Breaking the Illusion (real name Tomas Stewart, born in Leeds) is a British hip hop artist and co-founder of the Low Life Records label along with Braintax. Starting off as a two-man act with Oddball (real name Paul Edmeade), the name now is used solely by Stewart, following Oddball's departure.
History
Stewart formed Breaking the Illusion with Edmeade in Leeds, and their first release was the single "Can You Understand" (Play Hard Records, 1989). The duo were friendly with Joe Christie and DJ T.E.S.T. (real name Aaron Harrow) who together formed the group Braintax, and discussions between them led to the founding of Low Life Records in 1992. Breaking the Illusion released more twelve inches under the Low Life Records label, maintaining close links with Braintax as the two groups' members often guested on each other's tracks.
Following the release of their Lose Your Illusion EP (Low Life, 1993), Edmeade left the group to join the Kaliphz. Around the same time, Joe Christie moved to London, taking Low Life Records with him.
Stewart continued to record as a solo artist under the Breaking the Illusion name, his first solo release being the I Need a Job EP. In 2005, he released a single, "Never (In a Million)", and he continues to promote his music on his website. He also works as a producer for other artists.
Discography
Singles and EPs
* "Can You Understand" (1989, Play Hard)
* Where Will It End EP (1992, Low Life)
* Lose Your Illusion EP (1993, Low Life)
* I Need a Job EP (1993, Low Life)
* "Never (In a Million)" (2005, Nice Things)
History
Stewart formed Breaking the Illusion with Edmeade in Leeds, and their first release was the single "Can You Understand" (Play Hard Records, 1989). The duo were friendly with Joe Christie and DJ T.E.S.T. (real name Aaron Harrow) who together formed the group Braintax, and discussions between them led to the founding of Low Life Records in 1992. Breaking the Illusion released more twelve inches under the Low Life Records label, maintaining close links with Braintax as the two groups' members often guested on each other's tracks.
Following the release of their Lose Your Illusion EP (Low Life, 1993), Edmeade left the group to join the Kaliphz. Around the same time, Joe Christie moved to London, taking Low Life Records with him.
Stewart continued to record as a solo artist under the Breaking the Illusion name, his first solo release being the I Need a Job EP. In 2005, he released a single, "Never (In a Million)", and he continues to promote his music on his website. He also works as a producer for other artists.
Discography
Singles and EPs
* "Can You Understand" (1989, Play Hard)
* Where Will It End EP (1992, Low Life)
* Lose Your Illusion EP (1993, Low Life)
* I Need a Job EP (1993, Low Life)
* "Never (In a Million)" (2005, Nice Things)
Staccato-harmonic duo-tone is a new discovery in guitar technique by Le-Tuyen Nguyen, an Australian composer and researcher who is teaching in Sydney Australia. He presented a lecture-recital on this new technique at the Darwin International Guitar Festival Australia in July 2007.
Staccato-harmonic duo-tone is the simultaneous sounding of 2 tones on 1 string of the guitar; each tone has its own definite pitch, duration, articulation and distinctive tone colour. The lower tone has the normal staccato tone colour with shorter duration; the higher tone has the natural harmonic bell-like tone colour with longer duration as much as the physical vibration of the guitar string.
Method of Production
Staccato-Harmonics Duo-tones are produced by using the left hand finger to press the string directly on a specified fret onto the fingerboard (the string actually touches the specified fret) and plucking the string with the right hand at the same time. Both left hand and right hand must release immediately to let the string continue to vibrate. When both hands release, the fundamental tone is stopped therefore creating a staccato effect; at the same time this allows the harmonic tone to emerge and sustain its duration.
Sound Palette
When staccato-harmonics duo-tone technique is performed, both the fundamental tone and natural harmonic tone are sounded. Duo-tones could be found directly on the frets where the natural harmonics are found, including:
# First harmonic: 12th fret
# Second harmonic: 7th and 19th frets
# Third harmonic: 5th fret
# Fourth harmonic: 4th, 9th and 16th frets
# Fifth harmonic: 3rd fret
In practice, duo-tones are clearly audible when performed on the bass strings of the guitar at the 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th frets where the fundamental bass tones contrast strongly with the natural harmonic treble tones. Duo-tones are difficult to produce on the 2nd and 1st strings where only the fundamental notes are heard while the natural harmonic tones are very soft with an almost noise-like character. Below is a sound palette of functional staccato-harmonics duo-tones, where both the fundamental tones and the harmonic tones are clearly identified:
550px
Notation of staccato-harmonic duo-tone
Although the guitarist only performs on 1 string, the notation of staccato-harmonic duo-tone needs to reflect the present of 2 different layers, each has its own musical character:
Excerpt from Nocturne (1996) by Le-Tuyen Nguyen
550px
In the above excerpt, we could see the general considerations in notating the staccato-harmonic duo-tone technique:
