DJ Spooky + Sussan Deyhim = Azadi (The New Complexity)

My friend Sussan Deyhim (also featured soloist on my upcoming album) just released a track with DJ Spooky. Check it out!

Dj Spooky + Sussan Deyhim: Azadi (The New Complexity) by Dj Spooky

Hui-a: Maori Fusion Music

My Maori friends Hui-a (made up of Jerome Kavanagh and Ben Mullon) have released their debut EP, Got To Live. Both artists are of Maori ancestry, and I had the good fortune to work with them in December of 2007, during my recording sessions at Abbey Road. They perform a haka and whakorero on the final track of my album, a Maori song called 'Kia Hora Te Marino'.

Also guesting on the EP is the singer Kevin Mark Trail of The Streets. The album's a great blend of traditional Maori chants and instruments, accompanied by contemporary beats. Anyone who's a fan of traditional music blended with modern instrumentation ought to give it a listen.

I quite like the title track 'Got To Live' myself. I think it would make great late-night driving music for the Los Angeles highways. It's amazing how some of those Taonga Puoro sound like wolf howls.

On Ensemble: Ume In The Middle

My friends the On Ensemble have released another album, called Ume In The Middle. It's pretty fantastic work. The On Ensemble is a neo-taiko (or taiko fusion, if you will) ensemble; they blend traditional Japanese taiko drumming with electronic beats, turntables, beat-boxing, Tuvan throat singing, and other fantastic sonic tricks.

Ordinarily taiko drumming suffers when translated to audio format. It's a very visual art form; almost a blend of martial arts and percussion. The On Ensemble overcomes this problem by compensating with some really cutting-edge record production. The guy behind the production in this case is my friend Shoji Kameda, or Kametron as he's known in liner notes.

You'll also get a chance to hear the On Ensemble on my album. They lay down taiko tracks on a number of songs, and are featured prominently in my Japanese song, Mado Kara Mieru.

Really quality stuff. Give it a listen!

Cornelius: Wataridori

My director friend Jon Goldman and I got another chance to catch one of our favorite artists at the Disney Concert Hall last week: Cornelius. It was a great show, *despite* the acoustics of the concert hall...and what I mean by that is, while DCH is no doubt a gloriously rich and reverberant space, the sound tends to favor a blended, warm sound that benefits a symphony orchestra; whereas Cornelius' music relies on tight, rhythmic interplay between instruments that is better suited toward a drier space.

Nevertheless, it was thrilling, and we were both excited to see his drummer again...a tiny Japanese woman who goes by the name of Mi-Gu, but who sounded like the second coming of John Bonham. We're both amazed by the way she's able to internalize Cornelius' complex drum parts (especially on Fit Song), and she drew a standing ovation from our mutual drummer friend Andy Featherston. (Side note: Andy, again, my apologies for not calling you back two years ago!!!)

Here's another track by Cornelius, entitled Wataridori. He uses delay (music jargon for 'echo') to great effect in this one.