RASP

"Stephen Altoft is an explorer who draws maps of musical terrain with his trumpet. The title track, his own composition Rasp, is a slow motion expansion from a breathy hiss to an intense broken buzz ... The logic of the progression is as stark as the material itself: a fearless opening statement ... announcing to the listener "this is what I work with." (Max Christie, The Whole Note)

Microtonal Projects is delighted to announce the release of its latest limited edition CD, RASP - Stephen Altoft's second solo CD in which he exclusively plays music written for his unique 19-division or 19 note-per-octave trumpet.

19-division (19-div) refers to 19 nominally equal steps within an octave, a very close relation to 1/3rd comma meantone temperament which was discovered in the early 16th Century.

The CD features new works in a variety of styles, solo or with electronics or malletKat, by a broad cross section of international composers written especially for the 19-div trumpet between 2012-16, and begins with Altoft's stunning composition 'RASP' which lends the CD its title.

The other composers represented are Eleri Angharad Pound (UK); Todd Harrop (CA); Casey Hale (US); Ephraim Wegner (DE); Jim Dalton (US); John Hails (UK); Donald Bousted (UK); Dong Zhou (CN); Manfred Stahnke (DE) and Elizabeth Adams (US).

As with 'The Yasser Collection', Altoft's first solo CD in 19-div (also available from Tutti), this second CD is produced by Donald Bousted, and Stephen is joined by his long-standing duo partner, Lee Ferguson in Bousted's 'My Josephine, Your Pretty Scale Trumpet'.

Stephen Altoft is a new music trumpeter and has commissioned many pieces, microtonal and otherwise. He plays with duo Contour, Ensemble Linea (Strasbourg), Harald Kimmig's 'Human Factory Band' and pianist, Elmar Schrammel. He has toured in many countries and gives illustrated lectures with Donald Bousted on 'The Microtonal Trumpet' - their free, pdf book on the The Microtonal Trumpet is available through the Microtonal Projects website.