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• Title Meaning and Selection
• Intent and meaning behind song performance
• General musical structure of interest
• Anecdotes about the song or the recording
For me, Song titles are another creative outlet. I Look for song titles that are interesting, uncommon and memorable. They can be interesting words or phrases discovered from books I read or are combinations of words I put together that seem to fit a musical idea I am working on.
If they can also challenge your mind and sometimes have the goal of making you 'look them up' then I have achieved my intent. They are infused with irony, symbolism, duality or hidden meaning. So just like my music; but silently - they are presenting a complexity or depth of meaning or message. All with a usual tongue in cheek.
The Album Title Itself;
Recondite Obbligato together means a little-known instrumental (part), typically distinctive in effect, which is integral to a piece of music and should not be omitted. I thought it best summarized the state of my musical offering.
This is my Protest album, a critique of the music industry model against artists, a shout from obscurity, and overall, a bit edgier and more Rock oriented than the previous QB1-OS CD release (but enough Jazz, Fusion and Progressive elements added in to be a true G Clef Fusion release). Hard to convey all this in an instrumental release, but it is the theme, nonetheless. Music about music; and its promotion, admiration, recognition, fame, and hard work.
Now the Songs;
PROSCENIUM OF THE PENETRALIA - This is the front of a performance curtain of a central and hidden room. Representing the creative work done in the studio away from the limelight, but central and crucial to the creative process and production of new and fresh music. So, raise the curtain and let the show begin. Classic G Clef Fusion sound with heavy organ, driving beat and synthesizer flourishes calling attention to the music.
PLAYING KNIGHTS AND WEAK ENDS - A play on words but meaning what it sounds like versus what it says - a repeated theme on this release - and also recognition and admiration of the musician's hard work and dedication during the times available to work their craft and pursuit. Up and down energy symbolizing the energy when the artist begins to play. Song has a heavy but harmonious mix of the Piano, Organ and Synthesizer throughout the different pacing sections.
HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS - The longest word in the English language which has alternating consonants and vowels, which means "the state of being able to achieve honors". It is mentioned by the character Costard in Act V, Scene I of William Shakespeare's Love's Labours Lost. Used here in reference that recognition or admiration while not required is still desired and appreciated, especially in creative pursuits. Bouncy Electric Piano moves through some twists and turns.
TO CHEW ONES CABBAGE TWICE - An old track which Features very special guest Jon E. (dawdi) on Guitars. High energy and powerful track with literal and figurative references to the meaning of the phrase of reuse, repurpose as well as the repeated references to two (including its placement on G Clef Fusion's second CD release). See if you can listen for all the "twice/two" audio references in the track - including the double bass drums. Tasty guitar phrasing by Jon and some heavy (Lord and Emerson inspired) organ by me make for a speaker rumbling track.
ACOUSTICAL APOJOVE - Apojove has to do with the maximum distance of the moons; from Jupiter on their Orbit - I took it into an acoustical distance from ones listeners or audience; at times seeming very far away. The song has a call and response section that acoustically simulates that growing distance by increasing the measure of the response section by one beat each iteration - (i.e. starts as 4 beats, second one is 5 beats, third, 6 beats, etc. up to eight) with some "floating away in space" sonic flavoring.
GALLIONIC MONACHOPSIS DITTY - Started out as a simple song and I loved the interplay with the organ and the "surf guitar" so it just kept getting a little more and a little more complex, but still a fun bouncy song. Gallionic means marked by indifference or easygoing carelessness or irresponsibility and Monachopsis means the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place, so they both fit for this difficult to classify and bit of off the wall flavored track.
THE DARING BEAUTY YOU - In life we may occasion to come upon a very unique and special beauty, we owe it to ourselves to bask in its radiation for as long as we may and never forget how special it truly is. The piano flourishes and solo sections throughout this track highlight the sparkling beauty and the organ emphasizes the powerful feeling.
PREFER A SLAP OVER PRETERITION - This is a take on the old "bad press is better than no press ", which is certainly true, and in love and affection it may also be true that with a slap, at least you are known and not ignored (which is the essential meaning of Preterition). The slap bass helps keep this tune in your face; pun intended. Also features one of my personal favorite synth solos.
BY WEIGHT NOT BY TALE - An economic term from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, referring to money, but I think applies to a lot of advertising - fundamentally means an item's value should be what it really is, not just what someone says it is. A very heavy "Guitar" driven track almost heavy metal or progressive metal that also cements the title in other references.
