CRLS05
Sam Mitchell, Madeleine Cocolas - On A Gated Thought
Format: Single
Release date: March 21, 2024
“On a Gated Thought” is part of a set of three commissions inspired by John Adams’ epic piano work Phrygian Gates. I asked Australian composer/producer Madeleine Cocolas to write a piece for me to play, inspired by the middle part, “A System of Weights and Measures”. This section has solemn, tolling, bell-like chords which get denser and more complex as the section progresses. Madeleine kept the idea of tolling chords with increasing density, but overlays it with a heartfelt melody. While Adams is strict and austere, On a Gated Thought is warm and human.
- Sam Mitchell
Sam Mitchell (He/Him) is an Australian pianist and singer based in Oxford, UK, who studied a BMus and an MPhil in piano performance at UQ. Currently, Mitchell freelances around the UK and Europe, teaches piano in two Oxford schools, and is an accompanist for Oxford University. As a singer, he worked with Christ Church Cathedral Choir for six years, and now works with Tenebrae, Ex Cathedra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and The Norwegian Soloists’ Choir and the Mogens Dahl Kammerkor. As a pianist, Mitchell was a founding member of Brisbane-based group Nonsemble, who have been featured twice on New York’s WNYC’s “New Sounds” show.
Madeleine Cocolas (She/Her) is an Australian composer and producer who creates predominantly post classical and ambient instrumental music. Her work moves between lush soundscapes to experimental electronics, field recordings and solo piano.
Madeleine has released solo music through various international labels including Room40, Someone Good (Australia), Bigo & Twigetti (UK), Superpang (Italy), Self Center Records (US), 1631 Recordings (UK) and Futuresequence (UK), and her music has been broadcast and streamed internationally.
She holds a Masters of Music Composition from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia and is currently undertaking doctoral studies in music at the Queensland Conservatorium.
Song Credits:
Composed by Madeleine Cocolas
Performed by Sam Mitchell
Produced, mixed, and edited by Chris Perren
Mastered by Caleb Colledge
Recorded at University of Queensland School of Music by Timothy Clark, Ella Dawes, Jie Yang, Minxuan Mao, Zoe Seeley, Nic Wallace, Yue Zhuo, Ben Gregory, Finian McGregor, Zhilin Cai, Tingwei Li, Tingxiao Tan, Louis Cardell-Ree, Ignatius Chipperfield, Richard Nowell, Jingyi Yang, Rachel Zhao, Lily Amos, Guangbin Shi, Mac Johnson, Yi Lu, Ruichen Lai, Alyssa McColm, Muge Tian, Anindya Saraswati, Thomas Driscoll, Kaden Fletcher, Ka Shun Poon, Hongbo Fan, Caleb Colledge, and Chris Perren.
Artwork by Chris Perren
Released by Corella Recordings, with thanks to 2024 student team: Guangbin Shi, Kaden Fletcher, Jing Yeo Wan, Hannah Page, Jingyi Yang, Jason Cheon, Thomas Driscoll, Qiuyu Chen, Bridie Lewis and Serena Choo.