Edmonton, Alberta-based composer William Northlich, aka BlipVert, was awarded second place in the 2024 Musicworks Electronic Music Composition Contest for Topaz 0.3nyV.
Click the PLAY button above to listen.
Northlich shared some notes with Musicworks about Topaz 0.3nyV.
“I have been composing and performing electronic music under the pseudonym BlipVert—a term and concept I first became familiar with from the 1980s television series Max Headroom—since 2001. Many of these releases primarily feature frenetic conglomerations of sounds, samples, and genres—fluctuating sonic collages which become ideal for live remixing and manipulation.
“The main idea behind Topaz 0.3nyV was to adopt a more consistent and restrained compositional approach to IDM or glitch-based electronic music, taking inspiration from artists and groups such as Junichi Akagawa, Autechre, Pan Sonic, and Arovane. To achieve a capricious yet streamlined character with this track, I focused more intently on specific elements of audio production, working with limited sample and sound content, creating subtle harmonic and melodic fragments, and incorporating moments of space.
“Topaz 0.3nyV was composed in 2024 and released on Lithuania’s Tape Kiosk label in 2025 as part of a full-length BlipVert record, entitled Last Mile of an Alien Shore.
“I am extremely honored by and grateful for the support and efforts of the Musicworks staff, Tape Kiosk, the greater Edmonton music scene, the greater San Francisco Bay Area music scene, and the University of Alberta.”
William Northlich is a composer, performer, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist whose works feature interconnected visual and sonic elements such as graphic scoring, choreographed movement in performance, videography, and interpretive conducting. His compositions have been featured in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and East Asia. Premieres have been heard at Edmonton’s City Hall and Muttart Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Ojai Art Center, Wesleyan University, and the University of Alberta. His work has been supported by the National Gugak Center (Seoul, South Korea), Amsterdam’s former STEIM Center, the Moers Festival, New Music Edmonton, the Edmonton Arts Council, and the New York University New Music Ensemble. He received a Doctor of Music degree from the University of Alberta in 2019. His digital visual art draws from improvisation, escapism, immersion, and sonic tension to produce uniquely organized chaos.
Learn more about William Northlich / BlipVert here.
AUDIO: Topaz 0.3nyV
Photo courtesy of New Music Edmonton.
