Improvisation on congas and very fragile, clay Moroccan bongos (which my brother found for me from an African display at some zoo!). These bongos are basically clay pots with permanent, very thin goat skins stretched over the top - they can not…
Improvisation on congas and very fragile, clay Moroccan bongos (which my brother found for me from an African display at some zoo!). These bongos are basically clay pots with permanent, very thin goat skins stretched over the top - they can not…
Improvisation on congas and very fragile, clay Moroccan bongos (which my brother found for me from an African display at some zoo!). These bongos are basically clay pots with permanent, very thin goat skins stretched over the top - they can not…
Ok, so I'm just a percussionist, and if your only tool is a hammer, the entire world looks like a nail. I get it. And I also get that our songs are our children, so we should be very careful about whom we let them play with.
When I first heard…
It was a curious and wondrous thing.
One night I was in my studio adding some percussion to the "Quiet Rituals" track by Barry van Oudtshoorn, when my 4 young children (with whom I was long over-due to be tucking into bed and reading a bed…
Improvisation on Gon-Bops congas, while thinking of future days gone by.
4/4 180bpm.
LYRICS
A cool wind brings the fall
And the season starts to change.
Outside the sky's steel grey.
Inside my heart is too.
And I don't know how to…
It was a curious and wondrous thing.
One night I was in my studio adding some percussion to the "Quiet Rituals" track by Barry van Oudtshoorn, when my 4 young children (with whom I was long over-due to be tucking into bed and reading a bed…
It was a curious and wondrous thing.
One night I was in my studio adding some percussion to the "Quiet Rituals" track by Barry van Oudtshoorn, when my 4 young children (with whom I was long over-due to be tucking into bed and reading a bed…
This song is not for everyone but I like it because its a live recording with a single instrument using infinity delay FX. (I turned on the loop delay at :09 after the guitar was flat on the floor.)
All the sounds are made with an acoustic bass…
Ha! Rick is right - you would be a great hypnotherapist.
From a percussion point of view, I like how you rotate the accented pulse throughout the beats of this 3/4 pattern and particularly how you demonstrate the power of the off-beat at 1:36. Very southern hemisphere of you.
This song is not for everyone but I like it because its a live recording with a single instrument using infinity delay FX. (I turned on the loop delay at :09 after the guitar was flat on the floor.)
All the sounds are made with an acoustic bass…
First song of the year for me...
Recorded on New years day 2011...
-Good Times-
Words and Music By Tharek Mokbul
These Good Times,
In this Old Life
Are Earned...
Not Learned...
I’ve seen old faces,
Fade away,
In my mind…
My first attempt at a Blumlein or Mid/Side recording. This one is actually a mid/side recording as I used a directional mic in combo with a figure 8 ribbon mic set at 90 degrees from the main mic. Thanks to Pat Broaders for the loan of the ribbon…
"High Life" is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920. My friends from that part of the world consider this be the "go-to" rhythm for just about anything…
@ Kirk& Kamachi: excellent observation, and you are correct. As most of my patterns are built around clave, and as clave is structured upon so many off-beats, to get my metronome to "click" on some key clave beats, I set my metronome at double time- so my bpm notation reflects what my metronome setting was dialed to. Here is a clave link that graphically shows how many times clave percussion scores are transcribed in 2/2 (cut time) to make it easier to read... but if one is counting 8th notes instead of quarter notes, the bpm will be doubled.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clave_(rhythm)?wasRedirected=true
"High Life" is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920. My friends from that part of the world consider this be the "go-to" rhythm for just about anything…
@ Richard: many thanks- recording accoustical percussion is sometimes tricky and I'm still learning the skill sets required for that. I mount my own skins from bulk rawhide (so not actually tanned) but I don't actually make the rawhide from animal skins... that's a lot of work on a non-industrial level and there are some health concerns when it comes to working with (especially imported) fresh animal skins. Many of the (nonterrorist) cases of anthrax reported involve folks making their own drum heads, so I just use commercially cured cow skin from the USA for the latin drums and buy pre-made drum heads for the African drums, which are usually water buffalo, goat or some sort of deer.
Those long drives across the state on I70 always feel a bit disconnected, even slow motion like this, even at 80mph on the way home for the holidays...
"High Life" is a musical genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920. My friends from that part of the world consider this be the "go-to" rhythm for just about anything…
@ Dave: thanks for listening! This recording is 8 tracks, consisting of 2 (stereo) bass drum, cowbell, clave, chinese blocks, and 3 tracks of various sized conga drums playing their parts. Traditionally it is performed by a group of percussionists, which I would *love* to assemble- but that rarely is possible for me to do where I live.
Perhaps I should move to Africa.
(Lyrics posted below) A fun song I wrote with Kenneth from songcrafters.org. Its about having fun making music with friends from all over the world, connected by the internet and these great music sites that we all belong to.
