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'''Constance Mary<ref name=ascap/> Demby''' is a<!--PLEASE DO NOT add again the unsourced "Grammy-nominated" claim without a serious independent reference, see source below and talk page--> ] ] player and composer. Identified with the ] movement (as both her personal belief and the ] style),<ref name=amgbio/> some of Demby's output is also classified as ] or ].<ref name=amgbio/> Demby is also a singer, instrument designer, painter, sculptor, and multi-media producer. She is best known for her 1986 album '']''.
SIGNIFICANCE
Born in Oakland, California, Constance Demby is an internationally
acclaimed, award winning, performing and recording artist, vocalist,
instrument designer, painter, sculptor, and multi-media producer. Though her classically-based music is categorized in the New Age movement, she is considered “one of the few representatives of the New Age movement (in both her music and personal philosophies) who consistently creates artistic, highly expressive compositions.” -Carol Wright, allmusic.com. The music is also classified as ambient or space music. and as Cosmic Electronic Symphonic Spacemusic. As a multi-instrumentalist, she performs on hammered dulcimer, custom acoustic instruments, digital sampling keyboards, and the originally designed Sonic Steel Space Bass.


==Biography==
EARLY YEARS
<!--used with FUR-->]'' (1986 cassette)]]
Trained in classical music starting at 8 yrs old, her first public
performance was at the age of 12 in Burlingame, California, in the salon of her first music teacher, Mrs. Young. She performed double piano concertos, solfeggieto for the left hand alone http://datarealm.com/marbeth/one_hand.html and a host of classical piano works. Soon after, she formed a jazz group and taught herself how to improvise on the piano. At the University of Michigan, she studied painting, sculpture, and music.


Constance Mary<ref name=ascap>] (2009). , database of the ]</ref> Demby was born in ]. <!--(need source to be restored) She gave her first recital for classical ] at the age of twelve,{{Fact|date=May 2009}}--> She learned to play the classical ] in her childhood and went on to become a multi-instrumentalist (including hammered dulcimer, vocals, synthesizers, and originally-designed custom acoustic instruments).
THE SONIC STEEL INSTRUMENTS
It was her early work as a sculptor that eventually led Demby to new
dimensions of sound creations. As she was torching a sheet of metal, it
roared thunderously, and thus was born the Sonic Steel Instruments: the
Whale Sail and the Space Bass, enormous 10 ft long bowed instruments that transmit deep, primordial subsonic resonances. Eventually, Lucas SkyWalker Studios recorded and licensed the sounds of the Space Bass for use in their filmscores. (examples: “A.I.” - “Space Cowboys”) Later, when living in Spain, Discovery Channel traveled to Barcelona to film the Space Bass in Gaudi's "Parc Guell" for "The Power of Music." The Space Bass is also featured on Michael Stearns' soundtrack for “Chronos” an IMAX film produced
by Ron Frick using long time-lapse shots.


She studied ] and ] at the ].<ref name=amgbio/> It was both as musician and sculptor that her Sonic Steel Instruments, the ''space bass'' and the ''whale sail'' were created. An original design, her Sonic Steel Instruments have been recorded by Lucas Skywalker Studios for use in their filmscores, and also filmed by Discovery Channel at Gaudi's Parc Guell. The ''Space Bass'' is featured on ]' soundtrack for '']''.
photo of space bass


