Alterations consists of five 'almost-pop' songs transformed into five 'almost-classical' ones via the cunning redeployment of musical riffs and themes. There are also a few lyrical links to be found.

An ambitious and varied work, it runs the gamut from naggingly catchy philosophical disco (The Death Of Copyright) to anthemic pop rock (Nothing Impossible), messed-up apocalyptic cabaret (The Up Shit Creek Blues), gypsy/flamenco fuelled wonderment (Aurora) and soaring string-laden theatrical climaxes (The Forecaster).

Although it works well enough in the given order, it could also be thought of as a set of five double A side singles - in ye olde vinyl terms - and listened to accordingly. The connections might make themselves a little more obvious that way.

An in-depth guide to the album and its counterpart tracks can be found on Mark's official website at www.marknorthfield.com. Look for 'alterations revealed' in the main menu.


Critical acclaim for Alterations:

'Northfield is an excellent composer with a firm grasp on what he wants to accomplish' ALTSOUNDS

'poignant and cryptic' GREEN MAN MUSIC

'bursts with finely orchestrated beauty' SKOPEMAG

'Alterations is an intriguing, eclectic musical puzzle' AAA MUSIC

'excellent' RINGMASTER REVIEWS

'like the great experimental pop songwriters of the past' MUDKISS FANZINE

'Northfield is a maverick genius' RHYTHM & BOOZE

'a sort of national treasure' BLUESBUNNY

'Ever wondered what a Sondheim musical from his darker years would sound like if it was recorded by an indie pianist and some buds? Well, wait no longer!' SPUTNIK MUSIC (FEATURED IN STAFF REVIEWER ADAM DOWNER'S TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2008 AND TOP 100 OF THE DECADE.)

'Northfield takes art-pop Chamber music to a new level.' WILDY'S WORLD

'Like a Tim Burton movie for the ears - quirky, detailed, immaculately produced...' BLUESBUNNY

'...deserves its place in the same pantheon as Aqualung, Antony and the Johnsons, Damien Rice or anything by Andy Partridge.' MUSICZEITGEIST

Originally recorded in 2001 as an 8 track live demo, the full album was fleshed out with extra tracks and instrumentation during 2002. Handmade CD copies were then sold at acoustic gigs during 2003-05.

Unlike it's more wide-ranging follow-ups, Anachronisms is very much a piano-focused singer/songwriter affair. From the Yann Tiersen-esque opener Penegal, through the more aggressively strung Take It From Me and The Well Tempered Improviser, to the robotic life support tones of Executors, the whole is suffused with typical Northfield melancholy and poeticism.

The songs mostly tackle the darker undercurrents of love and how these shape our identity, but there are also flashes of optimism to be found, most especially in the theatrical closing number Carefree Singalong.

On the tenth anniversary of its 'unofficial' first release in 2003, it is now available as a digital release on Bandcamp.

Cherry Mint Koala are:
Mark Northfield (piano)
Charlie Brown (violin)
Tony Woollard (cello).

Mark originally collaborated with Charlie and Tony while recording his album 'Alterations', and the majority of Beguiling Transmissions consists of instrumental reworkings of songs from Mark's wider back catalogue. These reworkings were originally commissioned for two separate dance projects at ArtsEd in London, UK, where Mark is the head ballet pianist for the school of musical theatre.

Mark's music is richly textured and melodic, often with a fair degree of melancholic yearning. There are undeniable romantic and 20th Century classical influences present (Beethoven, Faure, Piazolla, Weill, Bryars) alongside contemporary pop/rock shadings (Radiohead, Kate Bush, Rufus Wainwright, Yann Tiersen). A few tracks veer in specific directions such as tango (Aurora) or minimalism (Luco, Keep Driving). Throughout, the song structures are kept intact and help create a distinct classical-crossover style to proceedings.

The official download/streaming version of this album (available from emusic, iTunes, Google, Spotify etc) includes a couple of cover versions which were unable to be included on the physical CD version of the album for licensing reasons, those tracks being 'Pack Up Your Troubles (In Your Old Kit Bag) and 'I Feel Love'. For that reason, the track ordering on the CD has been slightly altered, and the track list here on Bandcamp reflects this (Bandcamp do not allow cover versions to be sold in any case).

A poignant arrangement of 'The Last Post/It's A Long Way To Tipperary' - a companion piece to Pack Up Your Troubles - has been included on the CD because both the original pieces used are public domain.

All the recording sessions from Beguiling Transmissions were filmed and can be found on YouTube. These include the aforementioned cover versions (links below).

I Feel Love: https://youtu.be/JL7jkn52KFw
Pack Up Your Troubles: https://youtu.be/D7Dc5HvMb5U

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Mark Northfield has been described variously as 'a maverick genius' (Rhythm & Booze), 'a treasure' (Bluesbunny) and 'an excellent composer with a firm grasp on what he wants to accomplish' (Altsounds). He has recorded several albums and EPs over the past decade and a half, and also created a whole load of videos which can be found on YouTube (expect choreography, DIY animation, puppets and drag-zombie action).

Tony Woollard is a recording artist in his own right, with a well regarded solo cello album to his name ('Cello Journey'). His YouTube channel is called 'Tony Cello' and features many of his performances, including some very clever multi-layered pieces.

