computerchemist is the ongoing solo project of Dave Pearson, a British-Hungarian musician who lives in Székesfehérvár, Hungary.

Biography

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Pearson's love of electronic music started as a teenager when he first heard Tangerine Dream's Cloudburst Flight.[1]

During the early 1980s he played synthesiser in a number of rock bands, including Lichfield UK-based Monteagle with founder Mark Thwaite,[1] as well as simultaneously composing his own solo music.

Since 2006 he has issued a number of albums on his own label "Terrainflight".

His music has been likened to "Berliner Schule/Berlin School style jazz-rock".

Bruce Gall of ARFMs "Sunday Synth" has remarked on the crossover style of his playing,[2] invoking comparisons to electronic artists Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre, Klaus Schulze, Kraftwerk, and the progressive sounds of Pink Floyd and David Gilmour solo work, Ash Ra Tempel, Mike Oldfield, Steve Hackett, Brian Eno and King Crimson.

2000s

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During April 2008, SynGate started producing re-issues of the first two albums atmospheric (2006) and icon one(2007), however the agreement was short-lived and SynGate ceased production of the SynGate re-issues in June 2009. The original Terrainflight editions are still available.

Guest musician Robin Hayes played cello on the third release landform(2008), the first time a guest musician had appeared on a computerchemist solo album.

Uwe Cremer, otherwise known as Level Pi, was the guest musician on the fourth album, aqual measure(2009), and played guitar on the title track.

2010s

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A collaboration project started in July 2010 between Computerchemist and "Nemesis", ex-Hawkwind dancer and singer has produced several tracks, some of which were initially released for free under Creative Commons licensing which had been available on the computerchemist website for free download, with a full album promised at a later date entitled Chronicles of Future Present. The link as of August 2011 to this project is no longer active. The single and first track Sky Turned Black, a rework of Mirage from Aqual Measure, was however released on a charity compilation in October 2012 entitled Space Rock: The Compilation on bandcamp on the "Sound for Good" label.[3]

Computerchemist was featured through the month of August 2010 on WDIY's Galactic Travels show with Bill Fox, as the "Special Focus", where each album was consecutively played back-to-back each week.[4]

A different approach was taken for his fifth album, Music for Earthquakes(2011), involving the conversion of seismograph readings into musical form. It was inspired by the 4.8 richter scale earthquake in Hungary in early 2011, and featured on the national Hungarian news channel Hir24[5] and Hungarian English Language news site pestiside.hu[6] shortly afterwards.

His sixth double release album, and second collaboration, launched January 2013, Signatures I. and Signatures II. feature the Hungarian drummer Zsolt Galántai, formerly of the Hungarian metal band Ossian.[7]

A single track was specially composed for the "Sound for Good" charity release The Human Condition – Dedications to Philip K. Dick entitled The Pink Beams of Light, He Said, published in March 2013.[8]

The collaboration project "Audio Cologne Project" again with Uwe Cremer and Zsolt Galántai featuring on drums was released in summer 2013.

Since 2013, Pearson has been producing several one-off tracks for compilations and collaborations, notably with artists such as Cousin Silas and Altocirrus.

In 2018, he compiled a series of six CD albums (for which he appeared or produced tracks in various guises on each album) for the radio Spreaker show Aquarian Moons.[9]

In 2019, he produced his first analogue-only synth album for over twenty years, Volcan Dreams, using exclusively Korg Volca analogue sound modules and external guitar effects. Zsolt Galántai guested on drums for one track, and Chris Gill from Band Of Rain played guitar on the opening track Volcan Plain.

2020s

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In January 2020, That Which Prevails was released, followed shortly afterwards by three retrospective album compilations Origins I-III which were compiled from surviving tapes from Pearson's output between 1980 and 2003.

Motion picture soundtrack and awards

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Pearson's first motion picture soundtrack for the feature film The Fort[10] was released as an album in January 2021. It won an award at the Berlin Indie Film Festival in March 2022 for 'Best Original Score'. [11] A further award followed for 'Best Music Score Feature Film' at the Kiez Berlin Film Festival 2022 has also been shown on the artwork.

RadioRay collaborations

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2021 also introduced a new collaboration partnership with RadioRay, a singer/songwriter who has notably played in Alan Davey's post-Hawkwind band The Psychedelic Warlords. This has led to two albums being released in 2021 and 2022 under the titles Masks and Underneath the Soul.

Alongside the collaborations, a further two solo albums Parallel Thought Experiment and Where the Clouds Touch the Sky were also released in 2021-2022.

