Pollinations: Garden Dances
The debut of contemporary classical compositions from composer, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and performer Cabell Harris. Known for his versatility and reckless abandon; as well as expansive and prolific creativity. A two part album release; Pollinations EP I & Garden Dances EP II.
Artist Statement
As a composer who works predominantly solo, most of my days are spent inside my studio in Downtown Los Angeles. Just outside its walls, I have a small urban garden that has become a quiet companion to my creative process. Taking breaks to step into that space, between the city’s noise and the hum of nature, I began to realize I had created a kind of makeshift ecosystem that was sustaining me as much as I was tending to it.
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There was one afternoon when I sat beside my giant lavender bush and watched the bees move from blossom to blossom. I felt connected to their rhythm, the hum, the movement, and the stillness between. When a song felt complete, I would return to that same spot, and the lavender would begin to sway in the wind as if in conversation. In those moments, I started to hear the music not just as my own, but as a chorus of everything living around me, every plant, every insect, every unseen pulse of life.
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This EP is a reflection of those perspectives, the beauty, the harshness, and the quiet complexity of organisms thriving and surviving in a shared environment.
Conception
This collection of eleven original guitar-driven compositions conceived from the small garden of composer, Cabell Harris; reimagining the perspective of nature in the form of dance. The base interaction of the world seen through the lens of pollinators, blossoms, day, night, struggle, etc; can all be witnessed in their essence, through an ecosystem as small as an urban garden in Angelino Heights, Los Angeles.
Drawing on the traditions of classical, flamenco, tango, and jazz; the music blends familiar forms with an experimental approach to production and composition.
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At the heart of the album lies the guitar itself—its timbre, structure, and unique layout of notes. Each piece explores the instrument’s natural voice, often utilizing classic and powerful keys quintessential to the guitar highlighting the resonance and character that sets the instrument apart.
Among the twelve pieces are four, framed as modern etudes; celebrating the guitar’s expressive possibilities centered on E minor. Two, are of a three movement collection; depicting dances. All of the pieces are connected by an underlying cohesive magnetism projected through: technique, rhythm, production, compositional approach and of course - the personality of Harris.
Many of the pieces experiment with rhythms distorting time and harmony as centralized vertical structures. Each composition investigates different textures, techniques, and colors—illuminating how the guitar’s idiosyncrasies shape music.
The result is a listening experience that is both grounded in tradition and boldly forward-looking: approachable, yet adventurous. Many inspirations can be found some obvious and some subtle: Yo-Yo Ma, Guitar Trio (John McLaughlin, Paco DeLucia, Al DiMeola), Bill Frisell, Terry Riley, Debussy and more.
Context of Musical & Technical Creation
Flourishes of virtuosic facility while still being centered on a sense of musical soulfulness in place of demonstration.
A variety of vocabulary: Harmony from the beginnings of flamenco, to utilization of the Bartok axis. Melodies from wholesome key centers, to rarely heard modal, moments of unpretentious non tonal and multi-layered polyrhythmic voices.
Gentle touches of experimental production: distortion of audio, unpolished hip-hop track cuts, layers of live guitar that only serve keyhole moments, bending time and vertical harmonic structures.
Tango, flamenco, jazz, folk, blues, and classical can all be heard and spoken for in this album.
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