instrumental cinematics for piano, cello & bass balalaika - part 1 of The Wounded Quartet

the distance

STANDING IN BLUE

Vintage track from the Bedouin hi-fi, added to The Captive Road album for historical perspective and emotional range.  Featuring afro-funk horns and the guitar magic of Alpha Yaya Diallo.

featuring The Bedouins 
Kevin Finseth - bass, hammond organ, percussion 
Forbes MacKay - electric guitar 
Alpha Yaya Diallo - electric guitar 
The Bedouin Horns - saxophones

THE PASSENGER

its cold outside 
i'm picking up the pieces... 
and some folks say 
its in the hands of Jesus 
and wise men know 
there's always tomorrow 
time's a train 
its filled with love and sorrow

TIME'S A TRAIN

 This piece manages to capture 3 distinct musical influences from my formative years growing up in Haney, BC. An homage to pastoral piano (Keith Jarrett) segues to British rock guitarists (Pink Floyd), ending with a nod to the circular motifs of Africa (Mali Music).

SKETCHES OF HANEY

music by kevin finseth

kevin finseth - piano, bass balalaika
Peggy Lee - cello

The Reader was brought to me one afternoon in the summer of 2010 after watching the film of the same name.  I was moved by the story’s portrayal of how the past lives on inside us and how certain events will remain with us until the end.  I spent the next couple of hours at the piano, playing the changes over and over – transfixed by the beautiful sorrow I found in this simple theme. Eventually my playing became too exuberant for the many items sitting on top of the piano and down came an African stringed instrument, a large unframed painting and a white orchid in full bloom.  Miraculously I was able to catch both the neck of the instrument and the painted canvas, but alas, the orchid was sacrificed to the gods of song.

THE READER

Cairo April 1983 attempts to capture the feeling of travel in foreign lands.  The listener (the traveler) moves among the sounds of children in the streets, passing vehicles and the muezzin’s call to prayer.  Insistent horns ride alongside a dubby opium noir feel, setting the stage for Haile Selassie’s anti-racist plea.
This piece was recorded at the end of another era – I had been working under the name The Bedouins along with guitarist Forbes MacKay.  We recorded three albums and an EP between 1984 and 1991 at a variety of makeshift recording facilities, eventually setting up shop at 11 West 2nd Ave – there was little attention paid to this material at the time and the project became untenable by the mid 90′s.   A fire in the bodyshop below in the fall of 1996 put an end to any hopes or desires for revival.
The pieces of this era were highly influenced by a number of things – film noir attitude, Italian cinema of the 60′s & 70′s, classic reggae and the remarkable explosion of musical expression coming out of Africa at that time.

CAIRO APRIL 1983

Kevin Finseth - piano, vocals, bass balalaika, marimba
Frazey Ford - vocals
Peggy Lee - cello
Mal Temple - drums
Recorded at Vancouver Live Sound



FALL AWAY

a darkened room
a sunny afternoon
the days are long
the end is much too soon
I loved you then

A DARKENED ROOM

This snapshot of my father's life was the final piece recorded for The Captive Road.  Its a photo found in the pages of a book that has languished on the shelf of faded decades.

there was a field
that I once knew
down across the highway
in wintertime, all scrub and grey
we crossed those fences anyway
he had three sons
he had some land
he had his faith in God and man
he was the oldest in the clan
he came out West in '44
da da da

slow music with a dreamy nostalgia, truly seven beauties styles

kevin finseth, piano, bass balalaika, accordion
asli maj, kemence
adub, sound & colour

kevinfinseth

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