Wikipedia / Lawrence Chandler
Wikipedia / Lawrence Chandler
Lawrence Dean Chandler (born 27 November 1961) is a British American composer, musician, producer and sound artist based in London. Best known as a founding member of seminal New York duo Bowery Electric, he works in ambient, contemporary classical, electronic and experimental styles.
Life and career
Chandler studied English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences before pursuing formal training in music composition. Following Bowery Electric's final tour in 2000, he took a hiatus during which he studied composition privately with La Monte Young and Pauline Oliveros, with Conrad Cummings at The Juilliard School, worked for Philip Glass and completed a Master of Music in Composition from Goldsmiths College in London.
He returned in 2009 with Everybody Here Is Fine, commissioned for Make Music New York and premiered at The Bell House, Brooklyn on 21 June 2009. Subsequent works include: Music for Rock Ensemble, commissioned for 50 Years of Minimalism, premiered by Chandler, Katia and Marielle Labèque and ensemble at Kings Place, London on 26 November 2011;The Tuning of the World, a realisation of his evolving 24-hour, 24 part, sustained tone composition (Untitled Recordings, 2012); The Tuning of the World 2; and The Tuning of the World 2 (Deep Listening Version) (Untitled Recordings, 2025).
Compositions
Chamber
2008 Duo, for two violins
2008 Quartet, for string quartet
2009 Fragment, for string quartet
Dance
2000 The Tea House, choreographed by Beyhan Murphy, Modern Dance Turkey, London
2008 Tide, choreographed by Myra Bazell, Scrap Performance Group, Philadelphia
Electronic
2002 Bleak House, for electronic percussion and electronically processed sounds
2002 Consistent Histories, for piano, turntable, vinyl record, electronically processed sounds
2002 Cross Country, for electronic percussion and electronically processed sounds
2002 Don't Leave a Light On, for electronic percussion and electronically processed sounds
2002 Heated Driveway, for electronic percussion and electronically processed sounds
2002 Hollow Sidewalk, for electronic percussion and electronically processed sounds
2002 Now and Later, for electronic percussion and electronically processed sounds
2002 Plus Time, for turntable, vinyl record, electronically processed sounds
2002 Sealed Air, for turntable, vinyl record, electronically processed sounds
2002 Thought for the Day, for piano, turntable, vinyl record, electronically processed sounds
2009 Everybody Here Is Fine, for electronics
2011 I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightning, for electronics, commissioned and released by Dreamland Recordings
2012 A Minute is as Long as it Lasts, for electronics, for Minute of Listening, Sound and Music, London
2012 The Tuning of the World, for sine wave generators
2025 The Tuning of the World 2, for electronics
2025 The Tuning of the World 2 (Deep Listening Version), for electronics
Ensemble
2011 Music for Rock Ensemble, for ensemble and electronics
2012 As Soft as Possible, for ensemble, commissioned for Quiet Music Ensemble, Dublin
Film
2007 Men Boxing, for violin and cello, collaboration with New York Miniaturist Ensemble for early film by Thomas Edison, Museum of the Moving Image, New York
Installations
2003 Plus Time, sound environment, multimedia collaboration with Brian Alfred, Sandroni Rey Gallery, New York
2006 To Be Held for a Long Time, sound environment, for SEAMUS Electro-Acoustic Music Month, New York
2011 The Upper Room, site-specific sound and light environment, The Marlborough Pop-Up Gallery, London
Piano
2008 Figures
2008 Etude No. 5
2009 Etude No. 10
Theatre
2012 1’41", for string quartet and/or electronics, commissioned for 101 New Music Theatre, Birmingham
Vocal
2009 China, for bass voice and piano, text by Bob Perelman
Discography
Solo
The Tuning of the World (Untitled Recordings, 2012)
Don't Leave a Light On (Untitled Recordings, 2024)
Consistent Histories (Untitled Recordings, 2024)
The Tuning of the World 2 (Untitled Recordings, 2025)
The Tuning of the World 2 (Deep Listening Version) (Untitled Recordings, 2025)
Bowery Electric
Happy Families
'New Forgetting' (Sonic Cathedral, 2013)
Other musical activities
Dream House (1994–1996, 2008), monitor, light and sound installation by La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela
Experimental Audio Research (EAR) (1996), collaboration with Pete Kember, Kevin Shields and others, live performance at Westbeth Theater Center, New York on 3 September 1996
Brooklyn Rider Plays Philip Glass by Brooklyn Rider (2008), assistant engineer, The Looking Glass Studio, New York
Philip Glass Soundtracks by Michael Riesman (2008), assisted, The Looking Glass Studio, New York
Basket Rondo World Premiere by Meredith Monk (2007), live sound, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
Deep Listening (2009), workshop with Pauline Oliveros, Dartington International Summer School, near Totnes
Perfect Sound Forever (2017), guest DJ, NTS Radio, London on 18 October 2017
References