# Two layers of sound, with upper stems for higher harmonic layer and down stem for lower staccato layer.
# Clear indication of staccato of the lower layer
# Diamond shape note head for harmonics with text indicating higher octave
# Specified exact string and exact fret
# Clear indicative text: Staccato-Harmonic Duo-tone
Compositions with Staccato-Harmonic Duo-tone technique
#Nocturne (1996) by Le-Tuyen Nguyen
#Fantasia (1998) by Le-Tuyen Nguyen
References:
http://www.darwinguitar.com/workshops.php
Staccato-harmonic duo-tone is the simultaneous sounding of 2 tones on 1 string of the guitar; each tone has its own definite pitch, duration, articulation and distinctive tone colour. The lower tone has the normal staccato tone colour with shorter duration; the higher tone has the natural harmonic bell-like tone colour with longer duration as much as the physical vibration of the guitar string.
Method of Production
Staccato-Harmonics Duo-tones are produced by using the left hand finger to press the string directly on a specified fret onto the fingerboard (the string actually touches the specified fret) and plucking the string with the right hand at the same time. Both left hand and right hand must release immediately to let the string continue to vibrate. When both hands release, the fundamental tone is stopped therefore creating a staccato effect; at the same time this allows the harmonic tone to emerge and sustain its duration.
Sound Palette
When staccato-harmonics duo-tone technique is performed, both the fundamental tone and natural harmonic tone are sounded. Duo-tones could be found directly on the frets where the natural harmonics are found, including:
# First harmonic: 12th fret
# Second harmonic: 7th and 19th frets
# Third harmonic: 5th fret
# Fourth harmonic: 4th, 9th and 16th frets
# Fifth harmonic: 3rd fret
In practice, duo-tones are clearly audible when performed on the bass strings of the guitar at the 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th and 12th frets where the fundamental bass tones contrast strongly with the natural harmonic treble tones. Duo-tones are difficult to produce on the 2nd and 1st strings where only the fundamental notes are heard while the natural harmonic tones are very soft with an almost noise-like character. Below is a sound palette of functional staccato-harmonics duo-tones, where both the fundamental tones and the harmonic tones are clearly identified:
550px
Notation of staccato-harmonic duo-tone
Although the guitarist only performs on 1 string, the notation of staccato-harmonic duo-tone needs to reflect the present of 2 different layers, each has its own musical character:
Excerpt from Nocturne (1996) by Le-Tuyen Nguyen
550px
In the above excerpt, we could see the general considerations in notating the staccato-harmonic duo-tone technique:
# Two layers of sound, with upper stems for higher harmonic layer and down stem for lower staccato layer.
# Clear indication of staccato of the lower layer
# Diamond shape note head for harmonics with text indicating higher octave
# Specified exact string and exact fret
# Clear indicative text: Staccato-Harmonic Duo-tone
Compositions with Staccato-Harmonic Duo-tone technique
#Nocturne (1996) by Le-Tuyen Nguyen
#Fantasia (1998) by Le-Tuyen Nguyen
References:
http://www.darwinguitar.com/workshops.php
The term Ecruvian refers collectively to individuals of Indian, Pakistani, and Middle Eastern descent, among others, and is used primarily in sociological, anthropological, and linguistics literature to refer to those whose physical characteristics are visibly indicative of a family background rooted in parts of the world that have historically spoken languages in the Indo-Aryan language tree. A relevant, and very common, modifier for "Ecruvian" is Jag, which is used to ascribe a positive value judgment to various personal traits common to Ecruvians. The word "Jag," however, is rarely found in published literature and is used almost exclusively in a colloquial sense.
