E2 unwound string has an interesting acoustic signature

On the E2 Unwound

Squash Blossom

 Khaen is a Thai "free reed instrument," and I play it with my silk strung Guzheng and Lyre. Thai bronze finger-ring shakers that come in a pair sometimes accompany the Khaen.

Sweet Grass

Silk strung Lyre with Khaen, a traditional instrument of Indonesia.
The banjo-like quality of the Lyre is due to a thin pine soundboard with tightly tuned silk strings. They are nearly to the breaking point.

Lyre and Khaen

Tuned to Koto scale: D Eb G A Bb
accompanied by hammered Zheng  

Nag Champa (YUsoAlone)

Guzheng strung with my silk strings. Tuned pentatonic: D Eb G A Bb, a Japaese Koto tuning. In this recording, A=435. Single take, improvisation. New Sennheiser microphone on the left channel.


Drawn Thru U

Portuguese guitar strung with silk, tuned Eb, Bb, G, C. Accompanies Zheng tuned to Koto scale D, Eb, G, A, C

Water Dogs

Improvisation with Mbira

The photo is a Trout Lily. They grow for a very short time in the Spring each year. The mottled leaves are reminiscent of a trout, hence the name.
Mysterious Lady is a deity of approach for Daoist Fu (charms.) She is known to facilitate good results.

Mysterious Lady

John Thompson performs Guanling San on a qin made in 2015 by 唐健垣 Tong Kin-Woon strung with my silk strings.

Listen to more excellent recordings by John Thompson here:

http://www.silkqin.com/02qnpu/41gyzz/gy4950gl.htm#musicfn



http://www.silkqin.com/06hear/myrec/1634/gy4950gl0938.mp3


"Seeking Solitude" performed by John Thompson

Xun, an ancient musical instrument of clay. Sounds of the Earth.

Duelling Xun

Burnished earthenware Xun played in a cavern.
Burnished refers to the surface has been rubbed with a smooth stone before firing. This imparts a shiny finished surface without the need for a glaze. 

Burnished Xun

Burnished Xun 3

Burnished Xun w Tibetan bowl

21 string Zheng strung with my Silk Strings. These strings are now available in Etsy.

Hunter's Moon

Dust to Dust

Over a decade has passed that I am making Silk strings for Guqin and many other instruments. I sell the strings worldwide. Now I have set up an acoustic recording environment to record some of my audible artwork. Guzheng is a larger instrument with 22 strings but it is easier to play! This instrument is strung with Silk.




Older music was done with my PAiA Theremax theremin for several years after assembling it together with a Tube pre-amp. The sound of my analog instrument is complex and always changing.  I play a variety of keyboard Vst instruments for accompaniment, often very good tracks on their own.   My CDs  _Thick As Steel_  and _OKAPI_ can be found on CD Baby, Amazon, and many digital sites. My newest CD is _CICADA_ .     It contains some of the tracks shown here, and is now available primarily as downloadable files, the CD itself is available from my website   http://lpkaster.com    I am also on Facebook and Twitter.    Please visit me when you have some time, as I am a visual artist with a lot of images to share.  I have a wide representation in many galleries and corporate collections.  Comments are always welcome.


Lately, I have worked toward a goal I set some years ago. I have an extensive background in pottery, and occasionally made musical instruments that included clay as a material. When I became aware of the "Xun" - an ancient musical instrument from prehistory, I planned to make some when I found an opening in my other production, and now finally the time has come. There will be some recordings going forward as I learn the musical potential of Xun.
  
  
  My CD _OKAPI_ is selling very well, and getting airplay on radio. My third CD, _CICADA_  is now available at Kunaki.com  BIG KOTO is now available on bandcamp.com, as also CICADA, and several tracks that do not appear here.  The physical CDs are really worth having, as they contain some of my award-winning images.  By request I will autograph them before I send them to you.   I also emphasize that the burned CD is vastly superior to even the .wav files you might hear as translated through the 'net.



LPKaster

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