In 1986, her album '']'' was released, self-defined as "]" from its liner notes to its subtitle "Through the Stargate", with a space-themed cover<!--sentence quoted in picture's FUR for inclusion--> ''(pictured at right)'' reminiscent of '']'' (whose ] featured a "Star Gate"). Inspired by Western ] and ], it was recorded with ] from real instruments played on the ]<!--per album credits (the Kurzweil came later)--> digital sampler, and features sound textures by ]. Though it wasn't nominated at the ]s,<!--common claim that thus needs explicit correction, see also talk page--><ref>'']'' was released in 1986 and eligible for the 1987 ] (alias "Grammy Awards for 1986"), where a "New Age" category appeared that year for the first time. Neither the album nor Demby appears on the ] list of , including the two compilations from Germany's ], "various artists - Windham Hill Records Sampler '86" and "various artists - A Winter's Solstice". (Same for , , , .) No other source checked in June 2009 (including ] and ]) could list the album among Grammy nominations. The "Grammy nominated" claim found on Demby's website since at least 2001 (and in some interviews) may have been a confusion between the album being "nominated" by its record label to the Grammy academy (as is the regular process) and the actual official list of five Grammy nominees (the one called "Grammy nominated").</ref> the album sold over 200,000 copies worldwide,<ref name=emusic/> making her one of the most successful ] artists of the time<ref name=emusic>Phoenix, Robert (2007). , January 23, 2007 at eMusic.com</ref> and helped ] to build his ]' reputation.<ref name=emusic/>


Demby was the co-founder of The Central Maine Power Sound and Light Company,<ref name=amgbio/> an experimental multi-media group that toured the east coast from 1971 to 1976<ref name=amgbio/> with programs such as ''Space Mass'', a multimedia production launched in NYC combining painting, film, massive environmental sculptures, music, dance, and ritual. In 1978, Demby also founded her own record company, Sound Currents<ref>http://www.mcs.csueastbay.edu/~tebo/history/Ambient/Space/C.Demby.html</ref> (also known as Gandarva,<ref>http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=664184</ref> her recording studio) that released or re-issued half of her albums.<ref name=amgbio/>
MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST
As an innovator in the world of sound, Demby soon branched out and taught
herself a number of ethnic stringed instruments such as the Koto, the
Ch’eng, the Harpeleck, the Hammer Dulcimer, finding ways to use them
inventively. In the early 70’s she co-founded a unique multimedia group,
Central Maine Power Sound & Light, which toured the East Coast with their
groundbreaking sound / light and planetarium shows. Venues included the
Museum of Modern Art, the UN Sculpture Garden, Lincoln Center for the Arts,
Fitchburg Planetarium, Strausbourg Planetarium, and the Greenwich Village
Gallery, “A Fly can Bird but a Bird can’t Fly” where Demby’s massive "Space Mass"
multi-media show was presented in March 1970.


In 2000, Demby moved from Southern California to Spain<ref name=amgbio>Wright, Carol. {{Allmusicguide |id=11:difexqq5ldae~T1 |label=Constance Demby biography }}</ref> in Sitges (outside ]), and returned to the U.S. in July 2003.
THE HEALING POWER OF SOUND
Dedicated to researching and exploring the power of sound and music to
affect the mind-body-spirit, Constance has received accolades from
luminaries and thousands of letters and emails from listeners reporting
significant life-changing experiences from her albums, concerts and
workshops.


==Discography==
“A realm of consciousness that words can only attempt to describe.”
;Studio albums
- Deepak Chopra
* 1978: ''Skies Above Skies'' (CS, Sound Currents/Gandarva)
* 1980: ''Sunborne'' (CS, Sound Currents/Gandarva)
* 1982: '']'' (CS, Sound Currents/Gandarva; 1988 CD, ])
* 1986: '']'' (])
* 1989: '']'' (])
* 1995: ''Aeterna'' (])
* 1998: ''The Beloved'' (Living Essence Foundation)
* 1998: ''The Heart Meditation'' (Living Essence Foundation)
* 2000: ''Faces of the Christ'' (Sound Currents)
* 2001: ''Sanctum Sanctuorum'' (])
* 2004: ''Spirit Trance'' (])
* 2004: ''Sonic Immersion'' (Sound Currents)


;Live albums
“One of the world's greatest living musicians, Constance Demby may well be
* 1984: ''Constance Demby at Alaron'' (live, 1983)(CS, Sound Currents/Gandarva)
the most important woman composer of classical and innovative music of our
* 2000: ''Attunement: Live in Concert'' (live, 1999)(First Light Music; Sound Currents)
time.” - Jean Houston, Phd
* 2008: ''Live in Tokyo'' (live, 2002, CD-DVD)(Sound Currents)