The term is also often used in its negated form: "non-Ecruvian," sometimes "nonecruvian," refers to those whose physical characteristics -- especially skin pigmentation -- suggest strongly that their family backgrounds are rooted in neither South Asia nor the Middle East. There are various racial groups that are generally thought of as subgroups of "non-Ecruvian."
The term is also often used in its negated form: "non-Ecruvian," sometimes "nonecruvian," refers to those whose physical characteristics -- especially skin pigmentation -- suggest strongly that their family backgrounds are rooted in neither South Asia nor the Middle East. There are various racial groups that are generally thought of as subgroups of "non-Ecruvian."
Khaos Chronicles
Khaos Chronicles: When the Gods Were Young is an Epic Fantasy written by Rex Crownen. Originally, the story was to be a single novel but later manifested into a “living-breathing” series that was written between 1998 - 2006 with the first book being published on October 16, 2007 by iUniverse Inc.
Synopsis
The legend is set on Khaos - a planet like Earth, where magic is common practice and for some cultures, a way of life. The planets’ inhabitants (Elves, Humans, Trolls, Goblins, Abbadons and other real and fantastical creatures) are watched over by a pantheon of gods and goddesses - whom are ruled by Pholkachious, the ultimate creator of the world. The Chronicles focuses on several individuals that play pivotal roles in the advancement of their world.
The worlds’ population is split into two major factions - Faithful and Faithless. In the first moments of Khaos’ creation, Pholkachious and another God (Abbadon) came into conflict with one another. The result of the conflict was agreed to be decided with war on Khaos. As this war is played out, complex questions and issues soon develop as the influences of the Faithful and the Faithless collide with the rest of the world.
Unlikely alliances are created, sparking the world into the dawn of a new age when the world will soon look to a single savior to deliver them from madness and war.
According to legend, King Tavestyde, the first elf and being on Khaos prophesized that one day he would return - though not in the form of a single being, but in the form of several descendants within the same generation. He claimed that his return will set in motion a series of events that will usher the coming of the “Astarii”, for it will be from his bloodline that the Astarii will be born.
The Astarii will be forged with the blood of a High-Elf, Human, Abbadon and Divine Messenger coursing through its veins. It will be a marvelous being of the stars that will bring peace and balance to the lands. Specifically, the Astarii will be born out of the “Starline Generation” of King Tavestyde’s bloodline. This “Starline Generation” is believed to be the fourth generation to follow Tavestyde’s death and the generation of which he will return to Khaos. This is the very generation that book one of the series revolves around.
Khaos Chronicles: When the Gods Were Young is an Epic Fantasy written by Rex Crownen. Originally, the story was to be a single novel but later manifested into a “living-breathing” series that was written between 1998 - 2006 with the first book being published on October 16, 2007 by iUniverse Inc.
Synopsis
The legend is set on Khaos - a planet like Earth, where magic is common practice and for some cultures, a way of life. The planets’ inhabitants (Elves, Humans, Trolls, Goblins, Abbadons and other real and fantastical creatures) are watched over by a pantheon of gods and goddesses - whom are ruled by Pholkachious, the ultimate creator of the world. The Chronicles focuses on several individuals that play pivotal roles in the advancement of their world.
The worlds’ population is split into two major factions - Faithful and Faithless. In the first moments of Khaos’ creation, Pholkachious and another God (Abbadon) came into conflict with one another. The result of the conflict was agreed to be decided with war on Khaos. As this war is played out, complex questions and issues soon develop as the influences of the Faithful and the Faithless collide with the rest of the world.
Unlikely alliances are created, sparking the world into the dawn of a new age when the world will soon look to a single savior to deliver them from madness and war.
According to legend, King Tavestyde, the first elf and being on Khaos prophesized that one day he would return - though not in the form of a single being, but in the form of several descendants within the same generation. He claimed that his return will set in motion a series of events that will usher the coming of the “Astarii”, for it will be from his bloodline that the Astarii will be born.
The Astarii will be forged with the blood of a High-Elf, Human, Abbadon and Divine Messenger coursing through its veins. It will be a marvelous being of the stars that will bring peace and balance to the lands. Specifically, the Astarii will be born out of the “Starline Generation” of King Tavestyde’s bloodline. This “Starline Generation” is believed to be the fourth generation to follow Tavestyde’s death and the generation of which he will return to Khaos. This is the very generation that book one of the series revolves around.