The duo that our dear friend Josh Varnedore is in, Amman/Josh, released their debut this week (an EP called "Places"), and it's wonderful. We played on the album's last song (our first of several collaborations to come in 2010).
Creative Process...
John Daido Loori Roshi (June 14, 1931 - October 9, 2009)
Last year we lost John Daido Loori Roshi. I mention him mainly because of his book, The Zen of Creativity. This book had a profound impact on my creative life at a time when I needed a new direction. Although I am not a Buddhist, this book opened up a broader creative space for me to live in. I owe him so much and can give him nothing.
"Each artist expresses through art his unique way of experiencing life. This is the essence of creation. Through our art we bring into existence something that did not previously exist. We enlarge the universe." JOHN DAIDO LOORI
"If I was asked to get rid of the Zen aesthetic and just keep one quality necessary to create art, I would say it's trust. When you learn to trust yourself implicitly, you no longer need to prove something through your art. You simply allow it to come out, to be as it is. This is when creating art becomes effortless. It happens just as you grow your hair. It grows." JOHN DAIDO LOORI
"The time for editing is later. The time for uninhibited flow of expression is now." JOHN DAIDO LOORI
"Where the original expression was purely creative, editing is at once creative and critical. By cutting away the extra, we get closer to the essence of what we intended to convey." JOHN DAIDO LOORI
In the depths of stillness all words melt away, clouds disperse and it vividly appears before you. JOHN DAIDO LOORI
peace, marc
Favorite 30 of 2009 (no particular order)
Last Days--The Safety of the North William Basinski--Vivian and Ondine William Basinski--92982 Tim Hecker--An Imaginary Country Olafur Arnalds--Dyad 1909 Danny Norbury--Light in August Jonsi and Alex--Riceboy Sleeps Simon Scott--Navigare Gregory Alan Isakov--This Empty Northern Hemisphere Peter Broderick/Machinefabriek--Blank Grey Canvas Sky Phoenix--Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Taylor Deupree--Weather and Worn TU M'--Monochromes Vol.1 Clint Mansell--Moon Heather Woods Broderick--From the Ground the Sight Below--Glider Matthew Ryan--Dear Lover Rhian Sheehan--Standing In Silence Hildur Gudnadottir--Without Sinking Pillow Diver--Sleeping Pills the Church--Untitled #23 Pan American--White Bird Release Sparklehorse/Fennesz--In the Fishtank 15 White Lies--To Lose My Life Kevin Drumm--Imperial Horizon Greg Kowalsky--Tape Chants the Raveonettes--In and Out of Control Mark Kozelek--Lost Verses Live Elegi--Varde Pop Ambient--2009
Album Update.
Sorry for the lack of posts about the upcoming album. We've been working really hard on it this whole time, thinking that we'd still be able to release it this year, but we had a few unforeseen complications and things just took a little longer than we thought they would. We really appreciate all of the inquiries about the album and feel badly that we weren't able to hold to our original schedule. We're now looking at March 2010 for the release date--but we're using this extra time to make the album the best it can be, and we're working on some other things like another music video and a couple of musical collaborations that are works-in-progress.
The title of the album is "Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts", and it has 12 songs and a running time of about 73 minutes. It was mixed by Tim Powles (member of The Church, one of our musical heroes, and master of the “wet mix”). The song titles follow:
1. The Backward Step
2. Tristia
3. Little Fly/Mouchette
4. Breathturn
5. In the Nothing of a Night
6. Andalusia
7. The Whole Catastrophe
8. The World We Knew As Children
9. Dust Is the Devil's Snow
10. How Can I Make You Remember Me?
11. You Lost the Starlight in Your Eyes
12. Something Other Than Remaining
Also, for the first time, we’ll be releasing outtakes—four songs drawn from the “Chasing…” album recording sessions.
We’ll do another post soon as things fall into place. Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening.
Peace,
mb
Californication Featuring One of Our Songs.
Hi again.
Just wanted to share with you that "Californication" on Showtime is featuring one of our songs, "You May Emerge from This Dead or Alive" from the "Kenotic" album, in the Sunday, December 13 episode. We've heard that the scene is a tripped out dream sequence in a pool...sounds like a pretty good fit to us!
