Shueh-li Ong: A Well-oriented Misorientation

Saggini: Of course! And that makes the work you’re doing even more important. Why didn’t you sing in this album? Or at least you didn’t sing with your voice (except for the last movement), while obviously you did it with other instruments such as the theremin.

Ong: My previous albums consisted of sung songs mixed in with instrumentals and were more pop and rock in nature. The idea for these early releases was to put my work with the theremin especially, in a more familiar musical context for those new to the instrument and my production style.
MissOM4 was designed for the theremin and synth to show-off their “singing” abilities with my typical production tricks.

Tricks of interest are, as described earlier, an auto-wah triggered by amplitude applied on the theremin for track#1 Sarah+Izeibila. Then a harmonizer combined with distortion was used in track#4 Calor. Infinite echoes in track#3 Frisson paid homage to Jimmy Page (Whole Lotta Love).

On synths, I applied aftertouch vibrato in track#3 Frisson, cut-off frequency with modulation wheel in track#6 MissO+Halcyon, just to name a few.
The two instruments from opposite ends of the playing spectrum; theremin and synths, trade licks and are consolidated musically in my head and in recording!

Saggini: The concert also risks arousing feelings of disorientation due to its eclecticism and the juxtaposition of different styles, both Western and Eastern. And flamenco also found its place. I have noticed, however, an internal coherence that I would struggle to express in words. Can you explain how you arrived at all this? Did the long production time also play a role in this?

Ong: I shall answer the last question first. As you know, what sits well in a recording and sounds great may not be transferable so easily “live”, especially with the theremin. So it was crucial that I road-tested each piece before I committed it to the album. I also wanted time to write and experiment.

The pandemic did get in the way of its progress, but finding the right musicians who could wrap their minds round my musical requirements also took time. As expressed in the press release, “these musicians had to be genre malleable, able to effortlessly sight read and navigate time-signature changes, stay true to my musical intent and offer their own twist on my notes.”

I let my love for musics around the world, sound design/manipulation and odd time-signatures influence how I integrate these compositional elements into the framework of a concerto. MissOM4 emulates a concerto’s six movements whilst offering compositional devices that, as previously described, tie the entire album together.
So I appreciate that you were able to discover the internal coherence in an album that boasts diverse genres, with sections that as quickly deviate from the musical statements as they are being laid down.
I love to amalgamate disparate items to appear as natural musical bedfellows. It’s ingrained in my psyche. Then life provides the inspirational moments: an idea for an experiment would come from the TV, a musical suggestion might pop in my head during a concert, the gift of an F tin-whistle provided the idea for Hubris track#2, a question about microtonal modes during a workshop I conducted was the seed for MicroTunneling track#5. My liner notes include summaries of the construction of each track.

Saggini: As in your other works, a wise production and sound design work is evident and therefore it is not difficult to imagine a long recording studio work or, one could say “in the box”, alone. And yet, and I would also say this is one of your distinctive traits, it is natural to imagine a live performance of the concert. In this, the presence of the guest musicians seems decisive to me. It seems that their presence has made a decisive contribution to the work. What guided your choices, both in terms of instruments and of players of the same? And do you plan to present MissOM4 live?

Ong: Many thanks again for your kindest words! I am always grateful to receive such appreciation. And you are very familiar with my methods as a composer/producer!

When I began writing MissOM4, I knew I wanted the living and breathing interpretations of real musicians on the album. For the stage, I had in mind a band and orchestra supporting the soloists as you would find in a concerto.
My super-group of musicians come from diverse backgrounds.
Guitarist Dean Parks, is well known and admired by many for his contributions to records and live concerts over six decades. He played on my 3rd album, Xing Paths, which I released in 2009 under the Xenovibes moniker. I became a fan of his excellence, and had to “plot” his appearance in MissOM4 (laughter!)

Dean and I began recording as early as 2022 in the midst of the Pandemic, but we had to find spots in his busy schedule to complete the process. Dean recorded via video conference and our last session was in March 2024, whilst the rest recorded independently of me. Dean appears on all tracks but track#1. Bassist Brian Mooney, who had initially reached out to work with me in live performance in 2018, and subsequently also worked on my music demo videos, recorded on tracks #1, #2, #5. Brian’s contribution is especially meaningful in Dittee track#1 where his revived interest in post bop/avant garde jazz influenced his playing.

Brian’s busy schedule prohibited further recording sessions. And a long process of auditioning other bassists and drummers followed. The search ended at the doorsteps of prog-metal drummer Jake Siberon and bassist John Tuohy, who fearlessly navigated their parts; Jake on all tracks but track #1, and John on track#3 Frisson. Jake was very respectful in following my demo to a T, relaxing after positive feedback resulting in some cool ideas that appear in the final bridge section of Hubris track#2.

I love writing for others to play. There’s something magical about hearing them render your ideas into beautiful sound sculptures. But not all the musicians I approached could wrap their heads around my performance needs. My music required a bassist and drummer who could journey beyond the realms of pop and rock and comprehend my musical affinities.
Some other musicians I spoke to did not vibe with me and I knew not to pursue them further.

I wrote/recorded directly into the box i.e. Logic Pro, laying the literal groundwork. Scores were created in Logic Pro from these. The musicians received these scores, bounced demos and the LP projects themselves; where applicable, and were requested to read and follow them, embellishing their playing with the requisite fills and their playing style.
Dean was the only one who had both written parts and parts where he was requested to do his “thing” based on stylistic requirements. This is evident in Calor track#4 where I had imagined a rougher tumble for the dueling Conquistadors, but Dean would paint them more laid-back and suave. Examples of solo cadenzas appear in MissO+Halcyon track#6 with Dean’s solo, and in Hubris track#2 with Brian’s.

I’d love to tour with the concerto and with the musicians who played on the album. Playing in Italy would be incredible too. Show production is a costly affair. I shall let you know when this becomes a reality!