"Jade Cycle" - The sixth and final track of the album "The Mercator Projection".

Jade Cycle

"Shudder" - From a soundtrack for a theater piece, the fifth track of "The Mercator Projection".

Shudder

"Sharpened Safety Pins" - The fourth track of "The Mercator Projection" was intended to have been the single from the album.

Sharpened Safety Pins

"One Believes" - The third track from "The Mercator Projection".

One Believes

"Center of the Cyclone" derived its name from a book by John C. Lilly, but has nothing to do with it. The second track from "The Mercator Projection".

Center of the Cyclone

Heralding the return of progressive rock, this track was released in 1993. "The Second Movement" is the first track from "The Mercator Projection". 

The Second Movement

The Mercator Projection by Karl Welty 

The Second Movement     8:07

Center of the Cyclone     5:11

One Believes     6:27

Sharpened Safety Pins     3:18

Shudder     2:30

Jade Cycle     9:51

The Mercator Projection was recorded at Triad Studios in Redmond WA and was engineered by Mike Tortorello. The writing phase of the material took place between 1982 and approximately 1988. Some of the tracks were recorded more than once, a first attempt having been done at Stacy Christensens SCM Studio in Montlake Terrace... but the results, while quaint, didnt live up to expectations. The main tracking period of this version began in 1989 and the final mixing of the tracks was completed in approzimately the fall of 1991.

The labels who has initially expressed interest in the project enjoyed the material, but it ultimately did not get signed. Certainly not for lack of effort, nor decent preliminary reviews. Jade Cycle was featured as the closing track on For Art Sakes "Beyond Rock" sampler... showing that the material was up to par with just about anything on the landscape.

Remastered in 2003 by Mark Greer at Bandit Audio in Olympia WA. This newly polished version is now... finally... released to the general public in download form. It is my sincere hope that you enjoy the music as much as I enjoyed its creation.

Karl Welty - Composition and arrangements, all tracks. Electric and acoustic guitars, steel guitar, Bass guitar, E-bow, Keyboards, Bass pedals... all tracks.

Jeff Wade - Drums and percussion, all tracks.

Mike Smith (Smitty) - Additional acoustic guitar on The Second Movement, Center of the Cyclone, and Shudder.

Jef Bear - Additional E-bow tonalities on One Believes 


REVIEWS

Dutch progressive rock magazine SI Magazine by R. Hanemaayer (May, 1992):

On the lively Jade Cycle... guitarist Karl Welty the influences of guitar-wonders (like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Tony MacAlpine, Ronnie Montrose and Vinnie Moore) are being integrated with more experimental ideas, like we know them form Djam Karet or Allan Holdsworth. The result is an overwhelming piece of music, in which the accessibility hasn't gone lost

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Compact Discoveries
By Anil Prasad

Artists like... Karl Welty place the emphasis on diversity here. Merging forms including acoustic and electronic landscapes, hard rock, jazz, serene ballads and fiery instrumentals into a surprisingly cohesive whole.

In a world where musical "product" reigns supreme, it's a breath of fresh air.

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Reviewed in I/E Magazine
by Dean Suzuki

...the Tony Banks meets Eddie Jobson rave-out called "Jade Cycle" (Karl Welty). 
Anyone wishing to experience a taste of what's exciting on the U.S. scene should pick up this... 

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Background Magazine
The Netherlands
Stephen van de Ven

Don't expect and MARILLION or GENESIS clones, don't expect European oriented progrock compositions nor standard progrock. It is all American progressive rock music. 
 
...the general message here is that progressive music isn't limited to Europe, and that American bands certainly have much to offer people that like progrock with real progressive developments and are interested in musical developments.

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Beyond Rock reviewed in
Music Uncovered
By Dan Peeters

One of the things I like best about all these... is the use of bass and drums. The rhythm section adds a solid bottom... 

For my money, a live drummer and bass player beat the hell out of drum machines.

KARL WELTY is this CD's musical coordinator... "Jade Cycle," is a nine minute plus exploration of a recurring theme. It moves along at a good clip, what I call driving music, because it makes a great soundtrack for driving (speeding!) in the country.

The pop/rock mainstream has gotten to be pretty boring the last few years. At the last turn of the century there was an infusion of new artists in many fields. It's time for the artists who'll make a statement for (the next) century to emerge. 

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The Rocket
Bryson Alden

You wouldn't necessarily know it if your only source of information was the national press, but there's been a lot more going on in the Seattle music scene than Nirvana and grunge rock. 

...showcases some of the best progressive rock-being recorded.

Karl Welty's "Jade Cycle" is also worth the price of the disc, and will appeal to those of us who like to crank it up until our ears bleed.


TheMercatorProjection