I CAN HEAR TRUMPETS (2023) ALBUM NOTES
Thank you very much for listening.
I am so happy to present my new album to you!
As usual I play all the instruments myself and the tracks are recorded in overdub, one track at a time. All songs are my originals.
Below is a song to song description of the album and some more technical details.
01 Call it Love
A song with a relaxed feel and campfire atmosphere. I used a harmonica sound for the melodies in the first half and my signature electric guitar tone (with the atmospheric sound effect) in the second half. Hope you like it.
02 A Dream
This song was initially called Classical Dream because the chord progression reminds me of classical music (I may not be correct with this assumption hence I dropped the word "classical"). It also uses my signature atmospheric guitar sound and I especially like the long easy to follow melody lines.
03 I Can Hear Trumpets
I am a big Miles fan (of course) and recently discovered the work of the German trumpeter Nils Wuelker (check him out!!). At the same time I ran across a trumpet sound software called SWAM and used it along with a Midi breath controller via my Midi guitar. This short piece features trumpet, bass and synth and is an harmonic exploration in a somewhat unusual fashion.
04 Fusion Bound
This tune was inspired by a vintage instructional video with Robben Ford. He talked about (and demonstrated) his experience with Miles Davis and it sparked the idea for this chord progression. Once I laid the chord tacks down, the melody (played by the trumpet and bass) emerged. I really like how the saxophone solo turned out (played on Midi guitar as well). The guitar solo is played with my fat Johnson Archtop with Benedetto humbuckers.
05 NOW!
This tune is actually a merger of 2 individual chord progressions that happened to be in similar tempo and feel. The interesting thing is that the melody for one progression fits almost perfectly over the other one, with only a few little changes needed. The original progression was inspired by Grunge music. I especially like the rhythmical offset between chords and melody. About half the song uses a baritone guitar. Flugelhorn and trumpet are also used here.
06 Lost in Nothingness
This is an Improvisation with a solid body Godin Classical guitar with Midi capability. I used my vintage M1 sound module and tried something very different. The idea was to NOT use my usual patterns but choose different notes, different intervals or use an unexpected rhythmic option. It is actually one of my favorite pieces on the album!
07 The Present
This piece is based upon a chord progression which has a particular melodic "hook" line in it that occurs once in each repetition of the chord progression. The trick was to play the guitar solo melody lines over this part seamlessly and with some variations every time.
08 Roosa
This song is kind of inspired by the guitar sound of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. And of course by the great reverb in my Eventide H9. There is a 12 string (Fender Strat) and some synth pads in it as well. Just a relatively short "sound and feel" piece.
09 Positive
This is the first of 2 faster pieces, it is a bit different than the other songs. Very straightforward, more like material for a single (I guess...). Snappy, lively and mostly in major... definitely positive.
10 Bells and Whistles
Another faster and quite dense piece, with partially palm muted guitar lines repeated throughout the entire song and a lot of key changes. Also with Flugelhorn and Trumpet. The guitar solo is played with some room to take a breath, just like you would on a wind instrument.
11 Bubbles
This is a somewhat experimental sound piece. Based on a simple melody riff played on an Indian "Shrinivas" 5 string mandolin. There are random melody lines and sounds occurring with no particular order. Just like bubbles. At the end it calms down a bit. It is supposed to relax you a little after the 2 faster songs, hope it does the trick.
12 Blue Minor
This is a blues scheme in minor mode. We did something similar in the Munju days 45 years ago with "feel so blue without you". The guitar solo starts with a long quiet and soulful stretch and builds from there.
13 For Bob
My good friend Bob Gross lost his battle against cancer. A week before his passing he wanted me to have his guitar collection (and his cat). The recording was done with his guitars but I was unfortunately one day late to present it to him. His family appreciated it very much. The guitars I used are a Martin DM acoustic, a parts-caster Strat modeled after a SRV Strat, and a Gibson Les Paul Junior (with coil split). May he rest in peace.
Guitars used on the album:
Custom build Sustainiac with scalloped neck and Virtual Jeff tremolo system, Framus Diablo Custom, Gibson Les Paul Standard, Fender Deluxe Custom Strat, Arbor Les Paul with Midi, Ibanez JEM Steve Vai MIJ, Fender MIJ Telecaster, Hagstrom Viking Baritone, Godin ACS nylon with Midi, Fender 12 string Stratocaster, Gibson ES 335, Fender Rarities Thinline Stratocaster HSS, Gibson Les Paul Junior, Parts-Caster Strat SRV type, Martin DM with K&K Pure Mini, Johnson Jazz Archtop with Benedetto humbuckers, EMG half size guitar (tuned up to A).
Other instruments and gear I used:
Carvin LB75 5-string bass, Fender Highway1 Jazz Bass, Ibanez Bass with Bartolini pickups, Shrinivas 5 string mandolin, Yamaha mox6 keyboard, Fishman Tripleplay Midi system, Roland Guitar Midi system, SWAM Trumpets, vintage Korg M1 sound module.
Guitar signal chain:
Guitar- Eventide H9 - K&K Pure XLR preamp - into:
A) Fractal Audio Fm3 with another Eventide H9 through send/return.
or:
B) VOX ToneLab, Eventide Timefactor, -Pitchfactor, -Modfactor
into: Seck analog console, Boss and TC Electronic Reverbs, Roland A-D Interface - PC - Cakewalk Sonar Producer
As usual I record all my tracks with the effects you hear on the recording in real time. At remix I only add EQ and compression if necessary and maybe some delay.
I appreciate you listening to my music more than you think!
All the best, Dietri
(Cover image by Darren Sherley)