / Havard collaboration and the remaining tracks coalesced into the all-instrumental “Direct Current”.

This album is available for download only on iTunes, Amazon and many other online vendors.

Track listing:

Pacific Time (Crommie)

December Daydream (Crommie / Gray)

Snow on Bare Branches (Crommie / Gray)

Elephant (Crommie)

Ocean Sketches

a. Java Sea (Crommie / Filardo)

b. Arabian Sea (Crommie)

c. The Caspian Sea (Crommie / Gray)

d. Coral Sea (Crommie)

FreQ Rez (Crommie / Gray)

Road to the Atlas Mountains (Crommie)

Ballet from “Swan Island” (Crommie / P. Parker)

Flint & Fuel (Crommie / Filardo)

One Monkey Year Between Us (Crommie)

Psyclones (coda) (Crommie / Havard)

"Strangely though, while the similarities are easily drawn between the two albums, the end results are quite startlingly different, with Direct Current eschewing the more song based approach of Between The Darkness... for a far more repetitive, electronic feel where the rhythms dominate, but seldom change for the entire duration of the songs." - Steven Reid, Sea of Tranquility. Read the review here.

A review of "Solstice Sketches"

This is very cool ethereal music by Daniel Crommie, delivered through the flute and synthesizer (sic). It is very complex and wonderful music to listen to before sleep, yet it's difficult to describe and really must be experienced. Very dreamy and relaxing, yet mind stimulating. You cannot go wrong here even though it's hard to tell when one song leaves off and another begins. A wonderful addition to anyone's collection of relaxing, tranquil, thinking music. The prolific Crommie comes up with another winner here with Solstice Sketches.

Mark Johnson / Sea of Tranquility

Read the review here. Click here to download from Amazon.

Solstice Sketches released on iTunes & Amazon

Daniel Crommie's new solo flute album "Solstice Sketches" is due to be released on December 22nd (download only) on iTunes, Amazon and many other online vendors. Recorded between sessions for "Between the Darkness and the Dawn" and "Direct Current" in December 2009 and January and October 2010, the collection features Daniel's solo flute in a very ambient setting. Here's the track list:

1. Midnight Moon 9:21
2. Begin the Longest Night 21:46
3. Toward the Dawn 12:46
4. Autumn Epilogue 2:22
5. Half-Awake Dream 8:17
6. First Rays 2:49

Download from iTunes

Download from Amazon