;Compilations
“Constance Demby isn’t just a musician or a composer, she is something
* 1987: ''Light of This World'' (compilation, 1978–1986 best-of, plus 2 original tracks)(CS/CD, Sound Currents)
altogether different: a portal, a walking catalyst, an event.”
* 1991: '']'' (various-artists compilation, 1 original Demby track)(])
- emusic magazine


== References ==
INITIATION INTO THE SOUND CURRENT
{{Reflist}}
In 1977 Demby began to investigate the spiritual life, and was drawn into
“Sant Mat,” a discipline based on “sinram and bhajan” and the yoga of
listening to the eternal sound current. Once initiated by Sant Ajaib Singh
Ji, she was opened up and the sound current began to pour through her. From
that point on, she found her "prayers would turn into song" and with her
affinity for the Hammered Dulcimer, these devotional songs formed the basis
of her first album, Skies Above Skies released in 1978 on her Gandarva
label.


==Further reading==
Skies Above Skies - reviews
{{expand further|date=May 2009}}
"Demby draws from an international palette of musical mysticism...
* Winters, Kelly (2005). , ''Contemporary Musicians'', ] Inc, 2005. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com
intoxicating." - AMG
* Wright, Carol (2004). . ] from ConstanceDemby.com
“Moves you beyond into inexpressible emotion." -Anna Turner, Hearts of Space


==External links==
EARLY ALBUMS
* – official website
In 1980, Demby, a fifth generation Californian, returned to Marin County
* {{Allmusicguide |id=11:difexqq5ldae |label=Constance Demby }}
north of San Francisco, where she played concerts to overflow audiences.
* {{discogs artist |artist=Constance+Demby |name=Constance Demby }}
Here, she founded her own record label, Sound Currents, and released
* at ]
Sunborne, an ambitious five-part tone poem inspired by “The Emerald
Tablets,” an ancient script by Hermes Trismegestus. The instrumentation
featured synthesizers, world percussion, Ch’eng, Hammered Dulcimer, her
Sonic Steel instruments and vocals.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Demby, Constance Mary}}
Sunborne - reviews
]
"Deep interior tunings, extraordinary sounds, a symphonic poem of majesty
]
and power." - Heartsong Review
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]


]
In 1982, after numerous requests by fans for a Hammered Dulcimer album,
Demby composed the devotional Sacred Space Music, eventually released on the Hearts of Space label.

Sacred Space Music - reviews
"Leading Mother figure and genuinely evolutionary composer, Constance Demby has made a piece of shimmering beauty. Demby’s music is sonic light by which to see.” -Paige La Grone, amazon.com

In 1983, Demby performed at the Alaron Center in Sausalito, CA. The evening
was one to remember for all present, and resulted in the recording
Constance Demby at Alaron

"Demby is a master at creating soul-stirring resonances and spacial
vibrations ... This recording captures the breathtaking ambiance of her
sonic spaces and represents a bridge recording of Demby's styles: the
Eastern-inspired strings with the Western symphonic space synthesizer."
- AMG
"Captures the magic of a divinely inspired moment... a cosmic level of
channeling .." - Yoga Journal

During this time, she formed the group “Gandarva,” which included among
others, multi-instrumentalist Benjy Wertheimer of Ancient Future. The group
toured to Boulder, Colorado double-billing with Paul Winter.

NOVUS MAGNIFICAT – Through the Stargate - Groundbreaking album
The mid-eighties brought changes in recording technology with the advent of
digital sampled sounds; Demby embraced this electronic revolution to compose
contemporary classical electronic spacemusic using a full range of
orchestral symphonic instruments, pipe organ, and choral voices. Tapping
into her spiritual guidance, she brought through her groundbreaking Novus
Magnificat – Through the Stargate, the album that critics call the most
important New Age recording of all time. With sound textures added by
Michael Stearns, it was released in 1986 on the Hearts of Space record
label, and received awards and top reviews from critics. Submitted by
Hearts of Space Records to the Grammies, and - though not one of the five
finalists in the Grammy Awards - Novus sold over 200,000 copies
worldwide making her one of the most successful New Age artists of the
time and helping Stephen Hill to build his labels’ reputation.

