DCM 013 – Mechanical Clock music - Phase music, Phm 3 - my 13th album. The Third of three volumes of Collected Phm studies. Notably containing the near hour long Pairing of Mechanical Clock music 1 & 2.

Phase music, as I define it, Is one in which tapes or loops of tape, are offset against one another, at a given time interval, so that their complexes of content will ride apart from one another and ride back into
sync, over a period given by the offset. They are said to 'Phase', rather, to go in and out of Phase. Over a short phase, the effect is predictable, over longer phases however, whist necessarily automatic, the result is, if the material is sufficiently complex, seemingly unpredictable. That is to say it can result in material, and musical effects, 'greater', literally, than the sum of its parts. One must choose one’s material carefully, and off set to phase with even more caution. The trick is to play back and re-cut the phase, as many times as is necessary, until the result interests the ear, then as music. In that sense, you can be said to have composed it - that is that you derive the result you want. Sometimes though, Nature surprises you - then I'd say I've been 'Given' it – as I often did in Art.

Mechanical Clock music 1 – Rh 102. As with many other projects, in the learning journey's that were these Early Phase music studies, this Mechanical clock music is one of a pair. It was conceived to be so from the off. I deliberately built a working Phase Frame as a work in itself. I find it capable and complete, as a work in itself, giving rise to the notion of a Mechanical Clock. A huge open cased affair whose simple mechanic keeps a most irregular time. It is one of my favourite pieces.

Mechanical Clock music 2 – Rh 103. To create a companion piece for a pair - I cut a Phase set, from a recording of my own tubular bells, carefully measuring it onto the existing frame. The result – the clock constantly and irregularly chimes. Hard to keep hold of in the moment but sweet in its effect. Now it has confidence and Elegance. The pair now are more than just studies – they are the first landmark in my Phase music genre.

I return to the notion of a mechanical clock music with a 3rd, 4th and 5th member of this series, on my Album Phm 7, ‘Mechanical Clock music 3 – 5,’ my 68th album. So, just 55 albums to go then, if you have a spare lifetime.

Street music – Rh 104. Refined from the irregular phasing of passing cars and I quite a delicate work. If I can make music from this, I wondered – what is music ? What is not music ? A field recording is not in itself music, unless one records an intention, a Work. Which connotes period. It must have a defined sound, and that sound must have been thought through, and altered to conceive a thought at least. I said that Music at the very least must be “ Sound, considerable as time and Process.” Sound, understood in terms of a determined agency, to constrain and limit in time. I think this piece, if anything, proves my point.


An early reorganization of my music research interest defined my music into dedicated sets of Albums. This way things of a kin got heard together - as one type of album or another - by Genre - or Tranche as I styled them. In this Case Phase music; Phm - music derived from Tape Loops and Phase timing – by convention - Phm.

Albums 11 to 15 are the first five Phm albums, placed in a block, one of 5 blocks, placed like books on a shelf. in an in an overarching 'Group' of my first 27albums. Five Blocks for the Five Tranches - as they were founded (more of less) - five sets of studies and pieces, as my Foundational Group 'Blue Cherry' [after a friend]. The foundation stone the rest of my music is built on - in four further Groups.

The Five Phm albums in the Blue Cherry Group are: three volumes of quite advanced studies – Phm 1 Mechanical Phase music; Phm 2 Elevation Phase ; and phm 3 Mechanical Clock music; with two large scale works – Phm 4 Click Track Toe and Phm 5 Jove.

Beginning as a percussionist my first 7 albums are for Drums of various kinds, Drum music or Dm, my first area of research interest or Tranche. I soon realised there was a second area of percussion, as a generality over a specialism - percussion on anything other than Drums, MPm. The third of of five was the Phase music, realised by tape looping and timing - by convention – Phm.

The DCM album numbers are volumes in a [for the most part] chronological edition.- The DCM Broadhurst Edition - Prepared for the British Library in 2018. The Volumes or Albums themselves were actually released as and when it was possible. The Edition though, was planed to stand on the 'foundation Stone' of the Blue Cherry group.

The Rh catalogue, numbers my works, in order of Completion.