For those unaware, this brand new album is the culmination of years of musical and technological exploration with the JADE digital musical instrument developed at MEARL (Memorial ElectroAcoustic Research Lab).

While JADE has three modes of operation (touch mode, ambient mode, and biosensor mode), it’s EEG mode has been the primary focus of this project. Using an EEG sensing headband, JADE sonifies brain waves, creating MIDI and audio data that can be shaped and sculpted into melody, harmony, and rhythm by a composer.

Upon receiving a commission from Kittiwake Dance Theatre to create a new work for dance, Andrew Staniland proposed to use this EEG technology to create musical material on which to base his composition. They began with improvisation workshops where the dancers would individually wear the EEG headband and experiment with movement while he sonified their brain waves in real time.

These explorations were recorded in MIDI and audio, and in turn these recordings were used as the main musical building blocks for the series of six Dancer Portraits. These miniatures are self-contained and unique, preserving the essence of each dancer’s improvisations.

The Laws of Nature (out August 1st, 2025) further develops the musical material from the dance sessions, however with significantly more compositional curation and planning in terms of structure and musical material.

The work unfolds over six interwoven movements. It is a hybrid composition that blends elements of electronic, classical, and cinematic sound. At the end of the composition, we hear the voice of a long time collaborator Jill Battson reading “The laws of nature are but the mathematical thoughts of God” from Euclid’s Elements - a reference from his JUNO-Nominated ballet Phi-Caelestis created with the National Arts Centre and Alberta Ballet.

1. Dancer Portraits No. 1
2. Dancer Portraits No. 2
3. Dancer Portraits No. 3
4. Dancer Portraits No. 4
5. Dancer Portraits No. 5
6. Dancer Portraits No. 6
7. The Laws of Nature: Interweave
8. The Laws of Nature: The Web
9. The Laws of Nature: Duet
10. The Laws of Nature: Pathways
11. The Laws of Nature: Electricity Grid
12. The Laws of Nature

With this work having been orchestrated with the intention of being experienced in Dolby Atmos surround sound, he opens the new recording on the six-part piece Dancer Portraits, which itself begins with the flittering of No. 1 and the more synth-hued No. 2, before bringing us the ethereal No. 3, the sterner fare of No. 4, and both the veritably glistening No. 5 and finally the engaging No. 6.

Along next is the six-piece The Laws of Nature, which itself opens on the spectacularly sculpted, earthy ambiance of Interweave and the stoically-hued The Web and then we are lovingly brought forth the atmospherically-charged Duet, the scratchy ambiance of Pathways and the playfully furtive Electricity Grid, the quite wondrous musical experience closing to a close on the spiritual tender The Laws of Nature

Official Purchase Links

www.andrewstaniland.com