tapping into it (2017) ALBUM NOTES
This album is dedicated to SPACE, and all the philosophy, questions, facts and fiction attached to it.
Apollo 13: A kind of “dangerous” piece, that’s why I choose to name it after this particular moon mission. I especially like the acoustic guitar solo that starts relatively empty (...space) and builds from there.
Dak ‘de Kumm ‘di Kumm Dak: This tune is based upon a variation of a theme written by my old friend and bass player Wolfgang Salomon. The rhythmical vocal part constantly turns around. First it is “Dak De Kumm”, then it is “Di Kumm Dak”. Pretty unconventional use of vocals I guess, I hope you approve.
New Horizons: The space probe “New Horizons” lifted off in 2006 on its mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. The piano-size spacecraft sped away from the Earth at a blistering pace of 36,000 mph (58,000 km/h), passed the moon orbit in just 9 hours and reached Jupiter in 13 months.
The Code: I saw a documentary about the history of sound and music. They said that in the early times of humanity only octaves and fifth were considered harmonic intervals, later they included the 3rds and fourth as harmonic intervals also. This tune is based on this concept. If you try to follow the (distorted) guitar that you hear at the very beginning of the song, you will hear what I am talking about.
Spirit of St. Louis: I think the theme of this song has kind of an Irish feel to it, so I thought of Charles Lindbergh’s first Trans- Atlantic-Flight with the Spirit of St. Louis. How ecstatic he must have been when he made out Ireland after he crossed the Atlantic! A truly remarkable feat!
Beam me up Scott: An electric bass tune. First track was the bass cords then in overdub an improvised bass melody part and later I added some guitar chords. It is dedicated to scottsbasslessons.com, the best instructional website for bass players! It also functions as the prelude for the next song.
Milky Way: Here is a prime example of how inspired I got by my new keyboard, it is really fun to play guitar to this kind of accompaniment! It keeps spinning round and round, just like our galaxy.
Catzi Ridiculi: This is a little tune that Rafi, my cat, seemed to enjoy a lot. When I practiced it he always relaxed, closed his eyes and dozed off.
Aldebaran: This one is another example of the “emptiness (...space)” factor I was experimenting with. I love this tune. It started with the bass line, then the guitar, and then the little fill sounds by the keyboard.
Pleiades: We did an update on our K&K Banjo Twin Pickup recently and I installed one in my 6-string banjo. The sound inspired me instantly and I pressed the record button and recorded this improvisation. Totally free, no prior concept or anything. Then I added some keyboard chords. I also love this tune.
For Both of Us: This one was a lot of work. I recorded it mainly with a Gretsch Electromatic archtop guitar (except the guitar solo) that I just had purchased. There are some saxophone lines that I played with my Midi guitar. The song alternates between half-time and double-time parts. From kind-of-melancholic, to kind-of-happy, hence the name.
Alpha Centauri: The first half of this tune is based upon a keyboard accompaniment; the second half does not have any keyboard in it. The song is actually a combination of two ideas that developed independently and I brought them together later. The predominant guitar line and the timing are the common links for both parts so they fit together quite well.