Since there's no other good way to tell you about the tracks here, I'll put some notes up for the curious:

On the Great Longing (2002) Large orchestra with organ. A huge chorale finally gives way to introspection, frustrated hope, and resignation.

The Angel of Numbers (2004) Voice: Rafael Alberti / Music: ACID loops.

Hero in the Metro (2001) Solo piano. You can figure out the story... (maybe this guy is a little more Henry Fool than hero, but the charisma is there)..

A Dove (1998) Three pianos, percussion, synth. Blue sky, something flying, maybe a bird, maybe a memory...

Red in Red (2008)  piano, vibraphone, marimba.

Before There Was (1990) Dark rock/jazz/psych. I played all.

http://www.tokafi.com/15questions/15-questions-to-steve-layton/view

Connection is the key, and while there's a lot of great work on this site, I want to make sure you know about a couple other places.

Jeff Harrington started NetNewMusic a few years ago; I've been helping out there since its beginning. It's a portal to contemporary/avant stuff of all types; but only things we personally visit, listen to and like. We don't care about how "big" the name is, only how good the music is. And we focus on people who provide a generous amount of audio on their own site. After all, music is about sound, right?

Also one of the best of the truly independent CD stores is CD Baby, based in Portland, Oregon. There are amazing CDs that you might never see if you were only looking at major labels and big stores. But it can be hard to find them just by searching, so I've made two different galleries of CDs there, that I personally find interesting. You just might, too... The links are:

Music Now, Worldwide

More Music Now

Explore, listen, support, enjoy.

I've been around a lot of places web-wise since 1997, so no reason not to put a few pieces up here. This isn't pop. It may be "difficult", but that doesn't make it hard. We're all prisoners of our own culture, but that doesn't mean your cell has to be so small. Don't go in with preconceptions, and then maybe your ears will open a little. Above all, scary or ecstatic, enjoy.

I chose four fairly different pieces, from four different times. But they're all me; I wrote 'em, played 'em, and recorded 'em. (Sure, I like other people; it's just easier that way...)

If you like what you hear, head for my real website; you'll find links to much more to listen to, download, or buy.

Enough talk; listen already. And thanks for the visit.