Discography

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Studio albums

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Date Title Format Label Catalog Number
2006 Atmospheric bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF001; 2008 SynGate CD-R 2090 reissue; now withdrawn
2007 Icon One bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF002; 2008 SynGate CD-R 2091 reissue; now withdrawn
2008 Landform bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF003
2009 Aqual Measure bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF004
2010 The Scheming Machine ft. Nemesis CD EP terrainflight TF005 (no longer available)
2011 Music for Earthquakes bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF006
2013 Signatures I. ft. Zsolt Galántai bandcamp download terrainflight TF007
2013 Signatures II. ft. Zsolt Galántai bandcamp download terrainflight TF008
2019 Volcan Dreams bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF010
2020 That Which Prevails bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF011
2020 Origins I. bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF012
2020 Origins II. bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF013
2020 Origins III. bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF014
2021 The Fort: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF015
2021 Masks ft. RadioRay bandcamp download terrainflight TF016
2021 Parallel Thought Experiment bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF017
2022 Underneath the Soul ft. RadioRay bandcamp download terrainflight TF018
2022 Where the Clouds Touch the Sky bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF019
2023 Mysterious Cave of Eternal Theta bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF020
2023 Origins IV. bandcamp download terrainflight TF021
2023 Green Twilight bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF022
2023 New Formulas for Electric Guitar bandcamp download, CD terrainflight TF023

Compilations and collaborations

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Date Title Track Collaborator(s) Format Country Label Catalog Number
2009 Schwingungen auf CD No. 164 Atmospheric CD Germany Cue Records 164
2009 Schwingungen auf CD No. 165 Timethorns CD Germany Cue Records 165
2010 Musiczeit Sampler CD No. 12 Mirage CD United Kingdom Musiczeit Sampler 12
2012 Space Rock: The Compilation Sky Turned Black ft. Nemesis Nemesis Bandcamp Download United States Sound for Good
2013 Audio Cologne Project: 2911. -- Uwe Cremer, Zsolt Galántai CD Hungary Terrainflight TF009
2013 The Human Condition - Dedications to Philip K. Dick The Pink Beams of Light, He Said Bandcamp Download United States Sound for Good
2017 Silas and Friends | vi | part i Expansion ( For Jaki ) Cousin Silas Bandcamp Download United Kingdom We Are All Ghosts[12] waag rel101
2018 The Emporium Project - 1point2 Dronium Cousin Silas Bandcamp Download United Kingdom We Are All Ghosts[13] waag rel124
2018 Intergalactic Moonloonies Invade Mushroom Hill vol. 1 La Fungo Arpeggiato Zsolt Galántai CD United States Aquarian Moons[14] AMP001
2018 Intergalactic Moonloonies Invade Mushroom Hill vol. 3 Morcellas Dance Altocirrus CD United States Aquarian Moons[15] AMP003
2018 Intergalactic Moonloonies Invade Mushroom Hill vol. 3 Low Tide on Mushroom Hill Etherfysh CD United States Aquarian Moons[16] AMP003
2020 Cousin Silas & Friends volume 8 part 2 Goodbye, Home Service Cousin Silas Bandcamp Download United Kingdom We Are All Ghosts[17] waag rel140
2022 Heads Together That Which Prevails CD United Kingdom Fruits de Mer Records[18] Strange Fish 23
2022 COORDINATES volume 04 You Can Never Have Too Much Mellotron Eagle (Arend Westra) Bandcamp Download Italy EM Force records[19] 04
2022 Sound Clouds 1 Mellotron Blues CD United Kingdom Fruits de Mer Records[20] Friends of the Fish CD16
2022 Skullduggery That Which Prevails CD United Kingdom Fruits de Mer Records[21] Promo 30
2023 Crab Nebula Moonfloating CD United Kingdom Fruits de Mer Records[22] Friends of the Fish CD20

References

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  1. ^ a b "TDFZ interview 17th jan 2009 " computerchemist". Computerchemist.com. 17 January 2009. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "Aqual Measure (2009) " computerchemist". Computerchemist.com. 14 November 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Space Rock: The Compilation | Sound For Good – Good Music for a Good Cause". Sound4good.bandcamp.com. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Programs A-Z". WDIY. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  5. ^ "A földrengés hangjai". Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  6. ^ "Hungarian Earthquake Update, Countryside Expat Disco Chillout Edition". Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  7. ^ "Zsolt Galántai – Encyclopaedia Metallum". The Metal Archives. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  8. ^ "The Pink Beams of Light, He Said | Sound For Good – Good Music for a Good Cause". Sound4good.bandcamp.com. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Intergalactic Moonloonies Invade Mushroom Hill". aquarianmoons.bandcamp.com. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  10. ^ "The Fort". imdb.com. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Winners 2022 March". berlinindiefilmfestival.com. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Silas and Friends | vi | part i (waag_rel101), by weareallghosts". Weareallghosts.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  13. ^ "The Emporium Project - 1point2 (waag_rel124)". Weareallghosts.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Intergalactic Moonloonies Invade Mushroom Hill vol. 1, by Aquarian Moons". Aquarian Moons. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Morcellas Dance, by Altocirrus & Computerchemist". Aquarian Moons. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Low Tide on Mushroom Hill, by Etherfysh". Aquarian Moons. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Cousin Silas & Friends volume 8 part 2 (waag_rel140)". Weareallghosts.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Heads Together 4CD SET (strange fish twenty three)". www.fruitsdemerrecords.com. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  19. ^ "COORDINATES volume 04". emforcerecords.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Sound Clouds 1 / Sound Clouds 2, various artists". www.fruitsdemerrecords.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  21. ^ "Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  22. ^ "Crab Nebula, Various Artists". www.fruitsdemerrecords.com. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
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