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Ismael (3)

[audio:octavefunk.mp3]

After a long time interruption this is the third and last installment of my little vernissage of Ismael Kamara’s paintings. This guitar looks to me like a freshly opened bottle of champagne!

At the end of the short piece of music here you hear sort of an echo. This was done by simply omitting the two main tracks of the recording. (I always have three tracks: two different microphones, and reverb on a separate track to make it easy to allot the proper amount of this effect).

Another guitar picture Ismael painted in collaboration with his son Salif was shown in lydian.

guitar & gear: ’67 Stratocaster, Vox AC 50, BSM treblebooster, tube reverb

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resuming work

Finally, vacations are over. During the last six weeks, in opposition to my plans motivation went down, not up – mostly due to a systematic arrangement of obstacles I’m still unable to comprehend. It went on like this even after I had decided to go with the flow, or rather to give in to the non-flow…

I still am without my computer (it’s in repair for the third time now), and I cannot accept the substitute as a working tool. Psychologically. I really don’t feel like using computers these days (sulk…). Some will have noticed, and I’m really sorry for that. All I can say is: it’s not personal. And sorry again. Besides, I’m still waiting for a replacement of the ultimate guitar amplifier…

The weather has been depressing, too, so what else was left for me to do than to make up a new project – one that’s completely palpable and non-virtual? After I had returned the old Stratocaster guitar I remembered I had my own Strat! Only I didn’t like the color, the finish and the sound. I remembered I had tuned and changed some other guitars, too, and so I decided to sand it. And more. Sanding took three entire days – my lungs can tell. I painted the body anew. I ordered a new set of pickups; I changed some other electronic parts and so on. Now I have to wait for things I ordered, but it’s a different kind of waiting – it’s exciting! My ambition is to make it a completely different and completely personal instrument. And I’m sure that will work, after my thoughts have been circling around this project for weeks now.

What else? Susanne and I have been to Paris, and I shot some strange photos, some of them like the ones you are used to see here. These will be published soon, albeit without music.

And I concentrated on my son. I really love him, and I noticed he needs more attention and more interplay. We had a great time together during the past weeks. Except for the twosome Paris days.

Thomas, the great lender, left me another precious item as a compensation for the old Stratocaster he took home: an original Vox AC 30 amplifier, built in 1967, simply a legend. It’s also a great consolation these days going down to the basement (it’s too loud to be played in my regular music room) and playing electric guitar until my ears fall off… Again, I’d like to thank Thomas!

I still haven’t given up on my plans to record some new material, and as I’m in front of a computer now, this may be an encouraging sign. Today our students will return. Paradoxically, this could mean more time for creative work! See you these days…

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bye, bye Stratocaster (2)

[audio:dropDstrat.mp3]

In the first installment I didn’t mention how inspiring the old Stratocaster has been for my photo-shooting . If you like, take a look again at the edge of its body in “volcanology”. Or how it matches the Vox AC 50. Or as a colorful vision in a dream.
Since there are quite a few photos remaining, and some more recordings, too, I add a second installment here. Maybe even a third will follow. I know I stylized and exaggerated a little bit, but how could one handle and “digest” such an experience without doing so? An experience you are lucky to get once in a lifetime…

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bye, bye Stratocaster (1)

[audio:flangestrat.mp3]

I already told you. “My old guitar”, the rare Fender one, is not really mine.

But in between it almost felt like it was mine, since I have spent several months with this instrument of special vibes, and we had quite a few experiences together. Moments that felt a little uneasy because my hands don’t like the neck and fingerboard (I’m a Gibson Player), and moments of great appreciation of it’s rich tone that resonated with me…

So parting with it feels ambiguous, too. I’m glad I explored its potential as far as I could by improvising regularly, by recording as many tracks as possible, making up many posts here and doing drafts for some songs I’m going to work on later.

With a tear in my eye I am proud to present some of the very last recordings I made with this guitar. Recordings done without a purpose, just to “jot down” the sounds of the 1967 Stratocaster, that a friend of mine fetched today. He has every right to do that, as it’s his guitar. Rather, I’d like to thank Thomas for his generosity. En lieu of the guitar he left me something equally precious I will soon write about.

Just a few minutes ago they both headed for a far away town, and this is my “bye, bye”. (There will be another installment coming soon.)

قناع الشعر المعجزة

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holidays – no jolly days

At least that’s what I experienced at lot of times – and again this time. My wife wrote an entire post about it last year. I’m not too bad, actually, but I ended up being disappointed and slightly depressed. Maybe part of the problem are the raised expectations: everything I cannot accomplish in normal everyday life must be accomplished in the next holidays, respectively school break (that is now). And I’m not yet talking about relaxation and well-earned rebound…

There were some obvious reasons, too: my computer broke, and after it had been repaired, it broke again. Just when I planned to start some bigger work on songs that I had projected months ago. For this reason, and some others, I feel thwarted. Nearly anything I am currently starting to do has kind of a brake attached to it. Mostly I just begin for a few minutes and then I’m forced to stop.

Family life is a permanent tug-of-war with all three of us feeling missed out. Many things around the house and the garden have to be fixed, and each item seems to block the other.

But then I was looking forward to the ultimate compensation for all this: I ordered a new guitar amplifier, the one that I have been looking for for years. When it was delivered, I realized it was damaged during transportation, and now I’ve got all the trouble sending it back, getting another one etc.

So, that’s the news from me. Right in the middle of the time I thought I would be composing and recording like crazy. Sorry, folks, I’m sure there are better times to come, and I will keep up with trying to stay motivated. There’s more music and some blog posts prepared, standing by. And there will be three posts coming soon about a very special guitar I’ll have to part with…

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dusk

[audio:dusk.mp3]

Collaboration with Susanne

It’s a summer’s evening in the country. The air is moistening, but still warm. Our friend’s summer celebration has just begun, the tent is pitched, and we take a look down the hills before joining the party.

This is the light version (pun intended) of an evening atmosphere, dusk in this case meaning the beginning, not the end of something…

The musical piece this time consists of far more than the usual one-man-improvisation: though it began exactly like that, it was elaborated as a multi-track-tune, re-recorded and in the end Susanne sang partly improvised, partly well-arranged melodies to it. I can publish tunes like this only once in a while – or it would be just one post a month. But I liked the light atmosphere of the original improvisation so much, it brought up a bunch of additional ideas.

For those curious about the original, I add it here. It may be interesting to follow the evolution of this piece:

[audio:dusksolo.mp3]

participants: Susanne Fritzsche – vocals, Gary Winter – Fender Stratocaster, Gibson EB3 bass, percussion

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shadows

[audio:shadows.mp3]

At some rather early point in our lives we were told that shadows aren’t real. Our caretakers wanted to prevent us from unnecessary fears, and raise our sense of reality.
But now we are ready to know that shadows are just another interpretation of reality, only on a different level. Since the alleged “original” picture of an object that we perceive is not the real object itself, either, its shadow is by no means less real than what our eyes tell us to be the object itself.

In case you doubt if there’s real music after you clicked the player, just exercise a little patience, since the building up of these audible shadows takes a few seconds (you may hear some noises like wind in the beginning and in the end).

guitar & gear: Epiphone Les Paul Custom, Vox AC 50, BSM treble booster, DOD wah pedal