n0mad23

"Ramshackle" is a seriously underused word, isn't it? I actually kind of gave up on Robert when he released "Tall Cool One" or whatever it was called, as it seemed to be such a ready made for _insert highest paying beverage here_. Wasn't Justin Adams the original guitarist from Plant's solo projects? I did dig the Moroccan flavored guitar work happening at that time. Had to check out "Knee Deep" before responding here, and thanks for directing me there! Awesome work to be sure. Welcome to the site, and I'm looking forward to hearing more of your sonic offerings!

Sorry for the late reply here - I've been falling behind both in reviewing tracks and responding to reviews as well. Must be a seasonal thing....

Glad you found this one. Definitely a moment of true inspiration behind this one, and it rendered out really well too. Shoot me an email if you'd like a copy, and I'll send it out in either 128 or 320 kbs format for you! Thanks for the listen and review!

Thanks my friend! The lows here were supposed to be "bitter-sweet" and hopefully I captured that. This track is for my project Music to have a Rebellion To, and I thought instead of just creating agitation music, it'd be clever to offer some "solution" tracks as well. Self-examination is an important step in social progress.

The limitations of the old analog 4-track recordings - what you play is what you get. If I was doing this on a DAW, for sure I'd do some change ups. Still, I'm pretty pleased with it since it's a 13 year old live improvisational jam. Thanks for the review!

In the olde days, it was particular forms of mushrooms that provided the technology for Shamanic work. Now it's Max MSP - lol. I must admit a certain amount of ambivalence listening to this one now, but will admit this early stuff was what kicked me out of my prejudice about DAWs and sample based music. Your comment about the "predatory feel" made me remember the old, old version of the film Jungle Book, and Mogli holding up the knife and saying, "see? I'm a man now. I have a tooth." Pointy teeth, that's me. Cheers my younger Celtic brother!

My inspiration for the melody line was thinking about my brother-from-a-different-mother from Niger (Abdou), and how he hasn't seen his wife or son now for over 10 years. True hardship, and makes me realize just how strong his family is. No surprise that this would reflect the same sonic qualities as the original Blues and connections to slavery. Hadn't thought about this aspect until reading your review. Nice one! Thank you much.

One of my personal faves too, John. Something about sitting down and jamming with people you share deep affinities with just can't be topped. Shoot me a note if you want a 320kbs of this one! Regards, and thanks.

Pearls before swine, aye? Yeah, the old blues pioneers left a legacy, didn't they? In my own investigations, the real surprise is the hidden histories - for example, there's a lot of incidental evidence that what the Blues developed out of was both W. African and Celtic music in the Caribbean (Cromwell sold Irish women into slavery there). Listening closely, I think the traces of both can still be heard. Really glad you like this one, and took the time to review it. Thanks!

TY - yeah, the old 4-tracks did an amazing job if approached right. I was lucky enough back in those days, that the best bands I played with, someone always had a 4-track and wanted to record stuff. Pretty fun going back and pulling this stuff us and thinking, "not bad...."
Glad you enjoyed the listen! Cheers.

I had 2 90 minute and 1 60 minute cassettes of the Anak Pisang project, and turned it into 2 CDs when I finally digitalized the stuff. Pulling it up and listening to it recently was a real pleasant surprise, as it still sounds "fresh" somehow. Inspired and inspiring sessions. Glad to know it works for "younger" listeners, too - a good sign to be sure! Regards.

Ableton is wicked confusing! I really like it though, as I mostly mix "live" and for the approach I can't imagine a better DAW. Glad this one was better than your usual listens in the genre. Cheers.

I'll send you some more soon. I hadn't considered remixing any of this stuff until simmer said he was planning to. I've got a couple I think you might really enjoy.

Yup - one of these days. Maybe we'll have to do an insurrection performance in Oly or Aberdeen. We can invoke the ghost of Curt.

One of my Tascam's was a 3-track, too as the previous owner had spilled beer into it. It's amazing just how far the technologies gone in a relatively short time (and if we look at geologic time, it's quite insane).

So delighted to see your presence on this site, Koukotsu. You are most welcome here!