AWARDS for NOVUS MAGNIFICAT
VOTED --"One of the 10 best albums of the decade. " - Pulse! Magazine
VOTED --One of the 25 most influential ambient albums of all time" - New Age Voice
VOTED --"One of the 25 best gateway New Age albums" - NA Retailer
VOTED --"Editor's Choice" - Third Annual Digital Audio
VOTED --"Top 50 definitive CD New Age Library" - CD Review
VOTED --“TOP 15 - Electronic New Age Albums List”

CLASSICAL COMPARISONS for NOVUS MAGNIFICAT
With the release of award-winning Novus, critics and fans compared the music
to Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Mahler, Wagner, Mendelssohn, Handel,
Vivaldi, Palestrina, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Ravel, Copland.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM for NOVUS MAGNIFICAT
"The Mozart Requiem of the New Age ...an exciting and powerful musical
experience." - Audio Amateur

"There is no other recording in the electronic genre rooted in the harmonies
of Bach and the romantics that is so heartfelt, so devout...you will be
moved "- USA Today

"A landmark recording... A powerful, emotive, uplifting symphony capable of
moving the heart and soul, Novus Magnificat sets exceptionally high
standards for the artistic use of electronics, space, and classical elements
in contemporary music." - Digital Audio

"One of the finest pieces of contemporary sacred spacemusic we know." - NA
Media

"One of the great works which will take us into the 21st century with power
and grace."- New Dimensions

"The standard for the use of electronics against which future New Age albums
should be judged. " - New Sounds (Harper & Row)

"Bach-like organ crescendos, Vivaldi-like string passages...." - Lee
Underwood, Pulse Mag

"This listener was a times reminded of Palestrina, Debussy or Ravel, and
even at one point of Copland. The opening passage is a tribute to Bach's
monumental organ works..."- D. Johnson, Sunday Post

LIGHT of this WORLD
In 1987, the compilation album Light of this World came out on Demby’s Sound
Currents label

SET FREE
In 1989 the celebratory Set Free was released by Hearts of Space.

"A masterful release by an established synthesizer artist." - Platter Chatter
"The best music Constance Demby has ever written... a masterpiece." - Synthesis
"One of the most inspiring works in all of new age music." - New Frontier

INTERNATIONAL TOURING
Soon after Set Free ws released, Demby began touring internationally, first
to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, then to Egypt, performing at the
foot of the Great Pyramid and conducting ceremonies inside the Kings
Chamber. Later, Demby was invited to Lanzarote, Canary Islands to perform a
in an undergound volanic cave. Paul Horn and Pauline Oliveras were on the
same billing

AETERNA
In 1995 the emotionally cathartic album Aeterna, sequel to Novus Magnificat,
was released on the Hearts of Space label, reviewers and listeners comparing
her music to classical masters such as Bruckner, Vangelis, Rachminoff and
Tchaikovsky (and even the Beatles...!)

AETERNA - reviews
"AETERNA will remind some people of Vangelis at his best, at the same
Time, expect a lot more than Vangelis offers in a single album." - Microsoft Network

"A remarkable tour de force, the lushly romantic sounds remind one of
Rachminoff and Tchaikovsky." - Desert Sounds Review

"Arguably one of the greatest albums released, in any genre, during the last
ten years. This is new-age Bruckner: sweeping, awesome, majestic, deeply
spiritual music devoted to the care of the soul." - Dr Greenfield

LOS ANGELES
In 1998, Arjuna Ardaugh of the Living Essence Foundation (get link)
commissioned Demby to create music for his guided meditations, The Beloved
and The Heart Meditation.

Soon after, Demby moved to Los Angeles where two new albums were released on
her Sound Currents label:

Faces of the Christ, composed for the filmscore of the same name.
“A profound sonic vista of love and caring...reaches to the foundations of
the human spirit.” - ChaiWorks

Attunement – Live in LA, a recording of her final US concert before she
left Southern California for Barcelona, Spain.
"The very heart and soul of a master musician at work... A voyage through
space and time that's as good as it gets." - CD Services

SPAIN – and two more new releses
In 2000 Demby relocated to Spain, settling into the coastal town of Sitges outside of
Barcelona, and touring the country for two 1/2 years while relishing the people,
their art and music, and architectural wonders such as Gaudi.

