Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Dream Theater: Tuvan throat singing

Tuvan throat singing.  Are you NUTS?  Give me the old time Rock and Roll.  You know, the tired and repetitive Bob Seeger and the rest of rusting Classic Rock.  Not from this venue.

We will always seek to be pleasantly surprised.  Not by rebellious crap, but by just plain great new music.  The surprise in the latest DT effort in the previous post is Tuvan throat singing by Jordan Rudess at the beginning of "Bridges in the Sky."  WTF.  Is is NOT Lady Gaga singing to Bill Clinton.  Southern Siberian origin.
JA

Tuvan throat singing

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The Alash Ensemble
Tuvan throat singing is one particular variant of overtone singing practiced by the Tuva people of southern Siberia.
The art of Tuvan throat singing is a style in which one or more pitches sound simultaneously over a fundamental pitch, producing a unique sound. The history of Tuvan throat singing reaches very far back. Many of the male herders can throat sing, but women are beginning to practice the technique as well. The popularity of throat singing among Tuvans seems to have arisen as a result of geographic location and culture. The open landscape of Tuva allows for the sounds to carry a great distance. Ethnomusicologists studying throat singing in these areas mark khoomei as an integral part in the ancient pastoral animism that is still practiced today. Often, singers will travel far into the countryside looking for the right river, or will go up to the steppes of the mountainside to create the proper environment for throat-singing.[1]
The animistic world view of this region identifies the spirituality of objects in nature, not just in their shape or location, but in their sound as well.[2] Thus, human mimicry of nature's sounds is seen as the root of throat singing. (An example is the Mongolian story of the waterfall above the Buyan Gol (Deer River), where mysterious harmonic sounds are said to have attracted deer to bask in the waters, and where it is said harmonic sounds were first revealed to people.)[citation needed] Indeed, the cultures in this part of Asia have developed many instruments and techniques to mimic the sounds of animals, wind, and water.[citation needed] While the cultures of this region share throat singing, their styles vary in breadth of development.
It is simply the harmonized sounds that they are able to produce from deep within their throats.[3] Ordinarily, melodies are created by isolating the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 12th partial in accordance with the harmonic series (if fundamental frequency were C3, the overtones would be: G5, B♭5, C6, D6, E6, G6). The base pitch is typically around a G below Middle C.
The people of Tuva have a wide range of throat singing vocalizations, and were the pioneers of six pitch harmonics.[4] There are several different classification schemes for Tuvan throat singing. In one, the three basic styles are khoomei, kargyraa and sygyt, while the sub-styles include borbangnadyr, chylandyk, dumchuktaar, ezengileer and kanzyp. In another, there are five basic styles: khoomei, sygyt, kargyraa, borbangnadyr and ezengileer. The substyles include chylandyk, despeng borbang, opei khoomei, buga khoomei, kanzyp, khovu kargyraazy, kozhagar kargyraazy, dag kargyraazy, Oidupaa kargyraazy, uyangylaar, damyraktaar, kishteer, serlennedyr and byrlannadyr.[5] These schemes all use Tuvan terminology.

CD REVIEW: Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events (Audio CD)

Hiroshi saw them last week at the Beacon in Manhattan.  As usual, they brought the house down.  There are some pockets of life / music / the economy that can do no wrong.  Dream Theater of course is the Progressive Metal Band, around for 25 years now that gets it influence from the Beatles, Kansas, Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Marillion and Metallica.  They sound like none of them.

For a soft and accessible way to dip your toe in the DT water, go to iTunes and check out "Beneath the Surface" and "Far from Heaven,"  these 90 second sample cuts will get you lathered up.  Put on your seatbelt for the rest.  This is not simple twang-twang country music.  It rivals classical for complexity, endurance and imagination.   Accordingly, YOU WILL NEVER HEAR THEM ON THE RADIO.  Yes, I think this is the best DT album since Octavarium. 
JA


FROM AMAZON:
         108 of 117 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Reaches high, almost gets there, September 13, 2011
This review is from: A Dramatic Turn of Events (Audio CD)
The first Dream Theater album without founding member and original drummer Mike Portnoy, A Dramatic Turn of Events will certainly continue to divide the fans, especially those that are extremely upset or pleased by Portnoy's departure. Without getting into that debate, I will just mention that the sound achieved on the album is still unmistakeably Dream Theater with a few minor differences.

The album has a great flow to it. The songs are tied together organically exuding some of their freshest ideas in a while. Jordan Rudess, in particular, expands the songs' chordal parameters and no longer strictly functions as Petrucci's shadow, coming to the fore prominently both during the choruses and solo passages. He also avoids using his more eclectic synth patches and tones as he plays to the strength of the compositions. Of course, he is integral in the unison leads of tracks like "Bridges in the Sky" and "Outcry," both of which exceed the ten-minute mark. Rudess also showcases his experimental side: the Tuvan throat singing at the beginning and end of "Bridges in the Sky" is obviously sampled from Omnisphere as are the gothic-like cathedral-sized 'choirs' and string arrangements.