Jammed with the Dead? I'm constantly astounded with how small the World has become. Back before the Anak Pisang (and previous Spirit House music), my spouse and I used to open for various bands in Seattle doing didgeridoo duets together, and I got a call one night by a guy visiting town and wanting to hire us to play for him while he recited poetry. Turned out to be Ira Cohen, the youngest of the Beats. Had a tough time with that performance, as most of his poetry had to do with hashish and Greek styled homoerotica, and I kept wanting to giggle while playing the didg. I bet jamming with the Dead was easier! Glad you enjoyed this one!

Ha - I sent you the link to probably the ultimate Washington State trance inducting music, so yeah you'll probably want to plan a trip out here. I'll hook you up with some dungeness crab, too!

The Anak Pisang project was a true joy to have been a part of, and I actually just sent the boys a thank you note for what they taught me musically back then. Really glad you enjoyed this one, Wayne. Cheers - Sean

So funny you'd say this! It reminded me that when I was involved with this stuff, people would ask what kind of music it was. I'd usually say, "Retro." They'd go to the 1950's and I'd laugh, and tell them to imagine something more "Paleolithic." lol. Thanks for reminding me about that.

Pure improvisation my friend. I think that was the strong point of the Dead, too. I didn't "get" the Dead for the longest time, and no matter how I tried. I knew a lot of women that really digged them, so I wanted to too - lol. Finally, one of those gals dragged me to a Grateful Dead concert, and then I understood. The 45 minute version of "Truckin" sorted me out. Funny you'd mention "psychedelic music" as it was the guitarist in this one that pulled me aside after one of our sessions and said he thought I was inherently psychedelic in my approach.

Hi John,

I was in the Acoustic-Trance Music band Spirit House until my spouse, daughter, and I moved 80 miles north of Seattle, and then 2x a year I'd go down to jam with the band under the project name Anak Pisang. Almost everything we recorded was pure improvisation, and "Shadow Dancing" began with me demonstrating my new approach with two drums while sitting crosslegged. I learned so much with playing music with these chaps, and still find the recordings worth listening to. Glad you enjoyed this one! Cheers, Sean.

Salut mon ami.

J'ai mes pieds dans les deux mondes et de Yaoundàest avec moi partout où je vais. I'm so happy you like this one! Thank you.

I'm a TechnoShaman. Stopping is no longer an option.

Don't worry. I'll be making music while laying on my deathbed.

Glad this one's working for you!

I got the critique/review I've been waiting for via email, so the next version will really undertake some major revisions. Going to try redoing both the beginning and end of this, and change the break a bit, too. I think it'll be equally groovy, but a bit more "powerful" by the time we're both satisfied with it. Thanks for the encouragement, as well as for the brilliant loops that made much of this possible. But using your loops and Planetjazzbass loops, how could we possibly go wrong? Thanks for the fave. Feeling really good about that thumbs up!

It is a genetic thing, isn't it? I've been playing weekly with my daughter's elementary school Drum Club and have really been thinking a lot about sections and the need of the heartbeat throughout and had to use it here. The APC40 has its own limitations, but for doing "live" the live recording, it's wicked! What I really love about it, is it allows those improvisational moments to happen in real time, something I think can be lacking in traditional arranged production, you know? I grouped tracks in this specifically geared towards how I was playing volume sliders and effects knobs, and it makes the approach more like playing some sort of hardware sampler than just playing with a DAW. I do use it frequently in conjunction with my Axiom-25, if just to use it as another MIDI controller. I think you'd dig having this rig. Cheers.

FDR most certainly made some real political mistakes in his career. The Japanese Internment camps was a bad call. Personally I think his cutting a deal with Prescott Bush and the Wall Street boys was even worse of a mistake, but such is life and political people. It's so weird hearing these ideals 70 years later, isn't it? I did a protest musical series a decade ago, and must say it's a lot more pleasant playing with FDR samples than it was with Dubya - lol. Thanks so much for providing a main part of the percussion for this one - you're a fantastic site resource Dave.

Yeah, collabing with Salook is a real treat for me. That guy's more talented than he realizes, and his contributions to this one have really made it what it is. We're in the process of doing a radical revision to this one now, and hopefully we'll pull it off. Prepare for definite advancing of dubbiness behind this one. Glad you enjoyed the listen, Wayne! Thanks for giving it a review!

Progressive World Beat Dub to be sure! Won't it be great when we can use tags instead of simple genre slots? So pleased you enjoyed this one. Thank you!