Sanctum Sanctuorum was composed there and released by Valley Entertainment,
with critics comparing the album to Gregorian chant and Requiems by Faure
and Durufle. Released within weeks of 9/11, the sublime sacred energies
inherent in the music appeared to be custom made for this traumatic event,
the mystery being how the album, recorded months earlier, was released
“seemingly at just the appropriate time.”

Sanctum Sanctuorum - reviews
"Sanctum sets the standard for sacred symphonic space music for the new
millennium.... We were reminded of the Requiems by Faure and Durufle...
Constance Demby is the undisputed founder of sacred symphonic space music."
- International Acclaim Reviews (NYC)

During this time period in Spain, Demby composed Spirit Trance on the Valley
Entertainment label, an album which included selections from recent filmscores.

Spirit Trance - reviews
"A masterful spiritual journey from one of the best of the genre, the first
lady of e-music...’Trance’ contains strong holistic healing and psychoactive
overtone properties. " - Jim Brenholts / ambientvisions.com

SONIC IMMERSION – Vibrational Sound Healing
Returning to the US in 2003, Demby toured the west coast presenting concerts
and her healing workshop “Sonic Immersion,” with participants reporting
powerful healng results. Her Sound Currents label subsequently released the
album Sonic Immersion, a vibrational sound healing attunement based on the
workshop and featuring the Space Bass with it’s deep resonant sub-sonic
frequencies.

"Deep, profound, passionate, spiritual... Demby's passion is to explore the
nature of sound and sculpt a living soundscape that heals the soul."
- Desert Sounds Reviews

SUB SONIC FREQUENCIES
Sound and music can operate as a carrier wave to vibrate the human system
through the principle of resonance. The Space Bass, operating as an
oscillating, vibrating sound resonator, has demonstrated through the years
that the low sub-sonic frequencies and long standing waves tend to break up
long held encrustations in the embodiement.

Both Sonic Immersion participants and listeners of the CD reported changes
and healings of conditions such as lower back problems, brain conditions,
correction in irregular heartbeat conditions, chakra clearings, release of
long held anquish, stuck energies and deep-rooted stresses, plus boosts in
spiritual development.

Sonic Immersion fanletters:
This CD treatment left me full of light and cosmically cleansed to a depth I
have not felt before. Highest praises go to Ms. Demby for her incredible
work!!" -David L. Paulsen (Keaau, HI)

"Sonic Immersion is a revelation. The first time I listened I experienced a
sudden, massive clearing ... If you are looking for a way to clear
deep-rooted stresses and boost your spiritual development then look no
further." - Dave Tarr (Somerset, UK)

www.constancedemby.com/sonicimmersion.html

UK SACRED SITES TOUR
In 2005, Constance was invited to England to present her music at a Sacred
Sites UK Tour. The tour included sites such as Glastonbury, Avebury,
Sunrise Ceremony at Stonehenge, etc. The English people gave her a warm reception, http://www.constancedemby.com/sacredsitestour.html

Following her return to the US, she toured to Phoenix, Sedona and Laserium
Cyberstudios in Los Angeles. She presently resides in Santa Monica, CA.

* LUMINARIES (Collaborations / Double Bill Events)
* Deepok Chopra, Marianne Williamson / Ervin Lazlo / Satish Kuma - IONS Int Conference,
Arlington, VA
* George Lucas / Joseph Campbell / Gene Roddenberry, "The Inner Reaches of Outer Space" San Francisco, CA
* Author Jean Houston – “The Creative Leap” San Francisco, CA
* Author Andrew Harvey – “Walking the Path of the Labyrinth” Los Angeles, CA
* Paul Winter Consort – Boulder CO
* Paul Horn and Pauline Oliveras – Undergound volcanic cave, Lanzarote, Canary Islands
* Terence McKenna – Presentation at the Conference, Kona Coast, Hawaii
* Todd Rundgren – Opened for Todd at the Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
* Tom Kenyon – Presentation at the Sound Healing Conference, Seattle, WA
* Brugh Joy, David Spangler - Presentation at the Asilomar Year end Conference, Asilomar, CA
* Dalai Lama, Presentation at the Sacred Music Festival, Los Angeles CA, under the auspices of the Dalai Lama

