Music Mondays - Noam Faingold + TRQ
Come check out TRQ with special guest Noam Faingold this Wednesday at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center
Happy Monday!
I hope nobody was too offended that I took Memorial Day weekend off from blogging and escaped to the mountains with my family. It was a much-needed vacation with (conveniently) poor cell phone reception and Wifi connection. What a welcome break from the daily grind!
photo by Andrew Fassbender
Anyways, I'm back now, and I hit the ground running! This week Music Mondays is a shameless plug for TRQ's 'Brown Bag It' concert at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, this Wednesday at 12:10 pm. For more details check the website at http://tulsapac.com/
This concert will be full of Rock 'n' Roll classics arranged for string quartet. Noam Faingold will also be joining us to perform two of his songs, recorded by his band Burning City Orchestra (BCO), and arranged for string quartet.
Here's a little something about BCO (from their website www.burningcityorchestra.com)
We take orchestral rock song-writing where it's been a long time coming. Praised by Anoushka Shankar for our “gorgeous” strings and “wonderful” lyrics (BBC), Burning City Orchestra celebrates traditional chamber music-style intimacy, while incorporating powerful rock, jazz, and punk influences. BCO is run by composer & singer/songwriter Noam Faingold whose “lyrical” (New York Times) music has been called “A tour de force of Jazz melded with classical,” (Downbeat Magazine), and an “outside-the-box perspective” (Dennis Cook).
WHO
BCO is comprised of renowned contemporary musicians including members of The Royal Ballet Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, The American Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, and the Bang on a Can festival. Members of BCO can be seen performing at venues ranging from The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, to Le Poisson Rouge NYC and The Stone. Our collaborators are among the most accomplished artists and ensembles in NYC and London's contemporary music scenes.
Below is one of the songs we will play on Wednesday.
Enjoy and we hope to see you there!
Music Mondays - monolux
This week, I present Kurami by Monolux for Music Monday. I'm very honored to have contributed (minimally) to this project. Can you hear the violin drones on Janvier? Enjoy!
Happy Monday!
On Sunday, I found out that a musical project that I had contributed some violin playing to, was finally finished and avialable to the public.
Last Spring, I recorded some long tones and drones in Tulsa and sent them to monolux (aka Erik Appelwick and Matt Kretzman) in Minneapolis to use in their musical creations. I popped off the tracks via email, then sat back and waited to hear how they were put to use. Sometimes I love technology.
The album, Kurami, is finally available for purchase and streaming and it is my pleasure to share it here. http://www.monolux-usa.com/#new-album-section
The drones I recorded are used in the track Janvier (#4 on the album).
You can also hear/watch their first album below:
Welcome to my yoga practice playlist for the next several months! This album makes you loose track of time. There is no tension, just space. I'm into it - It feels like a musical vacation from stress, and mania, and the daily grind. In fact, the band's description says:
Sublime sonic meditations. Your soundtrack to another dimension.
Enjoy!
Music Mondays - Me and My Arrow
A trip down memory lane this week. Enjoy the sounds of Me and My Arrow!
This week I pay tribute to a band I used to play with in Minneapolis before moving to Oklahoma: Me and My Arrow.
Several years ago, when I lived in the Twin Cities, I dabbled in non-classical music - Scandalous, I know! I made so many dear friends, went on some crazy (awesome) tours, played some wild shows, and collaborated with so many respected musicians during that time, it is a real cherry on top of my classical music education.
One of the bands I regularly played with was Me and My Arrow (MAMA). They were super fun! When I joined the band, it was like a traveling circus; There were strings, drums, guitars, keyboards, trumpet sometimes, and vocalists galore. I think at its very largest, MAMA had 12 band members. I don't really remember exactly how we got ourselves to gigs. I know we couldn't fit all of those people and equipment in one van! I tagged along with them to SXSW a few times after I moved to Oklahoma (I mean, it is literally on the way), played massive block parties with 10,000+ attendees, and recorded a few tracks for one of their EPs.
At the 2011 Pizza Lucé Block Party, Minneapolis
Recently, I have been working on a few new tracks created by former MAMA front man, Jacob Grun. Jacob and I have always been dear friends, but after his move to Los Angeles several years ago, we fell out of touch. It is so awesome to be collaborating again! I've been listening to the new tracks on repeat, trying to figure out the violin parts and to gather inspiration I went back and visited some of MAMA's music.
Even though I didn't record for them, the last few tracks MAMA recorded and released are some of my favorite jams, and I did get to perform them live several times. They get stuck in my head, and I find myself dancing around singing the lyrics on repeat. The band has since disbanded, but it was always a good time, with some very talented people. I have so many memories of these people and this music - I just had to share the music with you!
