Deep Voices - Playlist #8

Aug 17, 2020

More “deep” than “voices” this Monday morning with a mostly instrumental mix made over the rainy weekend.

Playlist notes:

Cried last time I saw Beta Librae perform. Was so excited to see her and it was beautiful but I was alone in a crowd, depressed and confused. I went outside for a breather and was offered ecstasy by a man who told me effusively how much he loves his friends. I said no. He did it himself. I went to bed.
I came to the music of Layne Redmond through Glen Velez, her frequent collaborator. Both are frame drummers with an interest in the healing qualities of rhythm. They are also both in my favorite album photo of all time, from the back cover of Velez’s excellent Assyrian Rose.
Michel Deneuve plays an instrument called a cristal bachet, which is based on the same concept of filling up a bunch of wine glasses with different amounts of water and rubbing your wet fingers over the rim so they squeak. It looks like a long row of horizontal icicles hooked up to several phonograph speakers. You get the idea someone who plays this is not a very fun guy. But it does sounds lovely. Here is a great closeup video of him performing and explaining the instrument in French.
While listening to Michael Deneuve I got a song in my head. It took a bit to realize it was “Functions on the Low,” arguably the most well known grime instrumental of all time and a long way away from classical music played on crystal. My brain had started playing the song because the “Functions” synths sound like they could have been performed on a cristal bachet. Seems unlikely.

Deep Voices