JOY OF MISSING OUT - Maybe there is some joy in not getting caught up and high popularity and maintenance of that presence - or maybe not. Driving percussive organ propels this track. With synth and piano support for added variation.
SCIAMACHY - This refers to a mock or futile combat (as with an imaginary foe). Was thinking of Don Quixote fighting windmills as I was composing. Different sections represent the journey and then altercation with imaginary foe, or just looking for someone to fight or blame. Lots of circling the adversary theme music in this extended progressive piece resolving to the recognition of the futility.
IF I ONLY KNEW - If I Only Knew what? I was asked, my reply; exactly - if I only knew …the answer, …the question, ….the outcome, …the direction, …etc. Information is power and knowing it changes things. An Electric Piano solo to kick the song off, leads to bouncing track with heavy bass interplay. I just love the drum fill at about 1:48 in the track, it is my "air drum" moment.
KOBAYASHI MARU - I hate no win scenarios - and this is homage to that Star Trek TOS (I'm a fan) fictional Star Fleet Academy Training exercise in a no win scenario. Also deals with the feeling of being lost (in Space) or helpless - there is even a S.O.S Morse code section in the song (with audio references to 3 short, 3 long, 3 short) And a moody piece would have to be track 13 on the CD, right? Lots of spacey synthesizer lead runs.
MELLIFLUOUS DESPITE ITS TONE - The subtitle of this track is - If This Doesn’t have you boppin' your head, I can't help you. One of the last tracks completed for the CD, I went all out in the piano and organ playing to kick off with a ultra-high energy and keep it going for the whole track. Title refers to; that while there are some serious and complaining themes in this CD, a primary theme is still about making good, interesting and high energy music.
MAKE IT UP IN VOLUME - Another economic or business term where money losses are foolishly targeted to be offset by making it up in volume of sales. The interplay with audio volume and turning it up, as well as profit and loss experience in the music business is not lost. The subtitle of this track is "Only 100,000 more streams and I can buy you that cup of coffee" Back to the core Organ, Bass and Drums for this closing track.
[Check out the Albums/EPs page for schedule of releases.]
The Album Title Itself;
This is space centric in theme and image, but not 'spacy' in sound. This is no ambient or electronic space synthesizers music soundscape. It is high energy fusion music - a bit of Rock, some Jazz, and touches of progressive, but the space themes seem to fit as metaphors or symbols for a journey through the "space" of life.
As to QB1-OS specifically; in astronomy the first trans-Neptunian object discovered, was named (15760) 1992 QB1. Later objects discovered in that area of space were called "QB1-os", or cubewanos, phonetically translating the initials into English. I liked this idea of something different and unique of something outside - but not too far outside our known “system”. I felt this conveyed the 'something new yet familiar' idea I was trying to create with this first full album release.
The cryptic nature of the letters and numbers expanded on the themes I use for song title selections and the numeric 'one' reference also added to the symmetry and simpatico for the album. I had the artwork early and the threading through of some astronomical themes certainly fit the artwork and continued a path and symmetry started with the "encomium" EP cover. And while that earlier EP had the Pyramid shape as central this one had a Cube, so Cubewano fit that emphasis. {hint: the next full album cover will feature a Circle}
Now the Songs;
Cicerone for a Sonder loosely this translates to a personal guide to the realization that everyone has stuff to deal with in life. The melody as I was writing, had the sense of a 'walk', but guided and a little more complex than one would realize. (It is in 6/4 time) But still with an upbeat mood. It’s not a depressing point, it’s just that everyone is pursuing ‘life’ and life is good, despite all the challenges we all face day in and day out.
On Shoulders of Giants. There was a quote by Herbie Hancock; "I felt like I stood on the shoulders of giants…". The point is certainly not lost on me and I wanted to try in my humblest way to pay respect and honor to all those keyboardists and musicians, like Keith Emerson and others, that came before me. As I was composing this, I tried to channel all those songs and styles from progressive, fusion, rock I grew up listening to, I hope I did them at least a little justice.
Five Hour Trip from Neptune. Five hours is the time it takes for light to reach earth from Neptune, so when viewing from earth what you see is already five hours old. I think this is one of those mind-expanding contemplations when trying to image the size of interplanetary space - if Neptune was suddenly gone, it would be 5 hours before we could tell. In this song’s section I wanted to convey the different phases of a journey, and the imagined vastness of space as you are traveling through it. The song is also structured around five main sections with five transitions or short interludes, so it fit in nicely with the number five reference.