CLASSICAL COMPARISONS from critics & listeners
Through the years, The music of Constance Demby has been compared by critics
and listeners to Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Puccini, Palestrina,
Brahams, Mahler, Rachminoff, Tchaikovsky, Hildegard Von Bingen Bruckner,
Vangelis, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, Copland, Mozart's 'Requiem' Beethoven's
'Ninth' Handel's 'Messiah' Mahler's '8th Symphony' Debussy's 'Afternoon of a
Faun' Bach's 'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' Pachebel's 'Canon'.... etc.

"....Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Wagner, and Puccini, stand
aside. And at the very pinnacle, Beethoven himself must share some space
with you." - Schmidt Memorial Institute

"The final movements of Mahler's 8th Symphony, or Debussy's Afternoon of a
Faun come close to comparison..." - G. Gryzb

"There is no other recording in the electronic genre rooted in the harmonies
of Bach and the romantics that is so heartfelt, so devout...you will be
moved "- USA Today

"This listener was a times reminded of Palestrina, Debussy or Ravel, and
even at one point of Copland. The opening passage is a tribute to Bach's
monumental organ works..."- D. Johnson, Sunday Post

"....The sheer scale, richness and depth of the piece is truly MAGNIFICENT.
The first side brings to mind Brahams at the level of the divine, and the
second, Bach-Handel-Mozart and the rest of the classicists in heaven." - D.
Hallock

"...Belongs right up there with Beethoven's "Ninth,"Handel's "Messiah,"
Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and Mozart's "Requiem" as one of the
great inspirational and spiritual compositions of all time!" -Jim
Brenholts -"TRACKS ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: A CHRONOLOGY OF AMBIENT AND
ELECTRONIC MUSIC"

"A remarkable tour de force, the lushly romantic sounds remind one of
Rachminoff and Tchaikovsky." Desert Sounds Review

"This is new-age Bruckner: sweeping, awesome, majestic, deeply spiritual
music devoted to the care of the soul."-Dr Greenfield

"....Your music helps to save me from myself. "Darkness of Space" ranks in
depth, spiritual quality and sheer beauty with Bach, Mahler and Pachebel's
Cannon." - P. Winston

"I believe your music will join and surpass the great clssics created by
masters such as Beethoven and Wagner." - Mahuleia Kealualei


DISCOGRAPHY updates and corrections
Studio Albums
1978: Skies Above Skies (CS, Sound Currents/Gandarva)
1980: Sunborne (CS, Sound Currents/Gandarva)
1982: Sacred Space Music (CS, Sound Currents/Gandarva; 1988 CD, Hearts of Space Records)
1986: Novus Magnificat: Through the Stargate (Hearts of Space Records)
1989: Set Free (Hearts of Space Records)
1995: Aeterna (Hearts of Space Records)
1998: The Beloved (Living Essence Foundation)
1998: The Heart Meditation (Living Essence Foundation)
2000: Faces of the Christ (Sound Currents)
2000: Attunement: Live in Concert (Sound Currents)
2001: Sanctum Sanctuorum ((Valley Entertainment)
2004: Spirit Trance (Valley Entertainment)
2004: Sonic Immersion (Sound Currents)

Live albums
1984: Constance Demby at Alaron (live, 1983)(CS, Sound Currents/Gandarva)
2000: Attunement: Live in Concert (live, 1999)(First Light Music; Sound Currents)
2004: Sonic Immersion (live, healing workshop) (Sound Currents)
2008: Live in Tokyo (live, 2002, CD-DVD)(Sound Currents)

Compilations
1987: Light of This World (compilation, 1978–1986 best-of, plus 2 original tracks)(CS/CD, Sound Currents)

Revision as of 04:52, 5 December 2009

Constance Mary Demby is a U.S. multi-instrumentalist player and composer. Identified with the New Age movement (as both her personal belief and the New Age music style), some of Demby's output is also classified as ambient or space music. Demby is also a singer, instrument designer, painter, sculptor, and multi-media producer. She is best known for her 1986 album Novus Magnificat.

