{"product_id":"vanity-project","title":"Andy Ingamells: Vanity Project","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRelease date: 23 October 2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eVanity Project \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eis the first solo album by Irish-based composer-performer \u003cstrong\u003eAndy Ingamells\u003c\/strong\u003e. Bringing together works written between 2008 and 2026, the album explores what happens when the roles of composer and performer become intertwined. Performed almost entirely by Ingamells himself, it draws on spoken word, melodicas, vocoder, pipe organ, laptop, bells, fixed media and everyday actions to create music in which composition and performance are treated as a single, continuous activity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eAlthough the pieces employ a wide range of materials and techniques, they are united by a shared interest in composer-performer identity. Throughout the album, transformation becomes the means by which that relationship is explored. Existing music becomes new music; speech becomes song; notation becomes performance; performance becomes documentation. Rather than treating composition as the production of finished musical objects, Ingamells' work is concerned with the processes through which one thing gradually becomes another.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eSeveral works reimagine existing musical or textual material. \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReadymade: No. 4 \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e(2008) transforms the harmony of Jerome Kern's All the Things You Are into three independent melodic lines whose relationship changes according to each performer's breathing; on this recording, Ingamells performs all three parts himself on overdubbed melodicas. \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComposing music for 11 minutes dressed in 18th century costume\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e (2015), originally written for Orkest de Ereprijs and the MIDI-controlled Sauerorgel at Het Orgelpark in Amsterdam, turns the act of composition itself into performance. Elsewhere, personal experience and everyday language become the starting point for composition. \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNeil's Dream\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e (2026) sets to music an email describing a dream about Ingamells performing an unusual concert. \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDing\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e (2020) interrupts the word \"funding\" with the sound of a small bell, allowing the repeated word \"fun\" to emerge instead. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eMusic for Helen\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e (2024) sees Ingamells keep the pulse with a vocoder beneath a fixed-media composition featuring \u003cstrong\u003eEilís O’Sullivan \u003c\/strong\u003e(flute) and \u003cstrong\u003eRoddy O’Keeffe\u003c\/strong\u003e (trombone). Throughout the album, Ingamells' own voice appears in different forms: speaking, singing and electronically transformed. Rather than presenting the voice as a polished instrument, these works treat it as a flexible musical material capable of carrying humour, storytelling and theatrical presence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIngamells comments: “More often than not the music I compose is intended to be performed by myself. Over time, composing for my own performance has become less a practical decision than a way of exploring what happens when the roles of composer and performer become intertwined. Although these pieces use very different materials, they are all interested in transformation: how one thing can gradually become another through the act of performance.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eAndy Ingamells is a composer-performer of experimental music. Drawing on influences from performance and visual art, he creates works that combine musical invention with humour, curiosity and close attention to the possibilities of live performance. His work has been presented at venues and festivals across Europe, including Cafe OTO, Handel \u0026amp; Hendrix House Museum, Muziekgebouw, Nordic Music Days, London Contemporary Music Festival and Cheltenham Music Festival, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and RTÉ Lyric FM. He has collaborated widely with musicians, visual artists and writers, and also performs as an improviser. He is a lecturer in composition at MTU Cork School of Music, where he directs Double Ensemble, Orchestra of Disquiet and the Inclusive Music Ensemble. He is represented by the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch1\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eRECORDING CREDITS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eRecorded at MTU Cork School of Music on 21st April \u0026amp; 29th June 2026 \u003cbr\u003eexcept \u003cem\u003eComposing Music for 11 minutes\u003c\/em\u003e, recorded at Het Orgelpark, Amsterdam on 21st June 2026\u003cbr\u003eand material for \u003cem\u003eMusic For Helen\u003c\/em\u003e, recorded at The Guesthouse Project, Cork on 25th October 2024 \u003cbr\u003eEngineered, mixed \u0026amp; mastered by Benjamin Burns\u003cbr\u003eAdditional mixing on \u003cem\u003eMusic For Helen\u003c\/em\u003e by Keith Clancy \u003cbr\u003eCover image © Andy Ingamells\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCatalogue no: BRC031\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Birmingham Record Company","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":55636895105400,"sku":"BRC031","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"MP3","offer_id":55636895138168,"sku":"BRC031_DL","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"FLAC16","offer_id":55636895170936,"sku":"BRC031_DL","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"FLAC24","offer_id":55636895203704,"sku":"BRC031_DL","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"PDF Booklet","offer_id":55636895236472,"sku":"BRC031_BK","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/6870\/4411\/files\/BRC031_cover.jpg?v=1787316880","url":"https:\/\/nmc-recordings.myshopify.com\/products\/vanity-project","provider":"NMC Recordings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}