Psychospherix: lights, camera, action, no guitars.
A viola player has had enough and decides to learn the accordion. He goes to the music store and, after carefully choosing his instrument, has to be restrained by the shop manager.” What are you doing?” says the viola player. The manager replies “whilst you can have any of the instruments off the shelf, I’m afraid…
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Psychoral: singers, tour leaders, and a rhythm section
Considering how difficult it has been to get one cajon player to work on my projects, the chances of getting eight singers to be part of the Psychospherix empire may be just a pipedream but I am going to give it my best shot. The choir members will not only have to be expert singers (reading…
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Projects
Gatwick on the Orient Express
A ticket on the Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul will set you back £50,000, whereas, for only £35, you can take the Gatwick Express all the way from Brighton to Victoria AND back! Admittedly, one might argue that the former journey passing through Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, and Sofia might be a little…
Seven Days
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. If you had to choose a song with a day of the week in the title, what would you choose? We have taken seven that we enjoy playing, and we think you will be surprised at our choice. Following on from our success with Brighton Blue, we have…
Brighton Blue
An ode to cheese, coffee, trains and tango. “Brighton Blue” is an innovative performance piece that marries live music with engaging video backgrounds to explore four quintessential aspects of local culture: Sussex’s ever-expanding cheese industry, Brighton’s ubiquitous café scene, the historical significance of trains, and the city’s vibrant dance life. Led by Richard Vahrman and…
News
🎶 Why I’m Building My Own Choir (Yes, Really)
It began, as many ambitious projects do, with something simple: I needed a percussionist. Just one. Someone with rhythm, soul, a pair of hands — ideally attached to a human…
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Systems, Identity and the Near Future
Or more fully “Gatwick on the Orient Express: A Musical Journey Through Systems, Identity and the Near Future” It began as a joke — recreating the luxury of the Orient…
The Ministry of Direction hijacks GotOE.
I imagined mahogany panelling, velvet upholstery, and silver service. Or at least the illusion of it, briefly conjured up on a commuter train heading south to the sea. The original…
No guitars – PLEASE!!!
ChatGPT, however much I praise it at times, can be supremely infuriating at others. As I update some of the website, here is a conversation I had yesterday to get…
Videos
Trains from Brighton Blue (live)
https://filedn.eu/lgXjucGkn04FKRWNOClH6bJ/Trainsbit.mp4
Why these 3 songs as a medley?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvsGq6f4Hvg Musical variety and exploration: Richard Vahrman, being a renowned jazz accordion player, might choose to create a medley from “The Bear” by John Mayall, “Delta Lady” by Leon Russell,…
Nature Boy (which one?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14bhaTU2khM “Nature Boy” is a song written by Eden Ahbez and first recorded by Nat King Cole in 1948. The song has since been covered by numerous artists. The lyrics…
Night Life (during the day)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r-LbtDqjOE Dear Richard, I wanted to take a moment to express my admiration for your adaptation of my song “Night Life.” The moment I heard your rendition, I was captivated…
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Find out where we are playing, what songs we are working on, and other general chitchat. We are not on any most social media (thank you Jaron Larnier) but occasionally we put something on SoundCloud or YouTube. You will find these on the following pages.