Totems From The Diaspora - N0mad23

No idea - pretty much default settings at this stage with characteristic tweaking of everything - lol. It's a funny track and to my ears now seems very, very dated. Weird how quickly that can happen.

I actually picked up the didgeridoo in `92 and 6 weeks later I was on stage performing in Seattle for the upcoming Subpop artists. This one feels like ancient history now, but you're right - if I was to go back to it I'd certainly weave in more of the South Asian sounds. Cheers!

Thank you. I do try to stretch out and raise the personal bar with each track. But really I'm lucky that I'm so often frequented by the Muse! Cheers.

Thanks. Tried to sample some of my fave ethnic sounds for this and keep it from sounding contrived. Cheers.

Hi Pierre. The subs actually took a lot of work to get right in this one, and I learned a lot about using graphic analyzers in the process. Yes, the textures are good here, and reflect the "ride" around the world through instrument choices. I'm really glad you like this one. Thanks much for the review and fave! Cheers.

Hey siensystem! Glad you enjoyed the play. Thanks for listening and leaving a review. Cheers.

Estefano my Man,

The didgeridoo is an amazing instrument for so many reasons. I'm fairly sure (info from the instrument) that this is the very first instrument played after clacker-sticks that our ancestors played. Strange that only the Australian aborigines didn't forget. On a physical level, according to acupuncture/acupressure the nerve ending around our lips jack into our whole nervous system - so playing the instrument can do really interesting physical things to the performer. And with the vibration moving through your jaw an into your spine it's an easy means of experiencing altered states of consciousness.

So the didgeridoo as the "ground" of "Totems from the Diaspora" has a very symbolic value as well. Behind the collection of instruments from around the world comes the drone - primal sounds from The Dreamtime.

Thanks for the review and fave!

Eric - as a former member of the band The Hybrid Association, let me first say how much I like your name! And an association of one is the best way to avoid the inevitable schism stage that most groups seem to fall into. Smart move. I'm glad you chose this one to review, as I always wonder what Australians must think hearing an Aboriginal instrument driving the track. It's my best attempt at redeeming World Music (in a generic sense) while simultaneously bringing as much world instrumentation into the mix as possible. My favorite moment in this one still is when everything drops away except some reggae drums and the Egyptian fiddles enter the mix. The panning there still blows my mind - and I'm responsible! I love having those happy surprises.

Sure am enjoying hearing your work! Welcome to the site, and expect more listens from me! Cheers.

This was a challenge. I think there were 3 posted drafts before coming to this final version, and it's the title track to my album released through Mega Monster Music. My attempt to do a World Music track outside the genre - and I think your "tribal sounding" is how. Bootstrapped into the current moment with every electronic manipulation possible. House/Trance/Rave music really is a replication of ecstatic traditions of long ago. And to think, I not only resisted loops, I once sneered at them! Sure glad I got over that one. Cheers.

I love your name! I'm swinging to your tracks after this response to check out your work. I really wanted this one to shake up the "World Music" cliche while still keeping it World. I'm glad you hear the movement here, as I really was trying to move continent to continent with the sampling and it took many experimental drafts before arriving at this version. Mega Monster Music has the distribution rights to this one, so I'm afraid it's only available currently for sale. Thanks for the major compliment here!

I used to play with a band called Spirit House. We often opened with a piece called "Wu Wei" and started with a ney (Turkish end blown flute) and a didgeridoo. I made a didgeridoo out of giant timber bamboo from South China that was in the same key as the eucalyptus one the other player had.

We did a rave and were the 3AM break set. We were totally acoustic, weren't even amplified - sat on a Persian carpet on the cement dance floor of this underground event. You could put your fists together and have them both fit into that bamboo didg, it was that big around. The sound was equally as big.

And this was underground. I doubt any of the 300 + people there were over 25 years old. There was so much E floating about that it was impossible to fend off the contact highs. When we began to play, a line maybe 30 people wide stretched out in front of us about 3 feet away. Behind them, the mass of people crowded in so they could see us.

After 3 or 4 minutes of the ney/didgerido duet I came in with mine. The sound rolled out across the concrete and the audience all took a huge step backward. We nearly dropped our instruments.

That's what sound can do.

Ah. Trying to talk about the nonverbal stuff. Cool. This is my real excitement - the digital environment is finally capable of recreating sound that can achieve the same psycho-acoustic phenomena that I thought was only possible in Real Time/Space. On the other hand, talking about it is about as elusive as ever. Your imagined cinematic scenario does get the point across.

Thank you, friend! I listened to and reviewed one of yours before replying here - certainly going back for more as you're doing genres of interest and outside my own scope. I figured it had to be Fusion as there are sounds/traditions from each continent. Thanks for the encouragement. Cheers!

It's a strange composition - what may sound beautiful one day, may in turn sound rather toxic on another. Such is Nature reflected in Art.

But you see what I mean about introductions? This is an odd one, as it wanders initially, but still forecasts some of what's to come. The other point to pay attention to (I think anyway) is something the didgeridoo does fairly early in the song - a sort of rising howl - this is repeated when the song closes. This and the intro are things I've taken from writing and applied to this piece. I still have reservations, but think that it works.

