September 7, 2014

Playlist Week of 2014-09-06

Synthy
* Ornette Coleman: Skies of America Live, Verona, Italy 1987-06-27 (SBD 2CDR)
* Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto: Getz & Gilberto (Verve CD)
* Cecil Taylor: Jazz Advance (Blue Note CD)
* Alice Coltrane: Journey In Satchidananda (Impulse! CD)
* Alice Coltrane: Ptah The El Daoud (Impulse! CD)
* Dollar Brand: African Space Program (Enja LP)
* Dollar Brand: African Marketplace (Elektra LP)
* Randy Weston: African Cookbook (Atlantic LP)
* Keith Jarrett: Mysteries (ABC/Impulse! LP)
* Bobby Hutcherson: Dialogue (Blue Note CD)
* Eddie Henderson: Sunburst (Blue Note LP)
* Eddie Henderson: Heritage (Blue Note LP)
* Bobbi Humphrey: Blacks And Blues (Blue Note LP)
* Joanne Brackeen: Prism (Choice LP)
* David Sancious: Forest of Feelings (Epic LP)
* Pat Metheny Group: Pat Metheny Group (ECM LP)
* David S. Ware Quartet: Renunciation (AUM Fidelity CD)
* Dawn of Midi: Dysnomia (Thirsty Ear 2LP)
* Michael Hedges: Aerial Boundaries (Windham Hill LP)
* Mandrill: We Are One (Arista LP)
* Vashti Bunyan: Just Another Diamond Day (Dicristina LP)
* David Crosby: If I Could Only Remember My Name (Atlantic/Rhino LP)
* The Free Design: Kites Are Fun (Project 3/Light In The Attic LP)
* Big Star: #1 Record (Ardent/Classic LP)
* Big Star: Radio City (Ardent/Classic LP)
* Dereck Higgins: Murphy (DVH/Bandcamp ALAC)
* Earth: Primitive And Deadly (Southern Lord 2LP)
* Opeth: Pale Communion (Roadrunner CD/BD/7” box)
* Meshuggah: Catch Thirtythree (Nuclear Blast CD)
* Mastodon: Once More ‘Round The Sun (Reprise 2LP+CD) †
* Sunn O))): 00 Void (Southern Lord CD)
* BORIS & Merzbow: Rock Dream (Southern Lord 2CD)
* YOB: Clearing The Path To Ascend (Relapse 2LP)
* Animal Collective: Centipede Hz (Domino 2LP)
* Locrian: Territories (Bandcamp ALAC) †
* Locrian: Return To Annihilation (Relapse 2LP)
* Cynic: Kindly Bent To Free Us (Season Of Mist 2LP)
* Liturgy: Renihilation (Thrill Jockey LP)
* Sòlstafir: Óta (Season of Mist 2LP)
* Pallbearer: Foundations of Burden (Profound Lore 2LP)
* Nothing: Guilty of Everything (Relapse LP) †

=iPod/iTunes
=car

Commentary:

Although I have spent a lot and time and effort putting out Cosmologies, I also continue to make music in my home studio—much of it quite different from the free, acoustic jazz found on my recent records with Sam Byrd.

I love electronic music and analog synthesizers, but have never been able to afford the real thing. But I purchased a MIDI keyboard and the Arturia Analog Collection when I set up my studio, which includes digital emulations of classic synths like the MiniMoog and Moog Modular, the ARP 2600,  Yamaha CS-80, Prophet V and Oberheim SEM V. No they don't sound exactly like the originals—but they behave in similar ways, with all the buttons and knobs fully functional. It's easy for me to get lost in a world of sound.

Some of my experiments have been recorded and remain in various stages of completion and I'm contemplating putting together a digital release some time in the future, just for kicks. But whether or not any of this music ever gets heard matters little to me. I feel like a kid in a candy store every time I go into my studio!

I've also been playing a lot of guitar and have some some projects in the works with local drummer, Andrew Dickson. Plus, I'm hoping to get some time in the studio with Sam around Christmas. So while I am extremely proud of Cosmologies, I am also excited about what's coming next.

