COSMIC JAZZ

Señor Badass - Another techno inspired tune. This is a good example of how Reason can inspired you to make something quite unexpected.

I was searching through the sound banks that I have and found this wicked bass that has an awesome delay and other layers to it. I was inspired to compose something with it as the base. I soon came up with some powerful-sounding progressions and decided to record. I recorded to mostly the same drum track that you hear, however the cymbal wasn't there initially. I then reworked the drums, I ended up being lazy and not write out the drums for the whole track, but rather used automation to change the drum parts. I felt that the drums work well as a constant.

I then found this cool little violin run in Reason, and added the ending to the violin run using a different violin sound. In addition, there is a track of strings, also from Reason that kind of plays a droning background role that a pad might be used for. After listening, I felt it could use another bass. So to keep it organic sounding, I found an upright bass within Reason and used that. I initially was going to use it just as a secondary droning tool, then I spontaneously ended up taking a solo when recording. It sounded really nice, but I didn't know how it would work within the structure of the whole song.

It was decided later upon trying to record the Vintage EP track from my RD-700SX, that the song would work better if there were a trading of solos between the bass and piano and that is what you hear.

To me initally, after recording the first bass track, this sounded like some badass mexican from a western, hence the title. The second thing I got after putting the whole thing together is that it reminds me of maybe primordial earth, like the first day the colonists from another planet set down on earth, this is how it feels. Warm, dark, earthy, moist and swampy like in the time of the dinosaurs. The solos can be like two aliens shooting the shit, maybe complaining about all the things they lost or miss but also their excitement about their new home and what they plan to do there. Or maybe they're just musicians and they decided to play this instead of unpack. "Fuck it, let's just play"

Espaço Brasileiro - Also known as Space Brasilian, I composed this on the fly. What you hear is the original experimentation. I started with the organ and the bass played to a samba drum track I created within Reason. Then came the droning pad, I forget the exact sound name but it is phased. Then came the cuica and keys, then vibes and lastly the pandeiro. Each was recorded while listening to the previous compilation using my RD-700SX and then simultaneously recorded as a whole. So the song ends up being just one track. I tried recreating the magic with multiple tracks within Reason afterward but decided that you really can't mess with perfection, or near perfection at least. So I just ended up mixing it a little bit in Reason and it was good to go.

It's entitled Espaço Brasileiro because it sounds to me like Brasilian journey music on an alien ship. Like if the people that occupy Brasil now were originally from another planet, this is what I imagine them listening to on the way over. It came about when I received a request from a friend in Brasil to make some Brasilian music. The request turned into a challenge and although it's no Jobim, I think it should stand up well to comparable modern samba acid jazz.

Malekah - Queen in Arabic. I wrote this after a night of talking with a friend about things to say to a beautiful woman in other languages. To say to a woman she is a queen in arabic happens to be one of the highest compliments ever. When she told me this the sound or frequency of that phrase seemed to me to mean the equivalent of "you are everything to me and I exist only for you". That's a lot of love and adoration. So that night I was fiddling on the piano and came up with this, and this is how it felt, at least the beginning part, then it kinda turns into journey music in my opinion. When I first played this, I imagined purple indigo colors, maybe some green in there too I associated these with a woman so beautiful she was like a Goddess, felt more so than seen. For some reason I was seeing the scarab also that night playing as if it was for a scarab queen at times. No I don't trip, just sometimes when I play it takes me to other places and I see mental images of things. It took me a while to get the structure down and actually write a complete song, hence the length of time to get it recorded and uploaded since I told you about it. I am not completely satisfied with how it all flows and it may change down the line. But for now this is it.

Misty Eyes - What is there to say? I wrote a song for someone before and when I asked the next time I saw her what she thought of the song and her eyes got all misty. That was probably one of the highest compliments I could ever have as a songwriter, that this song touched her so deeply. How it touched her? I don't know. Still trying to figure that out. Sometimes in life there are people that you don't know too well that you have a deep affection for or affinity or comfort and she was one of those people for me. I tried to follow up as best I could, provide her opportunity to get in touch. Sometimes it felt mutual, and other times not so mutual. I met her not in the best of places to find romance, but your heart isn't always practical. So this song is basically about feeling a lot, but not connecting all the way.

Misty Eyes, Gia, want to let you know that you affected me in a way that was pretty deep. That I did have an interest in you very much so beyond where you work. Not saying that it will be or it has to be, but think there could be something really special there and because of that, I hope that you find this and give it a shot, that is assuming you have a similar interest. Sometimes you're a hard read, but mostly I think it's not gonna happen, would like the opportunity to see where things go, but you would have made some contact if you were interested, that's pretty obvious. That's how I feel.

I wrote this song initially thinking I would throw out one more cookie, but that went sour when I intended to pass a message onto one of your friends there and she told me she didn't know if she had your number anymore. So I guess where I am at is this, I am done trying. I took a chance, did some foolish/brave things like make you that CD of me playing. Foolish because I knew everyone at your work would think I was a schmuck, brave because I didn't know if you would receive it well or not. Everything I did I guess was in the hopes of being able to see you outside of work and see if there was more to these feelings, because sometimes we'd connect in ways where it was like our souls talking to each other and that doesn't happen every day for me. The offer in the song still stands, but I need to pursue other avenues in life. I don't like being hung up on someone, and yes, you did have that affect on me. So know that you were well thought of and continue to be so, but if it's not meant to be then it's not meant to be, and I lament that missed opportunity.