A milestone for me!

A great thing happened to me yesterday. I produced my first song. An Israeli company wanted a pop song to promote their new product. The company CEO had a few ideas about some tunes, some chords and the themes he wanted the song to convey. With the help of the Lord above, I managed to create the lyrics, work out the melody, play the music in the studio, direct the singers in their various parts, supervise the sound technician and bring a fully functional pop song into existence. I had great help from a team of fine, knowledgeable and skillful people including CEO and Inventor Benny Gold, my son, artist, guitarist, composer and songwriter Moshe Glick and the fantastic sound engineer from Jostudio in Ashkelon.

I am pleased to say that the song is completely conventional catchy and commercial. That was the goal. But don't think that means that I have become conventional or commercial. I remain as I have always been, unconventional to the core. Its a matter of knowing I can be commercial, not believing in it. Some of us wanted a more distorted "heavy" type sound, with more reverb and effects, but the CEO thought that keeping everything as close to natural helped the words be heard. In this case, I quite agree. So everything was done using acoustic guitars and drums.

As I said, this is a personal milestone. I have gone from sound tinkerer to song producer. Which means, once again, that if you have music in your heart that you want to share...You may benefit greatly from working with me and the team at Firetreemusic.com!!! We have a solid team in place.

Unfortunately, for the time being, I can't post any links to the song. It also appears that the full length song (3 min 60 seconds) will not be used for the promotional video. Rather I had to shave it down until I had a version that clocks in at under 2 minutes. So I am a little displeased about that. Frankly, they picked the shortened version that I thought was most choppy and rough. But that is what happens when you work for other people. They get to call the shots. And they are happy with the final video too. But the original version will still get out and be used in other ways.

So everybody can wish me a happy graduation! As soon as the video is released I will put up a link to it.

Artifacts and Curiosities

Here is a list of all the old stuff I have tucked away online in various sundry virtual nooks and crannies.

I know that there are some people out there who download this stuff, despite the rather uneven quality of the recordings. Oh there is so much I didn't know back then!

So if you are feeling brave or foolhardy or just curious, follow these links to my old material graciously stored by the  internet archive.org

What follows are my first attempts at creating sound constructions. Maybe one day I will come back and rework them. In the meanwhile you can listen to them in their original raunchy, noise encrusted forms. I know that at least somebody likes them, because they get downloaded occasionally. These brave souls who do this have my warmest regards!

Messages in a Bottle

My very first experiment, using  my super sophisticated  Henri Mancini nylon string guitar (originally purchased for about 20 bucks at a flea market so my daughter could take lessons) with some added voices by me and  my wife, all re-scrambled using Nero Wave editor. In "Glass Tonality"  I also made use of a souvenir of my US Army sponsored trip to Bavaria. It is a beer glass from the Toering Brewery, complete with a picture of the founder, Ignaz, Baron of Toering, wearing his powdered wig, heavily embroidered waistcoat and silk sash.

As for the sound, my apologies if this all sounds less than professional. I'm still learning.

There are three constructions here, which explore the hidden spaces within perception, the body and in relationships. I wrote a poem for each one of the constructions to give some sense of what I was going on with me as I worked.

Track Listing: 

1)Glass Tonality 2)Interior Designs 3)Words and Laughter

For downloading or streaming go HERE

Here are the Poems: 

Glass Tonality

This is the sound of truth

Clarity in glass

Direct awareness

A crystal chime

A radiant mirror

A waking dream

A troubled sleep.

It is slavery by perfection

In the bureaucratic maze.

It is freedom won not by

Tranquil contemplation

But…

By anger management.

 Interior Designs

Life is a code spoken in subtlety

Being is permutations in energy

Membranes are the threshold.

From where comes the inwardness?

Within the blue room, you find destiny

The orange room, fire bold

In the white room you awake in blessedness

 Words and Laughter

I ask for your aid

With a brief melody

You toss your hair

And laugh graciously.

At first I am not aware

How you cut like a blade.

The labyrinth of doubt

Opens beneath my feet.

Everywhere all about

On wires tenuously drawn

Messages entreat

Like vivid scenes at dawn

Or owls at night

In mysterious flight;

Water flowing out of sight

Through midnight caves

Caressing eyeless life

That yearns not for light

But knows all in liquid waves.

I remember…

Love’s union and harmony;

And still…

Jealousy’s sinister chemistry

Grows the labyrinth

Exponentially;

Until your laugh again

Restores the joy of day.

  

Embryonic Movements       at the Center of a                     Galaxy

                      

 For my next audio affliction I offer you, gentle listener, an hour long cosmic concoction.

Once again, using my highly sophisticated, advanced, uniquely modified and revolutionary Alberto Mancini Nylon String Guitar (last used to bang a CIA operative over the head in Havana, some time during the Revolution) and assisted by my ever ready side kick Nero, I laid down an hour  of banging, gurgling and vibrating which reminded me of...well you know...embryonic movements in the heart of a galaxy.

For streaming or Downloading go HERE:

Waxing philosophical which I often do at such times, I contemplated the recursive relationships between the super giant and super tiny structures of our universe, and realized that while there is certainly an intelligence to the universe, it most likely operates without what we know of as thought, but by simple thoughtlessness and interpenetration. What would happen if the embryo at the center of the Galaxy felt a nervous tingle, or some intestinal gas? Absentmindedly, I twirled a dust bunny between my thumb and index finger as I pondered this weighty matter. The dust bunny was not amused.

Then I wrote this little poem to accompany the construction:

Embryonic Movements at the Center of a Galaxy

Horizon stretch reach

Dream sound flame

Peace endless echo

Here everywhere nowhere

Now never

Rush of neurons liquid spinal

Gravity electricity

Particles planets

Intestinal rumble

Fire exploding sun

Forever law of thought

Never awake

Scream

Truth no limit

Many one one many

Peace dream

Mommy?