Constance Demby
A fifth generation Californian born in Oakland, Demby began classical piano studies at the age of eight. When she moved to the east coast her studies expanded to include painting and sculpture. Throughout the 70s, she gave concerts, workshops, and multi-media presentations all over the eastern seaboard. By the end of the decade, her own label was established and her first albums of meditative and sacred spacemusic, SKIES ABOVE SKIES and SUNBORNE, were released.
"Constance Demby is one of the brightest stars on the Hearts of Space
label....she's truly the queen of spacemusic. "
- Nightnotes
As a recording artist, Constance Demby, is an internationally known innovator of sound creations; sounds you'd swear you never heard before. Yet, somewhere in some dim memory, there is a faint memory-echo - rich and compelling - calling up archetypal experiences which access and activate the deeper, more profound levels of the mind-body-spirit. Over the years she has mastered matching an emotion to its complimentary tonal resonation, producing albums that consistantly deliver powerful cathartic experiences.
During the 70's she reached for the penultimate in sound when she conceived and constructed the first Sonic Steel Instruments, the Space Bass and the Whale Sail, (huge sheets of stainless steel played with bows) which generate deep, resonante primordial sounds. The Space Bass is a horizontal 10 ft sheet of mirror finish stainless steel with 5 octaves of rods attached to a bar. The rods are either struck percussively or bowed with bass bows. The sounds waves on the lower notes are purported to be 30 ft long. The Whale Sail, the cetacean sister of the Space Bass, is a vertical 8 ft sheet strung with wires that are also bowed.
The petals of her musical flower began to open further upon her return to her native area (Northern California) in 1980. Here her experimentation with electronic instrumentation began. Two years later, SACRED SPACE MUSIC was released, an enduring album featuring hammered dulcimer, acoustic piano, and synthesizer.
Demby's studio turned fully electronic with the arrival of digital sampling keyboards, and NOVUS MAGNIFICAT was born in 1986, considered "the Mozart Requiem of the New Age." SET FREE (1989) was hailed as a "...first-rate release by an artist in her prime." Several international tours followed: Europe, Egypt, South America, Canary Islands, Japan, Indonesia and beyond. Her most recent release, AETERNA (1995) has been termed, "...the music of the 21st century....sure to become a classic."
To date, Demby continues to focus on composing contemporary orchestral albums in her home studio, using an impressive array of the latest electronic instruments, digital sampling synthesizers and recording technology. She is especially interested in the transformational power of music and its ability to elevate human consciousness.