Having recorded the vocals on his own in Canada, James Labrie adds his sonic imprint to some of the tunes much the same way he does on his solo material. Two of the album's ballads, "This is the Life" and "Far from Heaven," both boast majestic piano lines and great melodic segments. There is none of his more aggressive vocalizations present on this disc, though he still exploits his darker tones, as witnessed during the intro of "Lost Not Forgotten," arguably his finest moment on the album. Instead of screaming, he builds tension over several notes. This track also eerily recalls the band's majestic track "Under a Glass Moon," not in terms of melody construction but arrangement. The band adopts a similar approach to developing the piece using plenty of harmonized fretwork atop a powerful theme introduced in the beginning of the song, which climbs throughout the whole piece until the finale.

John Petrucci's playing is surprisingly restrained apart from the whacky instrumental sections the band is known for. Even then, though, his playing takes on a dreamlike quality. Penned by John Myung, "Breaking All Illusions" is possibly his most emotionally draining guitar solo since the reworked "Hollow Years" version. It builds slowly, but has a defined purpose and melodic weight to it at the same time. It seems almost improvised, but due to its climax, also painstakingly composed and well arranged. Petrucci's tone here has more definition which heightens the scope a notch, obviously. Simply wonderful.

Some may argue that, because Mike Portnoy is out of the band, John Myung's tone is audible and the most central aspect of the album. Well, that assessment cannot be further from the truth. Myung still plays much the way he has on the past releases. Apart from the obvious bass lines here and there (check the album opener or "Outcry"), he still utilizes deep bass notes rather than extraneous, protruding lines, and this is for a reason. His bass sits in the back in order to create a deeper guitar sound. Petrucci's tone is heavier because of the bass. Myung's playing has never really been about standing out, not since Falling into Infinity at least. They choose to play in each other's sound in order to create a unique sound, just like flutes and oboes, or violins and violas in an orchestra, play unisons without worrying about "standing out" in the composition. Myung's role within the song is all about establishing additional portals for a tighter rhythmic flow, and he achieves this feat perfectly.

Because he joined the band after the songwriting process, new drummer Mike Mangini is given little room to demonstrate his full talents as a drummer. Gone are Portnoy's in-your-face drum parts that dominate a typical Dream Theater album, and this will undoubtedly please or disappoint fans depending on their preferences. As much as Mangini is to be commended for his technical prowess and skill, the drums are mixed too low in the mix and lack some of the additional flair the songs could benefit from. It would have been great if Mangini had created more extreme dynamics within a groove and accentuated the compositions, but he performs more like a session player replicating the intricate lines both rhythmically and melodically. Rather than directing, he is supporting the melodies. His beat construct is pretty standard, which stems from him coming aboard in the last minute. I look forward to the next album with Mangini behind the kit to see how he'll contribute to the band's music.

Personally, I feel the mix by Andy Wallace is not the band's best. I don't know how much of that can be attributed to Wallace's not having worked with a progressive metal band before (he is known for his work with modern bands like Atreyu, Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, System of a Down, etc.) and I don't understand why the band chose to bring in Wallace when long-time producer Paul Northfield was already available. Also, some songs are mastered too loudly which was not the case on prior Dream Theater albums. Finally, the second track, "Build Me Up, Break Me Down" is atrocious; it is one of the worst Dream Theater songs I have heard. I don't think the blend of industrial sounds, modern-day guitar riffs, gothic-like synths, and Labrie's 'catchy' vocal part works. The band obviously has had other radio-friendly songs in the past, but tracks like "Wither" and "Forsaken" are light years better than this one.

Without doubt, many reviewers will proclaim this album their best since whatever album they like the most, but these claims will always be debatable, as everything is in the ear of the beholder at the end of the day, and Dream Theater certainly has some of the most "demanding" fans on the planet.       

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Sunday, October 16, 2011

FUN STUFF: THE DARK - HALLOWEEN HORROR AUDIO

JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!

THE DARK is the SCARIEST thing I have ever heard.  Yes it is a video, but they have been dubbed in spooky, but unrelated photos so the audio invades your imagination.  Best just to listen or play at a Halloween party.  

This is the famous episode, "The Dark," from Arch Oboler's horror radio program, "Lights Out."  You will never again look at rubber gloves the same way.

Viewer / listener discretion advised!


JA


Sunday, October 2, 2011

REPEAT: Mirrorball

Repeats are sometimes appropriate.  Sarah McLachlan's Mirrorball is
worth a revisit.

There are some DVD's in the collection that keep rising to the top.  This is one.  

Sarah's ability to put emotion to lyric to music is an extraordinary one and when combined with Sean Ashby's guitar produces a world class performance.  Buy it.
JA