Sonic Ritual: Ode to a Bridge (NYE) an album by Tim Mungenast & Astro Al

Sonic Ritual: Ode to a Bridge (NYE) an album by Tim Mungenast & Astro Al

Almost the entirety of the album was recorded on New Years Eve 2021 both during the day and at night. 

This album is also a hybrid. Some of it was recorded at the amazing Echo Bridge in Newton Falls, which is a glorious space to record in as the echo is fantastic. The cover picture is an FX altered picture taken beneath Echo Bridge. 

Amplissima also recorded the album Hemlock Echoes at Echo Bridge. 

Credits:

Tim Mungenast: Electric guitar, effects boxes, vocals, spring drum, goat toy, samples

Astro Al is:

DNA Girl: Vocals, mandolin, bodhran, percussion, FX

Count Robot: Monotron, bass, Aztec death whistle, FX, bell, slide whistle, duck call, stylophone

Track by track summary:

1. Somewhere in Tibet 6:44 -Screaming goat toys and an out of synch track really help this one. This one was recorded at our home studio. I really got it out of synch to make Tim's voice say twice, twice in the beginning. This tune really takes off around the 4 minute mark. There's some empty space at the end of the track. I think sometimes that silence is as important as filling up the void.

2. The Secret Garden of Echolocation 5:13 -This track was recorded at Echo Bridge. Listen to the amazing sounds of the water. Tim does some nice subtle guitar stuff. Pastoral and relaxing after the build up of the prior track. Title by Tim.

3. The Old Busker and his Dancing Baby Goat 6:20 - This track has a voice over by Tim that was recorded later and added to the track. Tim created a nice story. This track was recorded in the studio or as Tim calls it "the Magic Basement". 

4. Beyond the Valley of Silly Sounds 3:41 - Recorded at Echo Bridge. Lots of vocal sounds. DNA Girl goes full silly. She does some fun percussion on this one too. Fun vocals by Tim as well.

5. Duckulon Gamelan 7:47 -This track was also recorded at the studio. Tim's transcendent story was added later. Some lush tones and stylings by the mighty Tim. Lots of DNA Girl percussion in this track. I think the duck call is an underrated musical instrument. The voice part of Tim is repeated just to fill out the track as it got a little too sparse at the end. Psychedelic ducks!  Good spaced out guitar by Tim.

6. Bounceback Ritual 4:40 - Recorded outside. Echo Bridge sounds beautiful. Guitar ripping by Tim! Guitar sounds offered as a sacrifice to the River Goddess. Nice vocals by DNA Girl which are paired well with Tim's goattar. 

7. He’s So Beautiful 5:06 - Recorded in the studio. Well matched guitar/mando jam. Tim's screaming goat toy is heavily affected here and spread throughout the track.

 

8. Gurdjieff Addresses the Mountains of Madness 3:49 - Another one at Echo Bridge. The echoes love Tim's guitaring on this one as much as I do. The sonic richness of this location can not be overstated. DNA Girl brings the percussion. Eep eep!

We tried to spread the outside and inside tracks out. We started with an indoor track and we end with an outside one.

Recorded at Echo Bridge in Newton Ma and at Robotzilla Studios in Weirdfield MA on New Years Eve 2021

Written, recorded, engineered, produced, mastered by Tim Mungenast & Astro Al. The album was mastered in the style of a hard rock album to help bring out some of the strength of Echo Bridge and to punch up the string sounds.

Copyright 2024 Tim Mungenast & Astro Al

Yours in album write ups,

Count Robot

Some Day

Some day the art you created might be forgotten or revered more than ever

Either way the good things you did will last

Yours in philosophy,

Count Robot

Altered State & 73

 There's two parts to this blog.

First up, our new audio project Altered State had our first recording session this past Saturday afternoon. Here's some behind the scenes pics.

Our cat Twink supervised the sessions and she really had issues with my Zoom recorder placement! I had wanted to put one on the stairs (its a great spot of capturing the sound of the basement and I have used that spot on prior recordings) but she kept batting at the Zoom so I moved it to another spot and she didn't like that either. Finally I put it in the laundry room and she seemed ok with that spot. She had no issues with any of the other Zoom spots.

The mighty Tim Mungenast is part of the band. There's his Gibson guitar and banjo/uke. Both sounded fab. Thanks Tim!

I used the Sonic Springboard on the first jam and some jams later on. I ran it through the Ghost Rain pedal. The Ghost Rain pedal is very inexpensive and very awesome!

Later I used the electric kazoo run through the Two Timer pedal.

Mesa Boogie!!!!!!!! Tim's heavy amp sounded heavy and groovy which is how Tim's guitaring always sounds!

My rig as things got crazier. I had a couple of tape recorders running through fx pedals.

Some of the pedals for our mysterious bass player!

