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Spreading holiday cheer with The Nutcracker Suite EP

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The Nutcracker Suite by matthurst

A synth inspired tribute to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet

Continuing my journey with re-imagining music in the public domain, this holiday season I’ve recorded my own synth-inspired tribute to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker”. This story and music always take me back to my childhood, dreaming of holiday magic and imaginative adventures, so it seems fitting to record my own cover versions in the chiptune style that was the soundscape of my youth (with more than a few gifts under the Xmas tree).

And just as with my previous release of the “1923 EP“, I’m releasing the following new songs into Creative Commons licensing so that others can remix, reuse, and adapt the recordings into something new”
– Waltz of the Flowers
– Dance of the Reed Flutes
– March of the Toy Soldiers (aka The Nutcracker March)

I hope you’ll give my remixes a spin and share them anytime you want to celebrate – please consider it my gift to you this holiday season!

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Kicking off the Roaring Twenties with my new “1923 EP”

One of my New Years resolutions for 2019 was to make more creative risks, and this took on many forms: photography, storytelling, even cooking. But from January 1st I had a big project in mind: making new music for the first time in nearly a decade.  A year later, I’m finally ready to share my “1923 EP” :

1923 EP by matthurst

Inspired by Roaring Twenties classics which were finally released to the public domain at the start of 2019, I set out to rearrange and re-contextualize these classics from the American songbook for the 21st century. What I came up with was a stripped-down set of songs, influenced by nostalgic sounds like chiptune, FM synths, and vintage samplers that help bring these old melodies to life.

Inspired by the Roaring Twenties, I set out to rearrange and re-contextualize these classics from the American songbook for the 21st century. What I came up with was a stripped-down set of songs, influenced by nostalgic sounds like chiptune, FM synths, and vintage samplers that help bring these old melodies to life.

But why 1923? Last year marked the first time in over two decades that copyrighted works from 1923 entered the public domain, thanks in part to lobbying by big media companies in the late 1990s. To help correct the absurdity of overly-restrictive copyright laws keeping great music from the public for nearly a century, I’m proud to share my recordings through Creative Commons licensing so that others can share or remix my music to make their own creative projects.

Continue reading Kicking off the Roaring Twenties with my new “1923 EP” →
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Lucky 13: my top 13 for 2013

The last year has been a year of memories and milestones for me, from my engagement at the start of the year to the 25th anniversary of my father’s passing at the end.  In between I watched, listened, and learned from countless media during 2013, influencing my daily life and providing inspiration for ideas of my own.  Because I love building lists (and what blogger doesn’t), I wanted to share some of my top moments for 2013, at least from my own media usage and perspective:

My Top Instagram Photos in 2013

My Top Tweets of 2013


My Top 13 Albums of 2013

Continue reading Lucky 13: my top 13 for 2013 →

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In Memory of My Father, Roger Hurst

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Today marks the 25th anniversary of my Dad’s death.  He is remembered for many things in his life: as a husband to my mother, a father to me and my sister, a brother and son to the Hurst family, and a friend to many.  But his life is most remembered for how it ended: alongside the 270 other people killed on Pan Am Flight 103 and in Lockerbie, Scotland as the airplane was bombed in an act of terrorism on December 21, 1988.
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I was only 3 years old when my father died, so I don’t have many memories about him or from that day.  I do remember sitting in our home by the Christmas tree seeing my mom crying by the phone, an unusual sight for a young boy.  In a few short days we’d be flying home to St. Louis to mourn with our family, relocating to Missouri where my mom would raise me and my sister.  It all happened so fast that it took years to fully understand my family’s life had changed forever. Continue reading In Memory of My Father, Roger Hurst →

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Good news: I’m engaged to be married!

 

Meet my new Fiancé, @laurenkreid !

A post shared by Matthew Hurst (@matthurst) on

Last week I asked the love of my life, Miss Lauren Reid, to marry me and she said “Yes!” Normally I wouldn’t share much from my personal life on my professional blog, but this is too big a part of my life not to mention the good news. We’ve both been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and well-wishes from friends and family, and we share their excitement as we start to plan our wedding and to begin married life together. After sharing the big news with family over the phone and with friends through social media, we started to set up a wedding website which is already up and running (like our wedding plans, it’s a work in progress).

Since you’re visiting my website, there’s a good chance you already know a little about me. So I wanted to take a moment to introduce my fiancée Lauren Reid, whom I’ve been dating for more than 6 years. For anyone who hasn’t met Lauren in person: she’s super smart and has a witty sense of humor (but is never afraid to laugh at herself). I think she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met (and have over 1000 photos on Flickr tagged with her name), but she’s also sweet, loyal, and caring; all great qualities for my best friend and now fiancée.

Lauren is also quite active online and in social media, which helped us stay close even when we were far apart; although we grew up only a few miles from each other in St. Louis we met each other later in life, and for the first 3 years we were dating long-distance. On our fifth anniversary in 2011, I compiled some of my favorite moments we shared over social media as a timeline story of our courtship, which I’d like to share as an introduction to us as a couple: Continue reading Good news: I’m engaged to be married! →

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Warm wishes for the Holidays!

I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy holidays, and a happy new year in 2012! Once again I’m home for the holidays in St. Louis, but I’ll be back in New York City in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

2011 Holiday Party Photobooth!

Thanks to Amanda for the insane party, Matt for the tech geek photobooth setup, and Ryan Gosling Boyfriend Pillow for the special guest appearance! 12.17.11

Every year I create a Very Indie Xmas mixtape of holiday songs that are a bit more unique than what is played on commercial radio and in shopping malls. This year I’m sharing these holiday mixes from the past few years, and this year’s mix is available as a playlist on Spotify; you could consider this my gift to you this year.

And if you’re looking for a last-minute gift feel free to check out my Wish List page, filled with gift ideas for the geek in your life. Better yet you can learn more about my favorite charities during this season of giving.