Biography

Original cover of Novus Magnificat (1986 cassette)

Constance Mary Demby was born in Oakland, California. She learned to play the classical pianoforte in her childhood and went on to become a multi-instrumentalist (including hammered dulcimer, vocals, synthesizers, and originally-designed custom acoustic instruments).

She studied sculpture and painting at the University of Michigan. It was both as musician and sculptor that her Sonic Steel Instruments, the space bass and the whale sail were created. An original design, her Sonic Steel Instruments have been recorded by Lucas Skywalker Studios for use in their filmscores, and also filmed by Discovery Channel at Gaudi's Parc Guell. The Space Bass is featured on Michael Stearns' soundtrack for Chronos.

In 1986, her album Novus Magnificat was released, self-defined as "Spacemusic" from its liner notes to its subtitle "Through the Stargate", with a space-themed cover (pictured at right) reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey (whose novel version featured a "Star Gate"). Inspired by Western classical and sacred music, it was recorded with samples from real instruments played on the Emulator II digital sampler, and features sound textures by Michael Stearns. Though it wasn't nominated at the Grammy Awards, the album sold over 200,000 copies worldwide, making her one of the most successful New Age artists of the time and helped Stephen Hill to build his Hearts of Space Records' reputation.

Demby was the co-founder of The Central Maine Power Sound and Light Company, an experimental multi-media group that toured the east coast from 1971 to 1976 with programs such as Space Mass, a multimedia production launched in NYC combining painting, film, massive environmental sculptures, music, dance, and ritual. In 1978, Demby also founded her own record company, Sound Currents (also known as Gandarva, her recording studio) that released or re-issued half of her albums.

In 2000, Demby moved from Southern California to Spain in Sitges (outside Barcelona), and returned to the U.S. in July 2003.

Discography

Studio albums
Live albums
  • 1984: Constance Demby at Alaron (live, 1983)(CS, Sound Currents/Gandarva)
  • 2000: Attunement: Live in Concert (live, 1999)(First Light Music; Sound Currents)
  • 2008: Live in Tokyo (live, 2002, CD-DVD)(Sound Currents)
Compilations
  • 1987: Light of This World (compilation, 1978–1986 best-of, plus 2 original tracks)(CS/CD, Sound Currents)
  • 1991: Polar Shift (various-artists compilation, 1 original Demby track)(Private Music)

References

  1. ^ ASCAP (2009). "Works written by: Demby Constance Mary, CAE/IPI No. 127.53.77.66", database of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
  2. ^ Wright, Carol. Constance Demby biography at AllMusic
  3. Novus Magnificat was released in 1986 and eligible for the 1987 Grammy Awards (alias "Grammy Awards for 1986"), where a "New Age" category appeared that year for the first time. Neither the album nor Demby appears on the MetroLyrics list of 1987 Grammy nominations, including the two compilations from Germany's Windham Hill Records, "various artists - Windham Hill Records Sampler '86" and "various artists - A Winter's Solstice". (Same for 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989.) No other source checked in June 2009 (including Google News Archive and Google Book Search) could list the album among Grammy nominations. The "Grammy nominated" claim found on Demby's website since at least 2001 (and in some interviews) may have been a confusion between the album being "nominated" by its record label to the Grammy academy (as is the regular process) and the actual official list of five Grammy nominees (the one called "Grammy nominated").
  4. ^ Phoenix, Robert (2007). "Constance Demby: Heavy Metal Thunder", January 23, 2007 at eMusic.com
  5. http://www.mcs.csueastbay.edu/~tebo/history/Ambient/Space/C.Demby.html
  6. http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=664184

Further reading

External links

Categories: