I love this video. I love this song. I love the album and all the musicians. So much genuine inspiration and creativity. Thank you Shara.
Pancycle
I support the evolution of the Steel Drum through the construction and tuning of instruments as well as the composition and performance of new music for the pan.
I also enjoy riding bicycles immensely. Hence the name.
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OK OK OK OK OK I’m back from the Beak & Claw action, and I have an AMAZING NEW REMIX! This one’s by Andrew Judah. It kills! Someone make a movie and put this in the opening cue, please. Seriously, turn this up, close your eyes and watch the film.
(If you’re just joining us, this remix is part of the upcoming release of WE ARE RISING, completely re-worked and re-mixed by nine lovely people. Read the original post about it HERE.)
In keeping with tradition, I’ve asked Mr. Judah to talk a bit about the remix…
SL: You completely turn this song on its ear, recording your own instruments and vocals, making new chords and counter melodies. How did you arrive at the concept? Did you try several things first? Did you try something the didn’t work at all?
AJ: The song was so full of polyrhythms, I knew I had to make a drastic change if I was going to add anything at all. There’s this rad part in the original, right at the end, where you flatten the rhythm out… so I decided to kind of make that the starting point.
SL: For the geeks, can you tell us a little about how you made the track? What instruments did you record yourself? What was the process like? What software do you use?AJ: First I took the vocals, celesta, and kick/snare sound from your original and dropped them into Reaper. The timing and meter of the song I left unchanged… but with a waltzy feel rather then the 5/8. I just recently picked up the banjo, so I started with that. Then lots of percussion, guitars, harmochord and omnichord. I eventually ended up adding my own vocals as per your suggestion… which took the song in a whole new direction. It got chopped up and restructured a few times. One of my favorite parts is during the ‘Weapons’ section. There are these big heavy chains dropping, which I actually picked up from the hardware store just for this track (another Son Lux suggestion). I also used a Fuzz plugin from Audio Damage on the drums during that part.
SL: Any music that has really grabbed your ear recently? Old or new.
AJ: Lots of Harry Nilsson, that guy was incredible. Also Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares… hard to even put into words how cool their vocal arrangements are. Hmm… and I was listening to this EP by a group known as s/s/s… but then I saw a negative review on Pitchfork and immediately deleted it from my hard drive. Thank goodness for taste makers.
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1 month ago - 
50
50 Letter to Premiere Networks re: Rush Limbaugh
Rush is protected by the 1st amendment yes but the divisiveness that his show and others like it creates is doing only harm and no good for this country, our country, his yours and mine. Opinions that begin to be taken as factual knowledge are nothing but propaganda and have no other effect than to pit people against another not on real idealogical grounds but on misinformation. This kind of disagreement takes the focus away from the real challenges to which people should be trying to find solutions.
Is the success of your company more important than building a successful country where EVERYONE has the opportunity for success that America prides itself on? Promoting this kind of programing is undermining thoughtful discourse about America’s future.
Another Of Bret Boyer’s Watercolors…
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The latest of my non-catagorized works. Title inspired by my friend Bret Boyer’s amazing watercolor paintings.
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A quick, short audio experiment that I started on my flight from Denver yesterday. Love having an aisle to myself…
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Revisiting this music for an upcoming performance so I thought I would re-share. From our CD Trust.
Two Seconds - Darren Dyke and CJ Menge. Photo By Patrick Larson.
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A musical mashup of a discussion on anger from a Buddhist perspective.