+++

Speaking of Cosmologies, VC luminary Dereck Higgins talked about it in one of his recent YouTube videos. Dereck and the rest of the Vinyl Community were a big inspiration for putting this music out on vinyl and I really appreciate the positive response. His remarks about listening and commitment are right on:

September 1, 2014

Playlist Week of 2014-08-30

COSMOLOGIES LTD LP

* Buxtehude: Sonatas, Op.1 (Holloway/ter Linden/Mortensen) (Naxos CD)
* Telemann: Complete Tafelmusik (Freiburger Barockorchester) (d.1-2) (Hamonia Mundi 4CD)
* Francis Lai: A Man And A Woman OST (United Artists LP)
* Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Abraça Jobim (Pablo 2LP)
* Charles Mingus with Eric Dolphy: Cornell 1964 (Blue Note 2CD)
* John Coltrane: A Love Supreme (Impulse! SACD)
* Dave Holland: Prism (Dare2 CD)
* Dino Saluzzi: Cité de la Musique (ECM CD)
* Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: Cosmologies (NuVoid Jazz LP)
* Portara Quartet: Live/Remix (selections) (Realworld 2CD)
* Hot Chip: In Our Heads (Domino CD)
* Jerry Garcia Band: The Long Island Sound (d.5) (ATO 6HDCD)
* Van Morrison: Wavelength (Warner Bros. LP)
* The Band: The Band (Capitol LP)
* Gentle Giant: Free Hand (Capitol LP)
* Gentle Giant: Live: Playing The Fool (Capitol 2LP)
* Camel: Mirage (Janus LP)
* Camel: Moonmadness (Janus LP)
* Pete Bardens: Seen One Earth (Capitol/Cinema LP)
* Pete Bardens: Speed Of Light (Capitol/Cinema LP)
* Thompson Twins: Side Kicks (Arista LP)
* Thompson Twins: Here’s To Future Days (Arista LP)
* Boredoms: Vision Creation Newsun (Birdman CD)
* Boredoms: Super AE (Birdman CD)
* OOIOO: Feather Float (Birdman CD)
* Meshuggah: Contradictions Collapse/None (Nuclear Blast CD)
* Opeth: Pale Communion (Roadrunner CD/BD/7” Box)
* White Hills: Glitter Glamor Atrocity (Thrill Jockey LP)
* Wolves In The Throne Room: BBC Session 2011 Anno Domini (Southern Lord EP)
* Liturgy: Renihilation (Thrill Jockey LP)
* Liturgy: Aesthetica (Thrill Jockey 2LP)
* Red Fang: Murder The Mountains (Relapse LP)
* Red Fang: Whales And Leeches (Relapse LP+12”)
* Mortals: Cursed To See The Future (Relapse LP)
* Krakatau: Water Near A Bridge (Trouble In Mind LP)(†)

=iPod/iTunes
=car

Commentary:

My latest album with Sam Byrd  and my first ever on vinyl — is now out in the world. And the consensus is that the limited edition Cosmologies LP is a spectacularly well-pressed piece of wax. In fact, Sam and I agree that it sounds even better than the test pressing, which is really saying something! 

As you all know, I went into this project with much trepidation. Let's face it: vinyl is a pain-in-the-ass. Warps, off-center pressings, clicks, pops and skips are all too common. The music on Cosmologies has an extremely wide dynamic range, which I went to great lengths to preserve by having it mastered by the legendary Richard Dodd and hiring Cameron Henry at Welcome to 1979 to cut (and re-cut) the lacquers. All of this hard work would have been obliterated by a poor (or even run-of-the-mill) pressing job.

Despite the flawed first attempt, United Record Pressing really came through for me with Cosmologies. This is as good as vinyl gets and rivals any high-dollar "audiophile" LP I've heard, at least in terms of its fit-and-finish and dead-quiet surfaces. Needless to say, it far exceeds my initial expectations. Add in the letterpress covers, hand-printed by Griffin Norman at Isle of Printing, and you have more than just a record — you have a true work of art. 

Limited to only 200 numbered copies, Cosmologies won't be around forever. Get yours exclusively at Bandcamp.