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Irritable Hedgehog Music is a Kansas City-based, independent record label, focused primarily on minimalist music and electroacoustic music.

History
Irritable Hedgehog Music was original organized as the publishing imprint for David D. McIntire's compositions. The impetus for moving into the recording industry was a performance of Tom Johnson's An Hour for Piano by R. Andrew Lee in May of 2009. Recalls McIntire, “My wife and I were there and driving home I said, ‘You know, I think Andy plays that as well as anyone in the world. He owns that piece in a really amazing way.’ And she said, ‘Well I think he should record it, and you should produce it.’ I was startled by the idea, but as I let it sink in I thought, ‘You know, I should.’”

Realization of that recording would take over a year, but on 30 October 2010, Irritable Hedgehog released their first commercial recording, "Tom Johnson: An Hour for Piano." Since that time, their catalog has grown to include four CD releases as well as nine digital releases. Three to four CDs are slated for recording this summer, including the first commercial release of Dennis Johnson's multi-hour minimalist composition, November.

CD Releases
Tom Johnson: An Hour for Piano - Released 30 October 2010. This marked the third recording of An Hour for Piano, with the first being Frederic Rzewski's original 1979 release, subsequently released on CD in 2000, and Jeroen van Veen's recording as part of his Minimal Piano collection, released in 2007. This was the first commercial release of the piece that was exactly one hour long, as is indicated by the score.

Ann Southam: Soundings for a New Piano - Released 09 August 2011. This was the first commercial release of Southam's Soundings for a New Piano: 12 Meditations on a Twelve Tone Row, which was composed for Jane Blackstone in March of 1986. The piece is another example of Southam's pervasive 12-tone row (featured in out pieces such as Simple Lines of Enquiry), and combines serial and minimalist composition techniques.

William Duckworth: The Time Curve Preludes - Released 18 October 2011. This was the second complete recording of The Time Curve Preludes, following the premier recording for Lovely Music, and also follows Bruce Brubaker's recording of Book I for Arabesque. One notable aspect of the recording is that it allows the sustained tones (created by small weights place on certain keys) to die away completely, more closely mirroring a live performance.

Queen of Heaven - Released 31 January 2012. Another premier recording, this EP features music composed by Scott Blasco and is performed by pianist Kari Johnson, who commissioned the work. Based in Catholic and Orthodox theology, this piece for piano and electronics reflects on five different aspects of the Virgin Mary.

Digital Releases
Along with CD releases, Irritable Hedgehog has put out a number of digital-only albums and tracks, many of which are free to download. The consist of almost exclusively of David McIntire's electroacoustic compositions and field recordings, with the exception of the Putney Project.


 * Chronomosaic+
 * Maps Without Grids (1992)+
 * Hommage á Nancarrow (1992)
 * Arcadia Landscape (2000)+
 * Landscape of Retrieval (2004)+
 * unhurried, untitled (1985, 2010)
 * Longbow Creek (2010)
 * J​.​T. Fraser Appointed Official Timekeeper of Ongoing Achilles v. Tortoise Footrace (In Memoriam) (2011)+
 * P'lique (2011)+

+ indicates free download

Putney Project
The Putney Project came about as a result of two separated experiences. The first was McIntire's early exposure to the the EMS VCS-3, an odd English synthesizer known as the "Putney," while the second was the 60x60 concerts. The 60x60 concerts, curated by Robert Voisey, each featuring 60 works by 60 different composers that are one minute in length.

As an undergraduate, McIntire recorded several improvisations with this synthesizer and invited others to compose their own pieces based on these raw materials. . All invited were encouraged to use the material as they saw fit. As the invitation states, "There are no restrictions as to length or how you use it. Re-mix, re-mash. Add beats. Subtract overtones, add undertones. Overdub guitar solos. Layer in twelve tubas. Put it in a blender and hit "frappé." Whether your approach is subtle and sophisticated or brute-force and grungy, it's all good."

The first volume was released on 03 January 2012, and the second volume is due this summer.

Artist and Composer Roster

 * Scott Blasco, composer
 * William Duckworth, composer
 * Ken Frank, composer
 * Alexander Hogan, composer
 * Kari Johnson, pianist
 * Tom Johnson, composer
 * R. Andrew Lee, pianist
 * Phillip Marshall, composer
 * David D. McIntire, composer
 * David Morneau, composer
 * Jack Smith, composer
 * Ann Southam, composer
 * Scott Unrein, composer