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Ray Buttigieg | |
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| Born | (1955-05-01)May 1, 1955 (age 70) Gozo, Malta |
| Origin | New York City, United States |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, musician |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Website | raybuttigieg |
Ray Buttigieg (born May 1, 1955) is a poet and musician.
He attendedQala primary school, then the Lyceum in Victoria, Gozo. He then moved to the United States and continued his studies in New York, where he settled permanently. By the age of 20 he had several poems published in anthologies in London and New York City.
Buttigieg is best known forPastorale (1978),Poeticus I & II (1986) and (1992), and the first book he wrote in his late teens,Wizard's Spider Mystic Glider, (1989) which are written in aclassical style; he received criticism when he later introduced a more modern style in his experiments and improvisational poetry. In the last few years[clarification needed] he returned to his earlier style in works likeThe Wisdom of Stones (2002),Remnants from the Book of Time (2002), andThe Procession (1999). Although for the last 25 years Buttigieg has been writing only in English and very little in his nativeMaltese, his subject matter still includes a great deal of influence from his native Malta.
At the age of ten Buttigieg became interested in music when he started to singLatin hymns on the gallery of the grand pipe organ at St Joseph's church. He was also attracted to pieces of metal of various sizes, weights and alloys as well as short wave radios; he thought the combination of these found instruments are uniquely musical that could be used as effects. He later learned the guitar and started to write songs for his firstrock improvisational band.
Buttigieg started his professional musical career in New York and Philadelphia where he fronted the six pieceglam/rock bandCykx. His catchy tunes mixed with his lyrical poetry produced two top ten pop hits in the mid-seventies. At the same time synthesizers andcomputers and electronic music experiments on tape were becoming more interesting to Buttigieg than bandmates who could never agree on anything. Soon the band was defunct and a new project band started: Ray Buttigieg/Cykx, Cykx being the computer that replaced the members of the band. The pop or rock compositions now became explorations and experiments in sound.Compucircuit 0.008 m/s (1981) andMechanism of Thought (1984) were both groundbreaking albums.[clarification needed]
Buttigieg believed that electronic synthesisers were a third "high" in music, the first and second being acoustic and electric instruments.
Buttigieg embarked on a solo career when he set eyes on his first keyboard, aMellotron. He was involved in multiple projects at the same time while being involved in solo major works and other series concepts likeEarth noise andSound Science Series in the 70s andThe Symphonic Poems,Music for andDiary of an Earthling series in the 80s. Film and video work were also becoming an interesting avenue to combine visuals and poetry, and as the music soundtrack that would define the visuals all done under the same roof. He continued his career by producing some influential and lush albums likeSound of Transformation – Symphonic Poem No.1 (1982),Quantum Mechanics (1985),Music for Movies (1986),Codes (1987) andMusical Instincts of Nature.
Since the very beginning of his career in the mid-70s, Buttigieg has been sought after for creative guidance, collaborating, producing and as the idea man. His string of credits include in Rebellion, Process and After Thought in the 80s, and in the 90s co-wrote songs and produced bands like Novi Mystici, Prosper Falls, Selfish like Magnets and Noise Button. In the last few years of the new millennium Buttigieg wrote songs for other artists in the genres ofpopular music/pop song,gothic format and has gone aggressively into everything electronic whether it iselectronica,ambient,new age orelectronic, producing and collaborating with bands likeFTSG,Dyr3,System 6,Desire becomes Being andCirca 2000 AD forCykxincorp andStanding Stone Recording Company record labels, part ofCykxincorp Group of Companies.
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