the project

I wanted to create a more 'off-worldly' environment on this project. Surya is my tribute to the sun, and so this album leans a little more toward 'space-music' than a lot of my previous projects. The sounds and atmospheres are mainly generated by oscillators, rather than processed sound samples, to give a more electronic sound—like the original analog systems that I first began composing with.

Surya is the Hindu sun god

I always find track titles difficult as they tend to set in concrete a certain way of relating to the music. I would much prefer the listener to relate to the music in their own way. So the titles simply suggest what occurred to me during the composition and production process. The title track Surya was inspired by the fluid light images of Lynn Augstein on her DVD Borealis.

Composed on Kurzweil, Novation, Emu and Roland Synthesizers the tracks are, apart from a Varanasi (India) atmosphere on Alien Dreaming, entirely electronic and all patches are programmed by me.

David Parsons
Wellington, New Zealand
March 2007

the artist

From his homeland in New Zealand, David Parsons travels frequently to Asia for spiritual and musical inspiration. After collecting musical samples and studying different musical and cultural traditions, Parsons returns to his studio to integrate these influences with his own experiences. In the process, he bridges disparate elements with seamless grace, and creates a unique musical affirmation of our common humanity and cultural endowment.

Parsons has been a student of Indian music, studying with Dr. Krishna Chakravarty (Ananda 17046, Dancing to the Flute 13135, and Circular Dance 13133-2), whose recordings he produced.

Parsons' recordings make the Eastern sensibility comprehensible to the Western listener and formulate a unique and captivating new expression.
To Parsons' credit as a musician, composer and performer, he has evolved into a rare and highly acclaimed producer of cultural music traditions. His work is often featured in film, television and radio scores, and continues to be widely praised by reviewers.