DNA Girl's set up! Electric mandolin, drums, pedals, and more!

The bass belonging to our talented and awesome bass player!

So the band line up is:

Tim Mungenast, DNA Girl, Count Robot, and our mystery bass player. 

We recorded for about 4 hours. All guided improv. All bliss.

Our wonderful and creative bassist is going to mix the album. 

We're already discussing our next session!

I am happy and humbled to be playing with such great musicians!

Ok so what is the 73 all about in the title of the blog?

Well, I am on 73 albums/EPs!!! I recently did the math on it. Realistically I'm on even more but I'm going to have the count as 73 for now. My personal goal is to get to at least 100 before I drop. I think it can happen.

It's good to have goals.

Yours in new music creation,

Count Robot.

Spaceslug

Spaceslug

On a recent Bandcamp Friday, I discovered a band called Spaceslug.

I am so impressed by the awesome rock value of that band name.

It’s one of the best band names ever!

Lemanis is the name of the album.

It’s full of fun space/psych/stoner rock jams.

The riffs this band generates are enough to launch them through hyperspace. 

Dig these tunes!

Yours in riffage,

Count Robot

Amplissima Fields Converge

 

Amplissima Fields Converge

This is the third Amplissima album and so far the only one to have a human guest.

That guest is the amazing Vanessa LeFevre. She plays the Diddley Bow which is an amazing homemade instrument.

This album was really unplanned.

Early that week we got an invite to go jam on a Saturday at a haunted house that E was house sitting.

No one really mentioned recording the jams but I brought some gear anyhow and was so glad I did.

That room really has a great sound.

That space was fantastic. We eventually recorded another Amplissima album in the room called Iron Bird which I already blogged about.

Special Guest - Vanessa LeFevre : Diddley Bow, field recordings

Amplissima is:

Dobra Jené Ashentree: Voice, octave mandolin, melodica (sonnet 55), FX

Tim Mungenast: Guitar (sixties Egmond Typhoon through sixties Regal amp and a zillion pedals). overtone singing, samples

Eric Dahlman: Electronic trumpet, overtone singing, bells, samples

Draggun Moorlocke (my alias on this album): Voice, stylophone, synth, guiro, chopstick, FX

Recorded in Norton MA 5/7/22

All material performed, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered by Amplissima & Vanessa LeFevre

Copyright 2024 Amplissima & LeFevre

Having Vanessa with us and no recording plan mapped out took away any pressure there might have been. We just jammed and kept what we liked.

1. Ed Wood’s Death Ray 5:26 - Dobra recites some classic Shakespearen poetry amidst some silly strange sounds.

The synth sound was a real cheap keyboard run through FX pedals. Like the fading end. I think Tim might have named this one.

2. Frog Friends 6:42 - This one has some recordings of frogs. I think Eric provided them. They filled in some gaps in the track well and added a lot of charector.

Vanessa gave this one a nice booming ring sound with her gear. There's also some field recordings that she had in here too.

It really just helped fill out the sound. Some of the textures towards the end of the track are wild.

3. Fridgey Stevey Edie 7:56 - This one features sounds of a refrigerator that Tim recorded. It was his brother's fridge and man does it sound weird.

Dobra uses the melodica to good effect. Eric makes some nice subtle use of the trumpet on this one. Tim plays around him nicely. I like it when a band gives each other space to build on.

4. The Flight of the Turtle Doves 9:02 - Eric's trumpet really brings me into this one. Tasty soundscape guitar by Tim.

5. Fields Converge 10:30 - My favorite track on the album. Vanessa kindly gave us access to a glorious treasure trove of field recordings. I set this track up so it sounds as though more and more music and sounds are getting on at the stop of the subway train and going berserk until they all get off at the end. Tim leans into his Miku pedal here and does a grand job of it. Dobra is ranting about Mothra on this track. You might hear that in the background. This track really sends me and I'm proud of it. Get on the subway to weird. Best to listen to this on your headphones.

6. Liturgy of the Lilacs  14:56 - Good bells on here by Eric. I gave the synth I used on this album to Tim. Dobra and Tim bounce sounds off each other well on this one.

I think Vanessa named this track. This one feels like experimental ambient at points. Around 7:50 Vanessa gets some really great sounds with her instrument.

Nice ending.

Yours in experimental sounds,

Count Robot

Video Interview with DNA Girl

 

Here's an interview with DNA Girl my amazing partner in Astro Al.

The interview was conducted by the amazing Mark from Phog Masheen!

Yours in video watching,

Count Robot

Love

Is love just watching TV while holding hands?

Or is it more than just drinking fluids from each other’s glands?

Is it just liking the same band?

Or is it just rolling around naked in the sand?

Maybe love is just remembering to keep toilet paper stocked and the bathroom door locked

Yours in dumb poetry,

Count Robot