Charlie Brown has worked with a diverse range of artists including Damon Albarn, Tim Minchin, Caro Emerald and Scott Walker, and he records music for film and television. As if that wasn't enough, he has also been extensively involved in theatre productions for the past six years, often as band leader (25th anniversary tour of Les Miserables, Ghost, Spring Awakening, Lord Of The Rings).

All proceeds from the sale of this single will go to CRISIS - the UK based charity for single homeless people: www.crisis.org.uk

PLEASE SHARE with friends, family and work colleagues, especially on social media. The more people we reach, the more we can raise.

If using Twitter, please include both my Twitter handle and the charity's one in your Tweet: @MarkNorthfield @crisis_uk

My (highly shareable!) homemade animation video for 'Christmas Eve, Gracechurch St.' can be found on YouTube. Check it out! https://youtu.be/z5vr7vCYBNg

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'Christmas Eve, Gracechurch St.' is dedicated to the memory of Richard Hanson. A generous, humble and loving man who gave so much to those in need, both in his local community in Sheffield and as a professional photographer for Tearfund.

Gareth and I found out that Richard had only weeks left to live (following a year's battle with leukaemia) the day I finished writing 'Christmas Eve, Gracechurch St.' From that point on I decided this was going to be 'Richard's song', and in a lengthy email a few days later I promised I would both dedicate it to him and donate any proceeds from sales to a charity helping the homeless.

That charity is Crisis, the national charity for single homeless people in the UK. They help not only with housing, but also with health, education and finding employment.

The festive season can be an incredibly difficult time of year for those with next to nothing. Every year, Crisis at Christmas provide companionship and support to tackle loneliness and isolation, and help people take their first steps out of homelessness.

Bandcamp enables donations of any amount when you purchase this single, so please feel free to give more if you are able.

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Thanks to all those who participated in the recording: you all helped make it what it is.

And thank you all for listening, sharing and buying.

Please take this song to your hearts.

Mark x

Digital release May 20th 2014.

Bandcamp do not allow covers to be sold, so what should be track 2 - a cover of Robyn's 'Dancing On My Own' - is missing here. It can be purchased from other stores selling the EP, such as CD Baby, emusic, iTunes, Amazon etc. Dancing On My Own is taken from a forthcoming album of sad Europop songs being given the Northfield treatment.

This EP's title track is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Beryl Brown, who passed away in the summer of 2013. The video for it can be seen here: youtu.be/vbMuwV328TE

Giving You What You Want is a shuffling slice of horribly catchy glumpop, confronting the psychology of our collective climate change denial with dark humour. Scribbly lyric video: youtu.be/_jB_SPw_xp0

Some Songs... originally featured on the album Alterations in a more produced form with lead vocal by Christopher Killerby. This is a gentler waltz version with my own vocal and Charlie Brown on violin.

Indivisible is a meditative piano solo written in 2013.

The instrumental of Let The Body Go is performed by my piano trio, Cherry Mint Koala (who also play on the sung version in a slightly different arrangement). The other members of CMK are violinist Charlie Brown and cellist Tony Woollard.

The debut album 'Beguiling Transmissions' will be available soon, but many of the recording session videos are already up on youTube. The live session video for Let The Body Go is here: youtu.be/6EUb-r_Z5xk

LET THE BODY GO
Let the body
Let the body go
You can't keep it still
Let the music
Let the music flow
Take you where it will
Release it now
Release it now
Let the moment
Let the moment come
The wave resolves to break
Let the movement
Let the movement run into another shape

Close your eyes now, feel the sound
The light and the rhythm all around
Dance your fears out
Dance those tears out
Dance your weary heart out

Let the body
Let the body sing
A sweet, soft refrain
Let these memories
Let these memories make you whole once again
Release them now
Release them now
Fragments and echoes of a lifetime shared
Of love freely given
Those tiny details
Inconsequential things that make up a person

How beautiful they are
They are so impossibly beautiful
And how I shall miss them
How I shall miss them
And how much I shall miss them

Let the body
Let the body go
You can't keep it

NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE is a teary-eyed but defiant retro pop-rock anthem taken from Mark Northfield's forthcoming album Alterations: five almost-pop songs transformed into five almost-classical ones.

Alterations can be previewed in full on Soundcloud (see link in right hand column) and an in depth track-by-track commentary can be found on Mark's official website www.marknorthfield.com

A very cute and colourful fishy animation video for Nothing Impossible - created entirely by Mark - can be found on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/ckhewzv

This EP also features the title track's beautiful almost-classical counterpart piece from the album REMINDERS, REMIND along with two new non-album tracks: the fast, furious and incisive protest rant GOOD MONEY and the spooky ambient pop of KEEP DRIVING.


Acclaim for Mark Northfield's previous album, Ascendant:

'marvellously crafted tunes'
SPUTNIK MUSIC (featured in staff reviewer Adam Downer's top 100 albums of the decade)

'Like a Tim Burton movie for the ears - quirky, detailed, immaculately produced...'
BLUESBUNNY

'flutters between Beatles-grade melody and esoteric dissonance'
MUSIC ZEITGEIST

'intelligent and literate'
MUSIC MUSINGS AND MISCELLANY