And the voice cried, "Know thyself!" before the skin sluffed and shed...and that too was added to the Totem. Actually Abe, a cryptic review from you is like a breath of perfumed air, (apple orchard in springtime bloom) and I'm honored you had a listen to this one. You're right - it has evolved significantly from its first attempt, and one I'm really happy with. Stale World Music bootstrapped dynamically into Something Else entirely. My favorite moment is towards the end, when the Egyptian fiddles slide in and the drums pan insanely before the pygmy refrain returns. To me, that's what this song's all about - we are all without exception children of the diaspora. Thanks for this review, Abe. It means more than you know.

My 11 year old is writing a story about pirates circa 1700 and she asked me tonight about magical traditions which might allow instantaneous travel. Naturally I immediately went to the Sufi masters and the legends of them neither being bound by time or space. I've been fascinated by this tradition more because of the music - how musicians with the right tones can create visions in the minds' of their audience. For mystical understanding, look no further than what the didgeridoo can teach! The first instrument I began performing on was the didgeridoo in Seattle around 1993. It's marvelous as a percussive instrument and guaranteed to make toddlers dance spontaneously. Even more interesting is what happens to the player after circular breathing and playing drones in the course of 45 minutes or so! Hopefully with these tones and instruments I can "transport" my listeners on voyages that are both significant and enjoyable. Thanks for the listen and wonderful review!

Brought a smile to my lips with this review, Ken! It's why I always try to jam with musicians that are better than I am - it's easier to draw from their talent and creativity and leap higher than ever before. Yes, this is the place to explore the boundaries and try new things, isn't it? I'm so glad I can inspire you, and that the inspiration runs both ways! Cheers - Sean.

Passport stamped and visas in order. I like your description about "numbing all the senses but still able to absorb all that is around me." To me, this is a Mystery that Music can directly touch. It's amazing that amidst complexity our senses keep from being totally overwhelmed. I'm really pleased it had this effect on you. Thanks!

Thanks for the listen and review Salook! This was the last track I made for the album of the same name, and I actually made over a dozen different drafts of it before I found what worked for me. I love Ethnic music, but I find a lot of World Music tracks are rather - mediocre? I really wanted to avoid that pitfall with this one, and think I did. Sound like you're in agreement, which certainly makes me feel good about this one. Thanks!

It was the didgeridoo that got me up on a stage and performing in `92. I couldn't imagine making a track about "World Music" and the connections between all traditions without bringing the didgeridoo into it. Still, my favorite moment in this track is when everything drops and the Egyptian fiddles float in. Thanks for the review and encouraging words!

Hey lkproduction09! First, thanks for the fav here - it's an ultimate compliment! I love your "aboriginal song from space" comment, which really is what I'm trying to do - primitivism meets the space age. Thanks for the listen and review here, and thanks for alerting me to your presence. Now I have someone else's tracks I'm looking forward to checking out! Cheers!

Thanks jfw - it's my attempt to subvert the World Music genre while simultaneously replicating it. I tried to get representative sounds from every continent without falling into something rather stale. Personally, my favorite moment here is when all but the Reggae drums drop out and Egyptian fiddles fade in. Glad you dug it!

Yah know Eno's probably good to invoke here. You know I'm the obsolete tech guy, so I know my way around a bit. Ableton Live 7 LE is seriously crippled (but ultimately useful) you just have to think about things. What I finally figured out and then did this was to create the foundation of the song and export it, reimport it and add the necessary bit then. I love the MIDI mapping and triggering things live! Eno in the early days would dig my approach (imho). neoPrimitivism? Urban Tribal music? It's probably healthy than acting out my fantasy of shooting attack helicopters with my slingshot. Thanks for the fav!

So much potential - no pressure, you say? I'm currently using this one as a reward, and get to play with it after completing more pressing things. The next version will be markedly different, to be sure, but recognizable as well. I really don't want it to become some sort of stereotypical World Music track - buy my current/style aesthetic probably indicates this won't be an issue. Yeah, time to go play with it some more! Cheers.

Thanks SpivKurl. Now, like with oils, I'm going back and going for another draft and approach.

The call/response thing is crucial - you've called it well. I think you're right about "space," too which I hadn't really considered. Spot on. Someone invoked "maximalism" on one of my other tracks and I think it's an unexamined direction I've been heading. This one needs space and a melodic call and response frame. My next attempt(s). Thanks mate!

Sigh. It needs SO much work still. I'm glad you hear the blend, as it's certainly what I'm trying to do with this one.

Everywhere BUT the Northwest Provence - but our nightwatch (a master drum maker) was from Bamenda (Platuce). He was part of the talking drum society, so our news was usually at least 3 days ahead of the "official story." He tried to teach me the Younde variant, but it didn't stick. My favorite professor in college, (Bongasu Tanla Kishani) was from there, and the director of Africatamtam in Phoenix, Arizona was from Balikumba. I've been as far north as Lake Tchad and to the ocean (Kiribi). My track "When Hippos sing with Frogs" was inspired by being chased by a herd on the Benue River! The chase ended with being attacked by a swarm of tse-tse flies! But the best part of being in Cameroun as a kid was THE MUSIC. Glad you like this track - it is really rough still, but I think by the time I'm done it'll be one of my best yet. Merci, mon ami.