Le Phonometrician

Not your usual soundtrack, this.

In 2009, J Roth was commissioned by the Alexander Ramsey House to use their 1872 Steinway grand to create an album of music. This music was to be played in the background of tours given at that Victorian mansion belonging to Minnesota’s first territorial governor.

J, fully aware that he was no concert pianist, agreed to the project if he be allowed to “tinker” with the songs. His tinkering took the form of improvising upon the themes. Thus “Le Phonometrician” is filled with masterworks each bearing J’s somewhat quirky stamp. (It should be noted that the 137-year-old piano itself – though a Steinway – had plenty of its own quirks.)

The term “phonometrican” was one Erik Satie reputedly applied to himself. It means: “someone who measures sounds”.