Douglas Witmer
Thursday, December 20, 2007
my gift to you...happy holidays...happy new year
When I look back at 2007, I hope to remember it as the year I rediscovered my musical side. There was a time about 16-17 years ago when I consciously chose to pursue my painting over my music. Back then everything seemed so clearly "either/or" and not "both." In 2007 I finally released the album I'd been tinkering with for a few years. I strengthened a relationship with an old musician friend and musical collaborator. I produced a compilation album that was released through my cafe. I began to sing again, very privately, very naively. I performed solo on the drums in front of an audience just a few weeks ago and didn't totally suck. And for the past several months I've been recording myself when I play guitar. I've just had the impulse to press "record" when I sit down to play for my own private enjoyment. I did not and do not have any expecations when I do this. It has simply been in the same spirit as when one draws in a sketchbook--to record ideas for future review and reference.
Listening back to the recordings recently, I found some moments that seem worth putting together. I thought it would be nice to put them out there in the world. They're a gift. What better a time to give something than now?
I'm calling this six-song set "First Light." There are many references: dawn, a new day, new hope, a new discovery, light coming from the darkness, the idea of the Advent season. All of these recordings are just me playing electric guitar through a digital looping effects pedal. All the pieces are completely improvised, recorded in one take with no overdubbing. As such they are loose, tenuous, sloppy in parts, imperfect, and somehow way more clear than they would be if I were actually "working" on them.
They're my gift to you in hope that we may all work together for peace in the new year. Enjoy!
Listen
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01-First Light : i 3:15
02-First Light : ii 5:59
03-First Light : iii 0:32
04-First Light : iv 2:41
05-First Light : v 4:30
06-First Light : vi 6:56
Labels: Consolidated Hand Mouth and Ear Institute, music
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Tuesday, March 20, 2007
the album is finished & available!
The Consolidated Hand Mouth & Ear Institute's debut album Condensery is now available.
A hand-numbered, limited-edition CD is available for order via PayPal ($11.00 US includes shipping). The album is available for download as well; either as individual tracks or in its entirety. You can sample and purchase the music right from this post! Read on...
The record is primarily instrumental and the arrangements are highly repetitive. I describe it as a blend of electronic and acoustic instruments arranged in spacious ambience with shimmering percussion, mellow chording, and heavy slow bass beats. But hey, you can listen for yourself!
Much of the record was composed in the summer of 2004 in a cabin outside of a little town called Onekama (oh-NECK-uh-muh) in northwestern Michigan, just off the shore of Lake Michigan. The spot has always been a special place for me; much of my fundamental creative thinking and action seems to happen there.
Lorine Niedecker, Milwaukee, 1967. Photograph by Jonathan Williams
The seeds of this project were planted years ago. In 1996 at a neighborhood yard sale I naively picked up a book called "The Granite Pail--Collected poems of Lorine Niedecker." Lorine spent the majority of her life across Lake Michigan in rural Wisconsin developing a body of work known for deep expressiveness despite it's spare use of language. I can't explain why, but her poetry and the story of her life have haunted me ever since that day. Working hard on this music back in 2004, I'd stand at the edge of the water looking west, and imagine the things Lorine might have seen, standing on the opposite shore. The album title "Condensery" comes from a line in one of her works.
The album art features a few (from my collection of several thousand) photos of Lake Michigan, taken over the past 13 years.
Below are samples of each track, in their album sequence. They are approximately 1 minute (1mb) each.
I hope you enjoy the record, and let me know what you think! This is very new territory for me.
AUDIO SAMPLES
DOWNLOAD--Click Here
or
ORDER THE CD ($11.00 US includes shipping)
Labels: Consolidated Hand Mouth and Ear Institute, music
Permanent Link |
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