I just finished a spanky new version of the music for one the recordings I did for poet Laurie MacFayden. It’s kind of the opposite of the dark ambient original. Here’s a sample of the first couple minutes.

Later (Dec 24):
I’ve redone the little intro bit, so here’s an upload of the latest version:

Things You Need to Know…

This thing’s touted as a microtonal piano and it has the potential to be an absolutely awesome instrument. In this performance though, it sounds more like a hammered dulcimer with an unused pitch wheel. I’m a big fan of modern harpsichord music – which this strongly reminds me of – and I sure like to see Western composers tackle this little invention – instead of just playing a minus one Indian raga.

If you want your mind blown check out this recording.

Performed by John Williams and Maria Farandouri

The spanky new high-tech turntable I bought for Nora last Christmas has finally landed in our living room, attached to the amp that can crank the sound out of her mammoth speakers. So far, only classical music has made its way under the needle, and it may stay that way till one of us has a gust of nostalgia sweep over them.

Anyway, yesterday I went down to the basement and brought up a handful of old vinyl favorites, things I haven’t listened to in at least a decade. This album was among them.

You know, I could probably give you a top ten list of every damn era, form and instrument used in ‘classical’ music. From Gothic to Post-Modern, winds to keyboards, bagatelles to symphonies. But if I had to put together a single top ten list based on composed music (as opposed to pop, rock, jazz, etc) this one would probably be on it. It has been a guilty pleasure since the ’70s.

First of all, the lyrics for one of the song cycles are adapted from Lorca. Second, Theodorakis, the composer behind Zorba the Greek and Z, was moved to create a musical response to the demos-stomping dictatorship in his native Greece. Third, we have contralto Maria Farandouri, who technically, brings a perfectly balanced blend of folk and operatic tone to the songs, and emotionally, brings a lie-down-and-cry richness. Fourth, we have the John Williams on guitar.

Together, my freaking god… you’ll be hard pressed to find a recording this cohesive, this moving, this exquisite, anywhere. Dude, you can play this at my funeral. When I dragged it out, I thought, hmm… is this going to stand the test of time? That question was answered before the first ten bars of the first song were over. Whatever else these guys did in their musical careers, they could have retired after this recording and been satisfied they pushed the envelope of world music a little higher.

The album was out of print for decades, then reissued in the ’90s and dropped again within a month. It is now only available from Sony in Greece. Here’s the link.

By the way, if you ever read somewhere that Maria Farandouri is the Joan Baez of the Mediteranean, don’t believe it until you hear Baez sing Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. Then it will make sense.

I heard about ten seconds each of three different tracks and five minutes later had ordered all three CDs in the series. Only the first volume has arrived so far, but it’s been in my CD player exclusively since.

Holy crap is this every good. My initial reaction was, "I can pretty much give up trying to make my own music now. It’s all been done."

The closest things I’ve heard are Robert Rich’s electro-acoustic ambient and formal percussion ensemble music like Nexus. The former because of the instrumentation, the latter because of their razor-sharp technique and non-standard rhythms.

OK, I’m making this sound like academic mood ring music. Sorry. Let me be perfectly clear what this is. These guys got groove. These guys got darkness in ‘em. These guys got ‘lectric guitars, space bass and toy pianos. And then there’s the drums. Holy mother of a Chubby Chicken gut, they got drums. They got steel, they got kit, they got hang, they got it all. And every note has been set in its place by two guys in tuxes with white gloves. They ain’t no auto-quantification going on here. A little sticker on the cover quotes an Uncut review: "Sound[s] like the modern jazz quartet of the 24th Century". I wouldn’t go that far – to say it sounds like something that couldn’t have been created today. But seriously, in three hundred years, you could certainly play this to a house and get a standing ovation.

I just finished recording a CD for a poet friend of mine, Laurie MacFayden. It turned out pretty well. Twelve tracks, all Laurie’s poetry.

Here are a couple of samples:

I Have Hidden Love

Liar’s Hotel

Pomes de Terre

Later:
Sorry, I meant to come back and say a few more things about this CD – and the fact that this is my 100th Music post.

A few years ago, Laurie won an hour of time at B-Scene Studios from some Raving Poets event or another. She asked me to accompany her on percussion while she recorded her poems. I can’t even remember what I brought, but snare, djembe and shakers for sure. Anyway, the session went great and she wanted to recreate the experience with some new and updated pieces.

She came over with a sheaf of poems on Sunday, November 19th and we spent about three hours laying down twelve different tracks. My arms were still buggered from sprains and tendonitis, so I set up some quick MIDI loops she could read to in the headphones, just to get the mood. I’d then later replace the temp music with something more considered.

Anyway, I kind of thought it would be a shame to restrict myself to drums and percussion. I’ve got a kick-ass synth and soft-synths up the yinyang, so what the hay. To maintain the spirit of our prior collaborations – both in the studio and at the RPs – I would play everything live. I’d get the tone of the piece, find the right instrument, rehearse till I got the appropriate tone, then when I’d figured it out, go back to the beginning and record behind her recitation.

A couple of weeks later, it was all done. I kept the same two buses loaded with EQ, FX, and compression throughout – one for voice, one for all else. That way, there was consistency from the beginning of the CD through to the end. In the buses, I made a point of changing only the FX and panning, and even those very, very little, to maintain the illusion that she was sitting center stage right, and I was sitting center stage left, moving only to get at other instruments.

Anyway, it was a very pleasant and immediately gratifying musical experience. It was especially nice to play keys instead of sticks.

I’ll keep you posted on when the CD will be available.

Nearly deaf Scottish musician. Some – not me, of course – would say there are many, especially among the pipers of bags.

As the kids say, Evelyn Glennie has mad skilz.

Many years ago, I met a Polish real estate agent who did his Masters degree playing accordion. Super nice guy. He said he could have bought a car if he’d sold his instrument. Jigga high, jigga low, la-la-la, etc.

By the way, I don’t think they called it ‘shredding’ in the 18th Century.

So, here’s where I’m at with the CD.

1. I’ve been working on it almost constantly, so despite blogillic appearances, it is very much alive and well.

2. There are seven tracks, about 46 minutes worth of music.

3. Two of the tracks have yet to be titled.

4. I hardly know what kind of music it is. Lots of drum kit and percussion, lots of piano, vibes and bass. And tons of synths and FX. One thing is for sure, it ain’t ambient. If I were really pressed for a description, I’d have to say it’s electronica with testicles.

I must admit, the dang thing is for me. Music I really like is far and few, so getting to make my own dang stuff adds to my top ten list hugely.

I can see that it’ll be out in 2010. It can’t possibly take longer than a few months to finish.