Cubewano Luxury Cruise. Back to the Album title selection, Cubewano is a classical Kuiper belt object that orbits beyond Neptune. The chord structures and jazz-tinged time signatures gave me the feeling of a band playing in a galaxy cruise ship lounge bar. I’d imagine the dark jazz club as I was recording. I continued the space / astronomical theme.
Roche Radius. In celestial mechanics, the Roche limit, also called Roche Radius, is the distance from a celestial body within which a second celestial body, held together only by its own force of gravity, will disintegrate due to the first body's tidal forces exceeding the second body's gravitational self-attraction. Inside the Roche limit, orbiting material disperses and forms rings, whereas outside the limit material tends to coalesce. As I was reading this I wondered if something like that happens with human bodies - at least emotionally - as we get romantically close to someone, much like an opposite of ‘stages of grief’; I imagined the stages of romance and this piece has seven sections presenting after each main theme, which represent, sonically, those seven stages: i. Lust, ii. Infatuation, iii. Desire, iv. Passion, v. Love, vi. Devotion, vii. Surrender. The main riff came easy and started out as a bass riff, then I transposed it up to a piano riff with the intervals and chords added. The seven sections took a bit more effort and work - much like relationships.
Just Might Be. Like its title, the song is about potential, or a realization that something could be reached or achieved, just maybe not just yet. So, there is a bit of melancholy in it as well as a strong relentless strive for what one wants, dreams or wishes for. I call this an instrumental power ballad, if I can coin a term. This song is actually a very old piece I had written some 25 years ago. I revived it, as it deserved to be recorded for posterity and proof that even a song ‘just might be’. There were once lyrics for this, but they have since been lost to time.
Nudiusterian Hiraeth. This loosely translates to a strong longing for two days ago. That struck me as strange and uniquely specific, so this is a reflective piece that doesn’t go too far back - only the day before yesterday. The heavy arpeggios in the middle section emphasizes this "recent" as a repeating message.
Periglacial Dreikanter. Dreikanter is a type of ventifact that typically forms in desert or periglacial environments due to the abrasive action of blowing sand or snow. Dreikanters exhibit a characteristic pyramidal shape with three wind-abrased facets. Much like the pyramid shape in the G Clef Fusion logo, so it struck a chord (pun intended) with me and as I was writing I imaged the cold and windy snow drifts creating these naturally formed geometrical shapes.
Telos. This song with the brass timbres and the majestic riffs represented some formal announcement or declaration of an important arrival. What is more important to each of us than; an end to which we strive?
Kismet Funk. A Kismet is a force that some people think controls what happens in the future and is outside human control. This started with a working title of "two-fisted" for the two-handed performance throughout, but as a funk groove came out - further cemented by the addition of slap bass - I felt the "funk" was coming like a force of its own, much like a kismet. It’s a fun and physical song to play live - and a little bit of an acrobatic challenge to play on the keytar.
Riant Rant. Riant is the Showing or feeling mirth, pleasure, or happiness, but this song’s pace, while energetic and upbeat, always sounded like someone was ranting and raving about something, so it stuck.
Dihedral. In mathematics dihedral is the intersection of different planes, much like this piece which has a lot going on, with many instruments and musical themes competing for that intersection in space and attention as hearing. This is another old piece written some 25 years ago, actually originally sequenced on an old Roland MC-500 hardware sequencer. 'Ah the old days' - he says with irony.
Sardonic Tohubohu. I liked the sound of this combination of words, great fun to say out loud. Plus, the idea of confusion or difficult times being mocking seemed like a higher power just messing with us. I really wanted to do a song based on a Clav sound, and this bouncing piece helped convey that sense of confusion, yet still having a playful spirit in it.
B-Esdel Bulb. This is a take on the word Beelzebub. In this heavy Rock oriented song, I tried to channel Jon Lord in the sound and riffs of the organ and with rock being "devil's music" that the way the title was leaning, though I didn't want to be so obvious, so created my own word/phrase. I had thought of naming it B-3sdel Bulb; with an explicit reference to the Hammond B-3 heavy sound, but I figured that would be hard to say. Plus, I liked to veiled reference to Edsel (the old car model) and the Bulb (bright light) or just a special auto part for an Edsel.
Done Talking. Come on, …last song on an all instrumental album, still trying to make a statement? It had to be: " alright I'm Done Talking now". I Love the irony. Though ultimately I'm not done and there is still more music coming, but those are for other releases. [Check out the Albums/EPs page for schedule of releases.]