One
Various Artists
www.realmusic.com
It’s a sonic backdrop, you can pay attention if you want to, let it wash over you as you trance out – whatever you do, it lays itself under your feet like a plush carpet. One, from Real Music, is there for people who are tired of pressing play when their favorite song comes to an end. It’s one track hitting about 66 minutes. Ding! A Turkish cymbal begins, then the comforting buzz of a tambura, and over that intertwines tabla, cello, harp, oboe & English horn, alto & bass flutes, keyboards, percussion, and The Angels Choir of Maui.
While the tambura puts in an Indian flavor, and much of it has an Indian feel, it’s not really “Indian” music. It’s over an hour of what sounds like a planned improvisation; everyone knows pretty much what they’re going to do, and blends seamlessly into the tapestry. No one modulates, that would ruin the effect. Sounds to me like a major scale with a flat seventh, a lot of the dreaminess comes from hanging on the 2nd or 7th step of the scale, eventually going up or down. Nobody really lets loose with a solo; this is teamwork.
I doubt this would have worked before modern mixing technology. A bunch of guys playing with a tape recorder would have gone bonkers trying to get it right for all 66 minutes. Anyway it’s pretty cool. If you’re doing an hour long massage, or you’re like me and have to write stories about decking stain, it gives you a good background to go on. Maybe at times, this is what silence should sound like.
If they do this again, it’d be cool to break it up into tracks, even with no break between them, so you can start where you leave off. Musicians include Bruce Becvar, Daniel Paul, Ginny Morgan, Jazlyn Woods, Jahn Zangrando, and Mark Ciaburri.
Click here to return to Reviews Archives
