I am working on a “book”, an opus, of extended symphonic compositions for midi and piano. Each is firmly born from the 1970s expansion of keyboards from nerdiness to all out amazing and inspiring such as Klaus Schulze and Keith Emerson. Everything rises from their works, for me. Just getting used to working with an Akai MPD32 graciously loaned to me from Chewy Jarad Blanton, and Logic Pro which is sort of Garage Band with a hint of steroids. Since steroids have either helped or is destroying my life is yet to be seen. I pray, help.
So, Aaron is an old friend in food, music, talking and the soul of what is a friendship. We had a long talk yesterday, he’s a Ringo inspired drummer, so I played this with two separate percussion, you know the set up Ringo and Bill Buford style assembly. There’s a lot to say about this particularly inspired music as Art and Artist are not at all in two sets of existence, the sign and the signified are the same. Hegelian thing, if I may put it in philosophical theory. How we hear and how we compose, how we play and how we listen, with whom to share and those to keep it far away from by all possible means. Why? I just don’t want people who dig another singular form of music whereas I hear the world of music, of life, as being this amazing symphony. We just gather up the notes, like these autumn leaves fluttering around; and yeah, filling the gutters. Hard to count, to measure the time start to finish as inspired art to hours of engineering and editing, replaying, over and over till now. Is this final? Only the Holy Spirit can fathom, but in poetry, food, music, Catholicism, philosophy and dear friends who just love being friends. There has never been a need for friends to just randomly be mean or pull a lecture on public relations out when I have no idea who I insulted and why I am to be marginalized. A great insult was stated a couple of weeks back. It cut deep and was unnecessary. I was feeling the heaviness of August, the cruelest month, taking it’s time declawing me and drowning all I love far into September. Words are organic, they live. When one does not understand the living nature of language they are at their most negative while thinking what was spoken was some sort of revelation when for me it was a dull and useless set of words that are always the cheap shot someone takes at me when they have little else to say.
Here I am, in mirror to Thomas Merton on Catholicism and Buddhism, living with a Jew, hanging out with Artists and the like who left God long ago, staring into incense smoke, praying and thanking the Lord for every pain given me this life. My only real prejudice is against those who willingly harm others, gossips. . Pride of man.
Sound Poem based on same keyboard thing from Klaus Schulze
Klaus Schulze is a master German composer and keyboardist, tape, moog and analog forerunner to all we have today. ha!, of massive amounts of keyboards, tape machines, and more of a Moog groupie than for Annie Haslan..of Renaissance…..nah, I guess I am more in love with her voice and presence; but Klaus Schulze made today possible in keyboard music. I spent over 12 hours working out the kinks to keep it melodic prog keyboard but still have the naturalist sound from the angels and the planets. I was playing layered, heavy layered keyboard work with percussion only, it was intense, pretty cool, but out side it was short leaf pine trees blowing around in the Spring Georgia air. I lifted my hands off the keys and never played an electronic instrument again until 15 years later. It took another 10 for me to take it seriously back to my roots of playing for three hours a day and then writing/living poetry the rest of the time not being overly collegiate. Dig. I hope you get kinda lost in this little sparrow of a symphony, #7 In Honor to Klaus Schulze for his album Moonlake.
I was humming a part from a keyboard work by the masterful Klaus Schulze, his album Moonlake. I listen to his analog, then Dark Side of the Moog more than the digital. Not to say anything bad about his digital work at all, for the genius that is Klaus Schulze can be felt throughout his career. I won’t dwell on the lesser times, we all have those and wish them gone. But this little symphony, just a baby, but it is still a symphonic work just sort of happened while playing through notebook and fell into Symphony #7. I just think about the work those early guys put into their work from which we benefit today and it is astounding. I’ll spend weeks of time on orchestrations and suites that I poured my heart and soul into. Only posting it on my site and Word Press. Thinking about a 40 minute version with a broader percussion section. Said I to I this great emptiness.
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