red faces devoured by the night

shattered laughs in the vine

and glowing melancholy

spirit torture! a stone falls silent

blue voice of an angel in the sleeper’s ear

declining light

declining light

This an abridged translation of a poem without title from Georg Trakl, an Austrian poet of the Expressionism Era. At a certain point in working with the music of this tune, the need for some spoken lyrics appeared, and by intuition I took out this book of poems. In my younger days I would read Georg Trakl every year in the season of fall, but this time it was neither fall nor did I feel the need for some more melancholic or dark and dreary feelings. This time the overall surreal atmosphere of the music required such a poem…

The instrumentation is different in this tune, with the first obvious appearance of  violin along with mandolin, xylophone and dark vocals without words. Then suddenly you know something will happen, and there is this spoken poem above, embedded in shivering sounds to make your blood run cold. Strangely enough, the meter is 4/4 this time!

Somehow this sounds like a fiddle tune minus a fiddle. It’s my Les Paul Special. Added jaw harp, triangle and some more guitars contribute to a funny feeling of exuberance, growing towards the end. A sudden break lets you fall into a repetition loop, and then fade out.

Although less than perfect, I like this tune in particular for its ending, where we are getting lost.

Do we still reside on top of a mountain? Have we found the way down in daylight?

Steve from England has sent me yet another keyboard track with cymbals, named “dark”. This was one I felt challenged by.  In order to surprise him (or maybe myself or you), I added things with no apparent connection to the original track. I wanted it to sound even darker than it was before. This is the first time I tried to record a wall of power chords plus bass in a unison. Although there have been level problems due to so many different instruments, I think the track conveys the original idea.
Thanks again to Steve, who’s track I found inspiring. So inspiring I apparently couldn’t stop playing, and had to add a coda. Stay with the track after the keyboard has ceased – it reminds me of my experimental teenage days, when me and some friends recorded music improvised on self-made instruments. In some respect, it was pure noise, but it had a dense atmosphere… Sadly, I lost the tapes, so I take this ending for a substitute.

All in all, “Darker” may not be everyone’s favorite, but it even contains traces of melodies…

Finally I’m back, finally my health is better, and here is the next co-production with Steve:

Steve from England had sent me a keyboard track that constantly changes between major and minor of the same root, with some percussion added. He told me he had been playing around with the keyboard lately – and that was a surprise to me, for I knew him as a guitar player.

I liked the feeling of the track with the working title “Latin”. Of course it is a so-called Latin rhythm; only I don’t like the term and so decided to add some sparkle from another one of my son’s pictures.

Steve agreed with my proposal to add some more percussion to make it sound more lively. It was pure fun to play these instruments, but my personal highlight was the guitar solo I recorded immediately afterwards. This was the first time I achieved a sound with a Santana-like sustain and a similar character, and ironically I achieved it with the Jaguar, the good old tube screamer and my Vox AC 15. Not at all the kind of tools one would expect, but I had often tried it with Les Pauls or SGs and never succeeded! The Jaguar has a more nasal sound quality to it (which I like), and I consider my sound not a copy (which it isn’t and I couldn’t) but a parallel.

Anyway, this is not a bad one, and I wish I could have presented it earlier. I would like to thank Steve for giving me this opportunity with his inspiring track. In my earlier years as a musician I never came much forward with soloing, being mostly the bass player. So in a way, this track is a dream come true…

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar, Vox AC 15 Heritage, BSM Spectrum fuzzbooster

So this is the last installment of a trilogy my son illustrated so wonderfully.

This time he even accepted to give it a second try, and it was worth it, as you see. Of course I wouldn’t part with an illustrator like him, and there is more to come. For example I will have a hard time soon, trying to compose some dragon’s music.

Thank you for your kind comments on our collaboration!

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar, Fender Tweed Champ, Roland Space Echo

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar, 1967 Vox AC 30 (brilliant channel), BSM treble booster (DM-T), Tube Reverb

Don’t be afraid, this time robot had a unpleasant dream (you can tell by the dark cloud in his thought bulb), but he is rescued and there is a happy ending!

He was sleeping in his iron bed, being recharged through several wires, when it happened. His friend who obviously heard noises from robot’s bedroom, opened the door to ask what was going on there – and so robot learned it had only been a bad dream. After hugging each other with some heart-felt robot hugs (bang!) they went to bed with relief, sleeping tight until the next morning.

Last post of this trilogy will be: “Robot’s Love Song”, coming soon.

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar, Fender Tweed Champ, Roland Space Echo, Cry Baby Classic Wah (fixed)

What a splendid season! Short-lived, as it is some melancholic undertones creep in, but the overall image is pure beauty…

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar, 1967 Vox AC 30 (brilliant channel), BSM treble booster (model DM-T), Tube Reverb

mikes: Electro Voice RE-20, Neumann KMS 105

Back in 1966, when psychedelic art was about to embark.

Two seminal songs: The above mentioned by the Rolling Stones (which I stole the title from and made up a new music to accompany it), and the undeservedly overlooked “Rain” by the Beatles. The latter being published only as a single (not found on an original album), contains the first backwards recording ever and Ringos best drumming ever.

