The Sound Gathering Recordings

(Update 9/15/09: I have now placed an audio file player directly on this website/blog with my recordings, so you'll be able to find everything right here.)

I have now added a link to the right of this post, titled TSG Recordings @ Wellness thru Sound & Music (or click text), with past recordings made at a The Sound Gathering sound & drumming circle. Some/many of you were present during this recording in 2002, at the Illuminations bookstore, in Westford, MA, USA. I also uploaded one of my music pieces, titled "Serenity", for your enjoyment.

The Wellness through Sound & Music is part of the Healing Music Organization, & now they have this website as a social/networking site. It allows me to upload many more audio files, & much larger, than let's say MySpace, so I'll be using each for slightly different purposes. Watch out for more music postings.

Blessings,

Eduardo

Fostering Creativity: The MacDowell Colony

I had the opportunity to attend the MacDowell Colony’s Medal Day & Open House this past Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008. It was an amazing opportunity as the MacDowell Colony is only open to the general public once a year, including the artists’ studios. The colony, which resides in Peterborough, NH, is an artist colony, where artists from various disciplines, & from all over the world, apply for residencies of between three to eight weeks in length. Financial assistance is even offered to those that couldn’t otherwise attend.

This was a serendipitous day trip for me, as I engage often in thinking & researching creativity, & what fosters it, in my own music & artwork, as well as the work of others. I have noticed that creativity cannot be “forced” to happen, but there are certain elements that can foster it: time, space, financial means, an emotionally nurturing environment, amongst others.

The elimination of distractions is another element. I visited around 15 artist studios on Sunday, & invariably heard often that one of the biggest advantages of being in the colony was the elimination of such time wasters as TV, & access to the internet. The residents do have access to the Internet in the main hall, but not in the studios themselves. I for one, have notice this in my own creative life, where having internet access is a blessing, if used effectively, or a potential timewaster if used unchecked (endless email anyone? :-).

Another interesting fact about the colony is that its tax-exempt, non-profit status was legally challenged a couple of years ago by the Peterborough Board of Selectmen (local town government), looking to collect property taxes from the colony. The high court system as well as the New Hampshire Supreme Court sided with the colony, stating that their work of offering artists residencies was of benefit to the local society, as well as society in general. Indeed, art is essential to our society’s well being, they stated. The residents often end up working/playing with local residents & organizations, exposing them to the various aspects of their art, & even performances.

My focus was of course the studios of the various composers presently at the colony. Of note, Michael Klingbeil had also created some custom computer software to analyze & modify recorded sounds, called “Spear”, which I found very interesting & have started using. Michael offers the software as a free download. Thanks Michael! Download directly from Michael’s website.

Blessings,

Eduardo

The Sound Gathering @ Circles of Wisdom, Andover, MA, USA

We now have a permanent sound/drumming circle location for The Sound Gathering! It is @ the Circles of Wisdom Bookstore, in Andover, MA, USA, the 2nd Sunday of each month, 7-9 PM, starting on September 14th, 2008. This came about in a truly amazing way. Right after I sent my original message to the group, I also asked Sarah Fletcher (Westford, MA) to please forward it to her healing mailing list, which she did. Well, that same day, Cathy Levine, owner of Circles of Wisdom, had sent me an email, I visited her wonderful space the next day, & we agreed harmoniously to all the details on the spot! Synchronicity at its best! Besides providing us with a wonderful & spacious room, Circles of Wisdom also has a large mailing list for Mass., as well as New Hampshire, so we can benefit with additional participants & visibility. So thanks to Sarah & Cathy for helping co-create our sound gatherings. Please visit this link to the Circles of Wisdom for additional details. There will also be a The Sound Gathering circle ceremony on November 30th, at 4PM, to close the open house (pun intended :-) for Circles of Wisdom (well, all good events must come to an end too ;-). Join us during the day if you can, & you can learn about all the other wonderful events & resources they provide!

Blessings,

Eduardo

World Music: A Steady Diet

Welcome to this installment of my blog. I thought to share some world music I have been listening to lately. First, what is "world music?" I believe all music is world music, as in we are all one. But the more common definition can be handy when referring to music from other parts of the world besides the United States. Well, I find inspiration pretty much everywhere, including listening to world music, both familiar & unfamiliar. The dilemma we have here is that we can be somewhat insulated sometimes, while the rest of the world is indeed singing! To that effect, I recently embarked on listening to various sources of world music, both live & prerecorded.

- National Geographic Channel's Nat Geo Music Series: I found by coincidence this world music TV program while keeping company to my recently adopted feral cat (my fourth, but that is another blog altogether, maybe ;-) very late one night. By the way, a little Animal Planet & National Geographic channel TV time has been a great way to get my feral cat, Baraka, used to both animal sounds & sounds you’d find in a home (because of the commercials). Here in New Hampshire where I live we have Comcast, & one of their cable TV channel lineups includes the National Geographic Channel. Basically, it is a series of music videos from around the world, but that you’d probably not see on MTV, or elsewhere. Some of the videos are composites of different world locations, for the ultimate armchair travel experience, that is if you can stay in your chair & not dance. Check your cable or satellite TV listings in your area. In mine the series is on for 3 hours, between 3A.M. to 6A.M., so thank you DVR :-) (Digital Video Recorder, or TiVo, if that is what you use). The whole National Geographic World Music Home webpage is full of free features, videos & audio, as well as the Nat Geo Music TV webpage. Follow this link I also found on the Nat Geo website for a very interesting idea on how to finance your next music or CD project.

- A second source of world music for me lately has been the excellent UK magazine Songlines(click on link to subscribe). Each issue includes a compilation CD with tracks from various different world musicians & CDs. Subscribing to the magazine is like buying the compilation CDs & getting the magazine for free! It is a great way to listen & then decide if/which CDs to independently buy.

And for my favorite, live music:
- The Nashua Public Library has a Bach Lunch Concert Series on Wednesdays at noon, & the Summer Concert on the Plaza Series on Thursday evenings (click here for calendar). Neither focuses exclusively on world music, even though they have plenty of it. Here I was just introduced to the fascinating & beautiful music of 35th Parallel (Mac Ritchey & Gabe Halberg), described by the Nashua Public Library website as: "Take a musical journey through the Middle East, North India, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. Gabe Halberg and Mac Ritchey play instruments ranging from the Middle Eastern oud to the Indian tabla, from tar and jaw harp to bouzouki and didgeridoo." I’d add that they play both original compositions as well as traditional songs, with a strong emphasis on hand percussion. Quite a treat. You can purchase their Green Vine or Crossing Painted Islands albums (CDs here, mp3 downloads here). Make sure you visit their informative website too, at 35th Parallel.


- Lowell Folk Festival: Free, huge, full of ethnic music, food & fun! Do I need to say anything else? ;-) This festival just passed, so mark your calendars for the last full weekend in July of 2009 for the next installment. This year highlights included the Dance Pavillion (highlighting Puerto Plata, 85 years young! & his latin music group), with its various dance music acts, Balla Kouyaté (virtuoso player of an ancient instrument called the balafon, the West African ancestor of the marimba, the xylophone, the vibes, and a host of related instruments), Helder Moutinho (Portuguese fado male singer - a rarity for fado, since most are females), Pilon Batuku (Cape Verdean funana), & many more.

Hope you enjoy a dash of world music in your music diet, to liven things up!

Blessings,

Eduardo