I came in from…
(Lyrics posted below) A fun song I wrote with Kenneth from songcrafters.org. Its about having fun making music with friends from all over the world, connected by the internet and these great music sites that we all belong to.
I came in from…
A 3 track improvisation on 7 congas roughly tuned by ear to a chromatic scale.
LYRICS:
I walked a mile with Pleasure;
She chatted all the way;
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne…
Mancera is an spanish Fortress build about 500 years ago in an island with the same name, in the south of Chile.
Off course it has a lot of history, i used to go there when i was a kid and i have big memories of it, been in the big dungeon, where…
Ok i'm back after a few months off in patagonia, and back to the studio.
This song is the history about a dutchman i meet in amazonas, he was near 2 months on a journey by sea to Galapagos, this is just part of the extended conversation we had…
HYSTERIA
poem by: T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved
in her laughter and being part of it, until her
teeth were only accidental stars with a talent
for squad-drill. I was drawn in by short gasps…
Percussion by Norm
Lyrics by Rat-Hybrids
It's been tough to keep up lately, hope everyone is well.
Something I was working on as part of a larger project. When it's done I'll link it.
Comments on Norm's stuff
Yeah, this would song great with some Verbed-out surf guitar. very cool man.
Norm, this is wonderful stuff!
Many thanks, Launched! It is always a blast working with ReefWalker.
Dude! Strong stuff. You got the timing and the rhythm! I also thought the tracks that appeared on reefwalker's songs worked really well - Awesome!
Nice one mate dig it. Thanks for your comment mate.
You must be surfing in California. You may find the temperature more appealing in Hawaii or Central America! ;) Thanks for listening!!
fun piece of music
I love your toys!
this is excellent
But it's so damn cold! Still, freedom of the waves! Loved this one.
Sweeeeeeeet!!!!
Ha! I agree - in fact I'm fairly certain that it is an unalienable right for all; but you've got to be very good about the sunscreen.
No-one should be denied the chance to surf naked! :)
What a great groove!
Pure magic!!
Nice, definitely nice! I love the way there is a melody in there.
Welcome to Alonetone, Mr.Percussion Man. Great to have you aboard.
Getting the message loud and clear all the way from those Virginia hills.
Delightful stuff. Great performance from the children and wonderful music.
This is wonderful! w;-)
Comments made by Norm
Ha! Rick is right - you would be a great hypnotherapist. From a percussion point of view, I like how you rotate the accented pulse throughout the beats of this 3/4 pattern and particularly how you demonstrate the power of the off-beat at 1:36. Very southern hemisphere of you.
Very creative.
Excellent!
Great voice, as usual. Happy New Year!
Beautiful recording, Kirk.
@ Kirk& Kamachi: excellent observation, and you are correct. As most of my patterns are built around clave, and as clave is structured upon so many off-beats, to get my metronome to "click" on some key clave beats, I set my metronome at double time- so my bpm notation reflects what my metronome setting was dialed to. Here is a clave link that graphically shows how many times clave percussion scores are transcribed in 2/2 (cut time) to make it easier to read... but if one is counting 8th notes instead of quarter notes, the bpm will be doubled. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clave_(rhythm)?wasRedirected=true
@ Richard: many thanks- recording accoustical percussion is sometimes tricky and I'm still learning the skill sets required for that. I mount my own skins from bulk rawhide (so not actually tanned) but I don't actually make the rawhide from animal skins... that's a lot of work on a non-industrial level and there are some health concerns when it comes to working with (especially imported) fresh animal skins. Many of the (nonterrorist) cases of anthrax reported involve folks making their own drum heads, so I just use commercially cured cow skin from the USA for the latin drums and buy pre-made drum heads for the African drums, which are usually water buffalo, goat or some sort of deer.
Those long drives across the state on I70 always feel a bit disconnected, even slow motion like this, even at 80mph on the way home for the holidays...
@ Dave: thanks for listening! This recording is 8 tracks, consisting of 2 (stereo) bass drum, cowbell, clave, chinese blocks, and 3 tracks of various sized conga drums playing their parts. Traditionally it is performed by a group of percussionists, which I would *love* to assemble- but that rarely is possible for me to do where I live. Perhaps I should move to Africa.
How fun! Now the rest of your cyber friends can sing along- a mixing challenge to be sure.
Ha! Post the lyrics- we all want to sing along with you!
@ Jarvis: Ha! I'm vocally challenged, but to hear the lyrics, go here: http://alonetone.com/vaisvil/tracks/walk-with-sorrow-norm-rick-chris-emily
Very masterfully crafted. Well done!
Very nice. Nice lyrical observation, too.
Outstanding. You guys are really tight, and the vox is fantastic, as usual.
Excellent!
I *love* this one.
Awesome track!
Where's my Launched?? :(
Masterful. You really created some nice space here.