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
No comments:
Post a Comment