Steppe by Elliott Sharp

Steppe is a long-form composition for six overdubbed electric steel guitars inspired by the topography of steppes of the world: hugely varied in form but generally flat grasslands devoid of trees. Each guitar used a unique microtonal tuning system with some common tones across the instruments. Extended techniques were used in all sections of the piece though they are not so far removed from normal steel guitar praxis. Instruments used included a 1937 Richenbacker Electro 6-string, a 1952 Gibson Ultratone 7-string, 1998 custom-made Dynalap 8-string, 1958 Fender Stringmaster 8-string, and the 1960 Fender Dual 8 double neck 8-strings.

Elliott Sharp: composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, author, leads Orchestra Carbon, Tectonics and Terraplane with compositional strategies including fractal geometry, chaos theory, and genetic metaphors as well as new techniques for graphic notation to yield work that catalyzes a synesthetic approach to musicmaking as well as functioning as retinal art.