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About the Recording Process...Composition and performance is truly an adventure for Mr. Sles! Playing a keyboard instrument without the full use of his hands has proven to be quite a challenge... one that has been both fun and innovative. Mr. Sles predominantly uses a stick held between his teeth to play the keyboard. However, this is only one of the adaptive piano techniques he employs. He has become remarkably adept at playing the keyboard with his feet, his fingers, his head, and once, even a banana! 
  About the Music...If I were to choose two words to describe Mr. Sles, they would be innovative and unconventional. This not only describes his personality and performance technique, but also the imaginative way he approaches composition. I frequently refer to his music and our time together as an adventure... one that we are both pleased to share with you now through this recording. As you experience his music, set your inhibitions to the wind and allow yourself to join the adventures and introspection he has conveyed though sound. At times you may find it engaging. At other points you may feel curious and isolated. Through all, you will experience new perspectives on music- and hopefully, yourself. This has been the goal of artists throughout time, and Mr. Sles is no stranger to Art's legacy. 
 About the Studio...Our studio revolves around computer-based MIDI sequencing. This allows for a good balance between musical flexibility, creative license and adaptive concessions to allow Mr. Sles to compose and perform without hindrance from his physical limitations. Mr. Sles predominantly uses MIDI Keyboard controllers to input music into the sequencing software in real-time and step-time. We chose a computer-based sequencer to allow for easy expansion and greater control over detailed editing. The heart of the studio is Vision by OpCode systems, one of the industry's most powerful cross-platform software sequencers, which runs on a custom built Pentium II-class PC. We also have excellent notation capability using Finale by Coda Music Systems, which runs on a dedicated Macintosh PowerPC. We run three hardware-based and two software-based MIDI Tone Generators, yielding more than 800 available instruments. These Tone Generators are integrated with an E-mu SoundFont sampler, which allows unlimited creative possibilities with Mr. Sles' acoustic palette. Altogether, Mr. Sles's composition studio can handle up to 99 virtual, non-linear tracks of integrated MIDI and digital audio with a total capacity of 64 MIDI channels and 128-note polyphony. His system can accommodate up to four simultaneous MIDI controller inputs, and can mix down to both analog and digital recording sources.  (From left to right: Aishah Muhammad - Marketing, Steven Sles - Composer, Robert Prakash Rai - Composer and author of this page) 
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