These songs are extreme in a way, as is the track above (coming in three movements) in another. It’s a different time, and a different player, who doesn’t want to compare to those giants…

A snapshot from inside a train, the photograph below simply made me think of “Paint it black”, whereas the music was cut on a different occasion and originally called “Scary”.

guitar & gear: ’67 Stratocaster, Vox AC 50, Gerd Schulte Phaser, Tube Reverb

This time it’s a dream we experienced in 1999, traveling Brazil. Close to South America’s biggest megalopolis of Sao Paolo, there is an island called Ilhabela (“beautiful island”), where at last we found places nearly untouched by civilization. It took an adventuresome tour to the backside of Ilhabela, though, and there were only few people due to the “winter” season, which was not winter at all.

We don’t travel much for several reasons, one of them being the pollution caused by too many planes world wide. But we’re still feeding on that experience. I can’t recall being so exposed to pristine nature any other time in my life.

guitar & gear: ’67 Stratocaster, Vox AC 50, Tube Reverb

It could be the dream of an hidden island.

Or it could be an island dream hidden in the middle section of this track, framed by a not so dream-like beginning and ending.

Or is there a hidden dream within you?

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

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

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)

An improvisation using the tremolo channel of the AC 30.

I encountered this fountain in the center of my hometown, and instantly decided to make up a post named “the kiss”.

The world fades away in this special moment, water freezes, and only the echoes of togetherness remain. The word “tremolo” this time made me think of weird expressions like tremor amoris or fontana tremi.

Again, the resonance strings of the Jaguar and switching to different sounds can be heard.

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

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar, Vox AC 30 (Vibrato-channel), Tube Reverb

Around the time when most people are super-busy in preparation of celebration, I often find myself in a mood which is best described by the exclusive use of minor chords in this piece of improvisation.

Mostly simplified as musical sadness, minor is like the Yin side of music, not action, but reaction, shade as opposed to the bright light of day.

Listening to the completed track, I found it totally adequate to my current mood. And then I listened again…

guitar & gear: Fender Jaguar on three tracks, Fender Tweed Champ, Tube Trem, Cry Baby Classic, Tube Reverb

guitar & gear: Gibson Les Paul Special, coming in two tracks; Vox ToneLab, Tube Reverb

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:

Download audio file (dusksolo.mp3)

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

Here’s the reason why I felt Mediterranean on a rainy day in June – a different meaning of the word “Mediterranean” than suggested by the clichéd photos on a tourist brochure. From where we live the Italian “mare” is the nearest.

This is the stunning interior of an Italian restaurant where my nephew celebrated his confirmation. The food was delicious, too.

guitar & gear: Epiphone Mandobird, Vox ToneLab, Tube Reverb

Download audio file (AC50Bm.mp3)

Another guitar painted by Ismael Kamara.

And at its side (to the right above) you see the “Shadow of John” watching over us.

The music is a longer piece, showing the qualities of the Vox AC 50 and a special mood I was in on April 29th…

guitar & gear: Gibson Les Paul Special, Vox AC 50, BSM treble booster, Tube Reverb

profundity Download audio file (profundity.mp3)

fathoming out Download audio file (fathoming.mp3)

These two forming a twin entity, you are being invited to enter a door or an entrance to see what’s behind. Thereafter feel the deepness, or measure the unmeasurable like I did by bending my guitar strings more than I ever did before…

guitar & gear: Epiphone Les Paul with Haeussel pickups, Vox AC 50, BSM treble booster, Tube Reverb

Since I didn’t want to even remotely rival Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption” (a famous rock guitar instrumental – check it out!), I approached Charlie Parker by calling this similar to “Anthropology” and “Ornithology”.

Ouch – wrong again. Ahem. I guess this is simply “Volcanology”, and doesn’t rival anything… It’s a fade-in-tune, so please take a few moments for it to reach its full volume.

64$ question: what does the picture below actually show? (hint: it’s just a detail from a photo I posted here before).

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

guitar & gear: ’67 stratocaster, Vox ToneLab SE, tube reverb

Sorry if your weather doesn’t match this. Where I live, it does. And it’s beautiful if you take a close look.

guitar & gear: ’67 stratocaster, Vox ToneLab SE, Tube Trem

This little improvisation on an instrument I actually am no master of made me feel “longing for the sea”. Or, as one might put it, “long time no sea” – which is true for me, living in southern Germany far from all oceans. On my search for an illustration I stumbled over an old photograph, taken in Brazil many years ago on a two month’s trip with my wife.

There’s something written on the picture in Portuguese: subir. When I thought of it’s meaning, I suddenly felt it all become much more intense and heading for what I hoped to convey. “Subir” is “ascend”. Look, listen, and feel sense and direction in it.

guitar & gear: no guitar, since it’s kind of a mandolin that looks like an electric guitar. Naturally my son’s favorite tool for his playing the guitar hero – which of course he copied from me.

musically spoken, lydian is a mode
emotionally spoken, lydian is a mood

guitar & gear: ’67 stratocaster, ’65 VOX AC 50, BSM treblebooster

guitar & gear: Gibson Les Paul Special, Gerd Schulte Phaser, Vox ToneLab SE