As devoted as he was to drumming and singing, Alfred Fredel became equally passionate about the Native American flute in his last couple of years, after being introduced to it by Joachim Becker in our Chatham Drum Circle.

I recorded a Thanksgiving-themed piece he did in November of 2020 from his FB page, and also recorded his last post, playing from his hospital bed. This is my way of saying goodbye to him, with a little musical collaboration in his memory. The main flute line is what he played in his November post, untouched except for a minor edit near the end. The other flute sounds are samples of his playing (triggered from my MIDI keyboard), taken from both of his FB videos. The breathiness of 2 of the samples is partly the sound of the respirator cranking along in the background as he played. The drum track is another MIDI part, using a wonderful buffalo drum sample from Bolder Sounds. 

Rest in peace, brother.

Alfred's Song

This is an instrumental edit of a classic Nine Inch Nails track, shared as a tribute to their amazing creativity and talent. I've admired their musicianship for many years, and thought this killer rhythm track deserved to be spotlighted, for those moments when we'd just like to hear a great groove! Edited and mixed in Apple Logic. Music is copyrighted by Nine Inch Nails.

Closer (NIN) - Instrumental Edit

My rendition of an old favorite Christmas tune, as interpreted by an "elven choir" (a lovely little free sample library gifted by the good folks at Embertone). Also features samples from Bolder Sounds and Imogen Heap's "Box of Tricks". Recorded and mixed in Logic Pro using plugins from Apple and Izotope.

Elven Night

This piece was inspired by a sample library of terracotta pots, made by Frozen Plain. The only other sound source is a Middle Eastern frame drum sample from Native Instruments. The basic riff is in 7/4, with other phrases of various odd lengths phasing against each other, a la Steve Reich, Brian Eno, King Crimson, etc. Recorded and mixed in Apple Logic, using plugins by Apple, Izotope, and Waves.

Pots Town Logic

In a recent podcast featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson, there's a brief section on our connectedness to the entire universe that really struck home with me, and inspired me to put it to music. The music track is an older piece of mine, "One (a meditation)", also on Soundcloud, with some editing of both text and music to try to optimize how they fit together. All text is copyrighted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. With gratitude for his eloquence and passion in communicating the wonders of our universe so powerfully to so many.

Kinship: A Meditation - Neil DeGrasse Tyson

This is a remix of a song I did 2 years ago in celebration of "the changing of the guard" at the White House. My friend and gifted sax player Rich Reiter joined me for this, and this instrumental remix is a celebration of Rich and his mellifluous, soulful playing.

Goodbye DT/Go Ahead Rich

Spoken word editing and original music by Dana McCurdy

This musical setting of a Mooji talk is an original creation and not created or endorsed by Mooji or his team. You can find the original video here: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TD33MBj88o

To find out more about Mooji and his teachings, please visit https://mooji.org

You Are Already Here

Two Boats

In memory of Nadine Bergeron, "Beautiful Shining Woman"

Shine On

In memoriam, to a dear friend (piano - Mike Mandel)

Always A Light

With gratitude to all the wonderful dancers who share their spirit and inspire us drummers!

When You Dance

Featuring the vocal stylings of Nicolas McCurdy (1 1/2 years old)

Words

indigenous instruments (South America) and vocals - Juan Fernando Echavarria

Passing On

Sometimes I get inspired by a sound, and then it takes me on an unexpected emotional journey. This piece is built entirely from a few layers of a haunting sample library called Tom Superball, by Edu Prado Sounds. It was recorded and mixed in Apple Logic, using plugins from Logic, Valhalla, and Izotope.

Cetacean Song: a Lament for the Sea

This is a celebration of the indomitable spirit of Rich Reiter, who, despite his health challenges, continues to kick ass in the land of music!

- Rich Reiter: hand drums, percussion, and soprano sax
- Leon Crowley: hand drums and tongue drum
- Dana McCurdy: hand drums, recording/editing/mixing

Triple Threat 2

Another set of soulful jams for drums and percussion, with Rich Reiter, Tommy Purple Hayes, and Dana McCurdy

- recorded, edited, and mixed by Dana McCurdy

Another Thursday 3

This is a tribute to two of my favorite musician friends who have contributed greatly to my joy of listening to and making music over the years: Mike Mandel (on MIDI piano), and Rich Reiter (soprano sax). Rich passed a few days after recording his part, so this is an especially poignant reminder for me of the soulful magic he imbued his playing with. Thank you, Mike, and play on, brother Rich!

All other parts were recorded by me using Apple Logic, virtual instruments from Native Instruments (Imogen Heap's Box of Tricks), New Nation, and Klevgrand, and an LP udu (African ceramic drum) generously loaned to me by fellow drummer Leon Crowley.

Mixed by the incomparable Jim McCurdy.

In The Flow

This is a celebration of the indomitable spirit of Rich Reiter, who, despite his health challenges, continued to kick ass in the land of music until the very end.

- soprano sax and flute: Rich Reiter
- drums and percussion: Tommy Purple Hayes, Leon Crowley, and 
   Dana McCurdy
- recording/editing/mixing: Dana McCurdy

1 - Freight Trane

A contemporary electronic piece inspired by a ubiquitous example of popular technology (as immortalized in the film "Leave The World Behind").

Recorded and mixed in Apple Logic using synth plugins by Cherry Audio, Arturia, and Native instruments, with audio processing by Izotope.

Another White Tesla

3 - Wednesday 4

This is an edited version of "In The Flow", featuring Rich Reiter on soprano sax, in honor of his passing one year ago. He is deeply missed! See "In the Flow" (unedited version) for a full description.

In The Flow - Anniversary Edit for Rich

Basement Bros 3

Basement Bros 7

Basement Bros 9

Basement Bros 5

Basement Bros 1

Basement Bros 2

Basement Bros 6

Basement Bros 10

Basement Bros 8

Basement Bros 4

My first effort with Native Instruments' latest synthesizer, Massive X. All tracks are based on Massive X instrument presets, with minor tweaks for better control of dynamics and timbre. Recorded and mixed in Apple Logic, with plugins from Waves (Scheps Parallel Particles) and 2Gether Audio (St3reo) .

Time Slides

This is a remix of a very intricate and compelling frame drum pattern performed by the exceptional frame drummer Marla Leigh (see link below).

Inspired by the complexity of this pattern, I "deconstructed" it into its component sub-patterns, and layered them together in various ways. Due to Marla's rock-solid playing, I found that these sub-patterns worked beautifully together as polyrhythms. For the curious music nerd, the breakdown of the sub-patterns (at least as I count them) is: 3 bars of 9/4, followed by a bar of 5/8, then a bar of 3/8, and ending on a bar of 4/4. 

This remix was done in Apple Logic using only Marla's original track and an additional drone from NI's Analog Dreams Kontakt instrument. Melodic embellishments are from Audiority's GrainSpace plugin, with additional signal processing from Izotope, Waves, Nugen Audio, and NI pkugins.

Excerpt from Rhythms of Tof Miriam used by permission. 
© 2020 Marla Leigh - all rights reserved

Link to original album: https://marlaleigh.bandcamp.com/album/rhythms-of-tof-miriam

danam

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