dead tree

[audio:deadtree.mp3]

It’s a monument. This “august” tree I photographed last August has lost none of its dignity, which I guess is the reason why the farmers in the area have saved it.

guitar & gear: Stratocaster, Vox AC 15 Heritage, Cry Baby Classic Wah

But death is the source of new life:

conference of the birds

[audio:birds.mp3]

Following my habit of stealing titles (not music) from other artists – this is the title of an album I greatly admire: “Conference of the birds” by Jazz-bassist Dave Holland, who played, among many others, with Miles Davis.

But improvising in a similar manner as birds do, was an idea that came to me out of the blue (the association with the above-mentioned album being called up afterwards).

Yes, it is a conference they are holding, and no, we usually don’t even take the time to listen.

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar, Vox AC 15, Tube Reverb

the sound of silence

[audio:silence.mp3]

We all know a song of this name, and if you are old enough (like me), it probably brings up certain memories. But the music you hear when clicking the player sounds different – although it is kind of an extension over the original intro…

Clearly we cannot reproduce silence as musicians, but silence may become an essential part of our music. And sometimes it’s the most powerful part.

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar (using a capo for the mandolin effect), Gibson EB3 Bass, Vox AC 15, Tube Reverb, Susannes voice (phased)

cubism

[audio:cubism.mp3]

I was 14 years old, when I painted my “masterpiece”, uniting some of my influences in an oil painting I was really proud of at the time. Well, not much later I abandoned painting for something more important to me: music. I know it’s far from a really good or professional painting, but there’s something about it, especially considering my young age…

I never liked skiing that much, though we live in an era where everybody goes skiing. Starting from a photo which I abstracted step by step, the motive was just an inspiration to me for it’s dynamics.

The music is an attempt to reproduce – by musical means – the shift of perspectives, and the edgy, modern feeling that made cubism the starting point of contemporary painting. After recording several tracks, I heavily edited, cut and doubled etc. So this is another collage…

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar, Vox AC 15, Treble Booster, Cry Baby Classic Wah

the gnome

[audio:gnome.mp3]

Unlike Modest Mussorgky’s famous piece (from “Pictures at an Exhibition”) this is not a heavy march, but a lighter and slightly annoying improvisation, using the built-in damping mechanism of the Jaguar. This patented invention by Leo Fender was something he was really proud of, whereas most musicians found it useless and demounted it right away.

This, among other things, has contributed to the Jaguar’s fame as a “faulty design”; but at least for this recording it proved useful for me, providing sounds only available with this strange mechanism. If you listen closely, you will hear it activated 20 seconds into the track…

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar, 1967 Vox AC 30, Tube Reverb