Another Frisell-inspired tune, this is more just a jam over a groovy bassline. I used the same instrument configuration as last week’s Song of the Week, which centers around the NI Guitar Rig 5. We could just say that guitar envy is very much alive and well in the heart of at least one keyboard player (though I suspect that this condition is a bit more widespread than that). If I have time, I’d like to flesh this out into an actual composition with chord changes and a form, but for now this is it.

In spite of being very productive this last month, I’ve struggled to maintain and meet my “post a week” objective. I guess I’ll just make the same excuse every time I post.

This week’s set of material was used for a video project I helped to develop for an Intro to Video Production course I took in May. The video is a promotional piece for Adopt A Greyhound Atlanta (AAGA), a non-profit greyhound rescue shelter located in Stone Mountain, GA. I composed three songs, though we only used two in the final piece. A big shout-out to my partner Karah Hagins for producing a great video!

Not too many production notes to offer on this one, except that I played guitar on “Greyhound”. I also tried out Twangy Amp in Reaktor for all the guitar effects. I almost sound like I know how to play!

I wrote this as a tribute to Charlie Haden, who passed away this week. In honor of his passing, I composed this simple soundscapey, Bill Frisell-inspired tune called “Song for Charlie.” Strange as it sounds, he had a pretty big impact on me musically, largely (I think) just because he’s on so many recordings that I love. I can’t say that his playing style is particularly noticeable to me, but there’s just something about knowing that he’s on the record that has always given me a sense of “hey, Haden is on here….it’s gonna be solid!”

I used Komplete 9 for all of the instruments:

• Scarbee A-200 (Wurlitzer)
• Studio Drummer
• Kontakt (guitar and acoustic bass)
• Reaktor (synth pad)
  

Charlie Haden (1937-2014)

A few months back, I was asked to come up with some original music for a class project. The project was initially going to be a video documentary on animals. With that in mind, I composed four original pieces, thinking they would be in an animal documentary video. Well, the project didn’t happen, so I ended up with four homeless pieces of music.

They are largely mood pieces, two of which are very synth-heavy, and two which are more cinematic and orchestral. I didn’t give them any proper names, so the moniker “Animal Documentary” remains.

This week I availed myself of a great sale that Native Instruments was having on their Komplete 9 bundle. Though I’ve only scratched the mere surface of this product, I was able to put a few very nice sounds through their paces.

In addition, I’ve also added a few other pieces of equipment to my home studio, namely a Behringer Xenyx X2442 line mixer. This has been exciting to me as it’s made use of my hardware synth collection much easier. I now have all of my old romplers and older keyboards lined in and ready to go.

Also, I’ve been listening to Peter Gabriel almost nonstop for the last two weeks. So there’s a chance that some of that influence has come out in this piece. I’d like to think so, anyway.

And now for the track breakdown:

• Kontakt West Africa – percussion
• Kontakt Studio drummer – acoustic drumloops
• Ultrabeat – drumloops
• Sonik Synth CP80
• Yamaha P200 – additional CP80
• Yamaha DX27S – chime/bell synth ostinato
• Korg Prophecy – delayed guitar ostinato/flutey sine wave synth lead layer
• Roland MVS-1 – synth lead layer
• Alesis QSR – synth lead layer
• Reaktor Monark – synth lead layer
• Reaktor Prism – synth pad
• Scarbee MM Bass – bass guitar