Notes on Songs for Forgotten Voices

    tingklik
  1. Kembali
    2. Kembali means returning in Indonesian. Actually the bass line of this tune is the melody (in balinese music, the melody is on the bottom and accompaniment is on top!) for a folk tune called Grebag (I have no idea what it translates to.) There are only two fragments here, the rest being entirely invented around that simple framework. Pablo came up with that great melody and the rest evolved from there. Special thanks to Paul McCandless whose extemporizing became so much a part of the piece.

  2. Love Crimes
    3. This progression was laying around for quite a while before I realized that it was a song with words. Originally written on vibes, it translated well to the classical guitar. The words came in one sitting, inspired by a real life painful love affair, of which the less is said the better.Again Paul McCandless' searing soprano solo brought the tune to a higher level.

  3. Grains of Sand
    4. Grains is my personal favorite, a tone poem, a "paen to nature". The music came first, starting with Pablo's wonderful guitar arrangement. The words were a challenge to get right. To me it sounds like Oregon with words, so it's very fitting that Paul McCandless played the solo on there. And what a gorgeous solo it is!

  4. This Little World
    5. This was written for Earth Day almost ten years ago. It is the only tune on the album that was performed by Ya Yari, the legendary but sadly short lived Sonoma County fusion band. On a technical note, the lush intro is derived from the material in the instrumental bridge, which as a composer was fun to do. This is the most layered tune on the album, comprised of 54 tracks. I tried to design the mix for headphones, with lots of interesting stereo panning. I'm happy with this track, particularly Wally Reyes' great drumming. He made those odd phrases feel so natural. And Marquinho did a great job with those wonderful bird sounds. NOTE: all nature sounds on the album were simulated by people. No nature samples were used.

  5. Soul Traveler
    6. Soul Traveller was written shortly after the death of one my personal favorite singer songwriters, Laura Nyro. It came out in one sitting, and Pablo's vocal was, I believe, a first take. We were going to re-record the vocal, but decided "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I love how this tune came out. It's a simple yet elegant arrangement, and Pablo sounds great. Good work by bassist Mark VW as well.

  6. The Healing
    7. The Healing was written for a dear friend, Kathleen Wilson, who at the time was very ill and withdrawing from her community. I made a demo of it and left it on her doorstep. I am proud to say that it became an important song to her. We played it at the healing circles at her home, and it was played at her memorial service. She was a lovely woman and a wonderful friend, and I really miss her.

  7. Forgotten Voices
    8. This tune, with its dark harmonies and difficult subject matter surprises me in that so many people seem attracted to it. I think it has something to do with the poppy chorus. I chose this song as the title track because I think there are many "Forgotten Voices" on the CD, those of the Earth, the homeless, lonely people, and those who have passed from this life.

  8. The Fox
    9. Another true life story...sort of. A song about a lonely old rich man, in a way as disenfranchised as the homeless person in the previous song. Probably the most pop oriented song on the album, I almost didn't include it. But in a weird way, it seems to fit right in.

  9. Yamane
    10. One of the ways Pablo and I generate new material is to just turn on the machines and jam. Sometimes I'll play a kalimba or vibes, and he'll simply sing off of that. This is an example of what we do after it's been refined. Using the computer, I shaped the performance into what appears here. The vocal tracks are for the most part from the original session, with added compositional elements. We are in the process of preparing to make an entire album of material that is created in this manner, wordless chant/groove things that should be a lot of fun. By the way, Kembali was also composed in a similar manner. The words for both pieces are entirely made up.

  10. Colors of the Day
    11. A kind of fusion/samba thing written after going on a blind date with a lady who couldn't be present to meet the day. And what a day it was! We were in Point Reyes on the Sky trail, one of my favorite places in the world, and all she could do was complain. Needless to say, the experiment was not repeated.

  11. Lighten Up
    12. This tune is the oldest one on the album. It has meant a lot to me personally over the years. It reminds me of the sorts of folk/classical things that were being written in the mid to late sixties, things like Marianne Faithful's (also covered by the Stones') "As Tears Go By" or the Left Banke's "Walk Away Rene." I am very pleased with how this tune came out. The extended coda is also a throwback to the psychedelic era. There's probably more than a little Beatles influence in there (those chugging cellos, for one.) Special thanks to Stephen Hart, mixer extraordinaire, who really got those strings sounding good. There were only two players on a part. A mellow way to end the record.

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    All songs copyright Tingklik Music 2001

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    © 2001, Brian Whistler. All Rights Reserved.