Midisphere

I continue my collaboration efforts with Jan Fischer, someone I barely knew before the launch of the Redline Project. Jan is quickly becoming a musical colleague and, even better, a good friend. He has helped me with so much already, from mixing tips to solid critique and feedback, even laying down some tasty electric guitar tracks for a couple of my songs.

He asked me to return the favor with a little keyboard work on one of his latest songs. Though I am glad for the opportunity to show my gratitude in this way, it is overwhelming to select from infinite possibilities. Logic Pro ships with roughly a bajillion keyboard and synth instruments, all of which can be customized until one is blue in the face. Add 10,537 plug-in effects to the mix and you have one entirely overstimulated musician.

I used to think that playing a set of drums afforded me endless sonic possibilities, and in a sense the nuances are vast. In fact, I used to revel in pulling a broad array of sounds from a fairly basic instrument. Turns out, I do pretty well with a limited set of options, like three drums and two cymbals for instance.

In a digital world there are a multiplicity of hats in the ring, and there seem to be as many rings. How does anyone narrow down the plethora of options to one sane choice? I find it much easier to select sounds for myself, but choosing some instruments for Jan was certainly a challenge.

He may very well dislike the choices I made, and I am comfortable with that. Whether he keeps each of my notes or discards every last one, I continue to marvel at the fun of putting music together with a fellow in a vastly different time zone.

Little Contest

In the name of looking for collabortors, I have decided to post a little bass and djembe groove and make it available for download.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to download the files and add something to it. Maybe something simple, perhaps something complex. You might twist it into something unrecognizable. Who knows? That is the beauty of it.

Think of it as the first Redline Project contest. Everyone who submits an entry will be considered a winner, and their work will be posted on this blog along with links back to their websites and blogs.

Ready, set, create.

Any takers? Download the files here.

International Collaboration

Jan Fisher, a distant relative and one of the most faithful Redline Project blog readers, recently asked me to send him the audio files to a scratch recording. Living in Germany, Jan is an accomplished guitarist and recordist, and I have been eager to hear the results of his musical input.

His guitar textures and lines are nothing short of brilliant. What I heard in my head as a major progression (I, IV, I, IV for all you theory geeks), he interpreted as a solid minor chord (vi). I am invigorated by this choice as it brought a new darkness and mystique to the original sound. Jan layered guitar lines and built the texture slowly from a distant hum to an energetic burn. Nice, nice, nice!

In short, I am thrilled to share a wavelength and I hope this is the first of many trans-Atlantic collaborations with this fine musician. This is an invitation to any and all readers: I am thrilled to paint the canvas with anyone who wants to give it a swing. Contact me if you want to get something going.

Not Going to Believe This

Tuesday night is scheduled for open shop at Communicycle, the bicycle co-op I helped to establish. We have been meeting with the youth for some basketball while the Communicycle volunteers scramble to get the shop back in order after a recent robbery. Ian, one of the program's leaders, has been striking up conversations in past weeks with Edgar, a middle school student who among other hobbies is training as a boxer.

Ian has a deep love for music, and he was thrilled to discover that Edgar and a few of his buddies have a talent with rapping. The group approached me tonight at Ian's urging, looking for some original beats to which they could find a flow.

A quick (and perhaps stunning) admission: I have always loved the sound of rap, though I know nothing about it whatsoever. But hey... the Redline Project is composed almost exclusively of project tasks that are completely outside of my knowledge base; who am I to turn down a unique opportunity to collaborate with Edgar, Ian, and others from the Chamblee area?

So here it is, in all its glory, with all its faults. my first loop ever intended to be used in rap music. Does it make anyone besides me want to dance?

Song Solution

Yesterday's post included a verse and a chorus of what I hoped would develop into song. The lines painted a descriptive backdrop for a story about two kids living in different worlds. I was puzzled about how, or even if, the plot should unfold, and I stalled out as I attempted to compose the following verses.

24 hours ago these few lines resembled little more than a haiku; today these ideas have taken shape and are singable from beginning to end. The story propped my eyelids open as I tried to sleep last night, and the melody greeted me when I awoke this morning.

This set of lyrics represents the first collaboration in the Redline Project. Late yesterday evening, I sat with my wife Margaret, and we hammered out the concept until the shape of a story emerged. Parallel construction is the main device used in the song; each verse relates to the others with common phrases and ideas as two different pictures with striking similarities are painted for the listener.

The song is about the commonalities people have across boundaries of economic status, race, and gender. Two living situations are presented that seem so different but are both filled with intense sorrow and moments of joy. These settings are portrayed as imperfect and broken, with the only place of true harmony being the public garden that lies between them. Its a story of finding hope in despair and discovering life in the midst of death.

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Barefoot Commons

v1
Little black boy from Roxbury Station
Little white girl from the high rise on the hill
It's a steamy July in Downtown Crossing
But the willows cast their shade in the garden

Chorus
Black hand, white hand gripping each other
Dance in circles, sister and brother
Leaping, glittered splash underneath the fountain
Fifteen miles, a world apart
There's plenty of time for broken hearts
Drink the moment at the barefoot Commons

v2
There's something going down in Roxbury Station
Someone's two-timing in the high rise on the hill
He's skipping the rent to feed an addiction
She's hiding hot tears behind a hollow smile

v3
Find love in the pockets of Roxbury Station
Find peace in the quiet of the high rise on the hill
The ravens weave nests in the leaves of the willows
The lilies spread their wings in the garden