I first chanced upon Peter N’s shrapnel guitar sounds a while ago.
I had never heard such a hard edge that retained girth in its sound.
In this collaboration, Peter supplies some of that hard edged guitar - hear him at around three minutes in, and especially in the final bars at the end. But he also produces some clean chordal, almost Spanish rhythm guitar [e.g., at around 05:20], which is really the body of the piece, as well as some clean picking at around 08:20.
To contrast the hard edged sound of Peter, I played a smooth Les Paul lead – heard first at the intro and then throughout, and low ominous riffage [e.g., around 090:00], as well as various synth guitar parts.
The piece itself started life as a fuzz bass and drums jam, but went far beyond that, as it should.
Peter suggested the title, which then inspired my poem.
Not sure what movie this would be a soundtrack for, but I'd like to see it.
Yeah! - some Apocalypse Now, something by Kenneth Anger, and Stan Brakhage?
We can hope, Kenneth Anger Goes To War.
Space birds and Hendrix return.
Birds are often in my tracks now - they're very welcome too - and Jimi is pervasive - what is particularly Jimi about the sounds here [I'm interested, as I want to savour the influence!]?
The cleanish guitar chords covered by weird - it's the old AYE lesson plan
Ghosts of Hendrix in an electronic blender.
good unwinding
Again, that is Peter's influence, he does attack guitar, but also rhapsodic latinate guitar which kind of unfolds, so I structured the peice around those to opposed approaches
I like a good duet
This shouldn't have worked - the blast of that shrapnel guitar should drown out everything else, especially a woman tone. But there is such relief to that Les Paul woman tone that it actually sits on top of the shrapnel sound - one of the successes of this track which is choc full sonically
oh that is some fierce single coiling in my left ear!
This is Peter's sound - it is real shrapnel stuff - only a few players can get that - it's not down to equipment really, it's mainly to do with the hands - both hands - the attack, the pressure
KRRRaaaaaK!
I had to put some explosions in here - it could be the gear blowing up [blown up a few amps in the past] as well as the sound of the god entering - this peice depicts the kind of pagan mysteries which mostly took place in caves and no doubt used such pyrotechnics. It takes a while for the equipment to readjust after the blast, and it makes Peter's guitar slice through the bollowing smoke and sparks - and a few corpses, no doubt
I've forgotten, are you mic-ing an amp, or working "in the box"? Sounds tremendous either way.
The Les Paul is 'in the box' here, but a particularly effective pre-amp combination I've just discovered which really brings out the sound of whatever guitar I might be using - it even sounds like it might be mic'ed, it's that open. I've just be trying my Squire Strat though it on another WIP and it sounds really good.
They're circling.
That's sometimes the nature of improvisation, it probes, and draws in, drawing in other sounds, collectively.
I am happy to be a part of your music, it's like slow walking through wonderland, it brinks me many steps more deep to catch your work, even "see my guitar playing" from other space :-) ... i like it more and more each listening ... compositions is coming closer&closer
Yes - the parts have their own lives, and the latch on to each other, grow - it is almost like cooking. That's why Captain Beefheart called some of his instrumental pieces 'Pies'! This one is like a pie - there's the various crusts, and the inner substances, and then there's the process of making the pie, and then of coooking the pie - and even after it is cooked, it still continues to sizzle and interact with itself - and then there is the eating the digesting, and then the ... we won't go there ... but this is immortal pie [that would have been another title], like the pie at the Mysteries, eaten bt the devotees ... and I am a devotee of the god, sound
lyrics
Around Mysteries
Seeking Freedom unknown,
Around Mysteries,
Intangible, sensory Invisibilities.
Sounds like powdered smoke
Filter through,
Then crash, reek
And explode, as the god
Enters.
Antlers high,
Streaked in dry blood,
Androgynous.
Look where we worship,
At the veined, ivory feet,
Cold
And impious.
credits
from Amongst Wolves,
released March 12, 2017
Bill Boethius, guitar, bass and drums
Peter Novak, guitar
