Ethnopiper & BusinessControlled
Home Recording, Ney Flute, Electronic Music, Folk Music, Ethnomusicology
Here is the 2nd Podcast on my Bloc+ composition, in Glasgow on the 18th April.
I have scrapped the old project, and started with a new composition using the Boss RC505 mkii Looper. By using this a whole new life came possible.
Here is the 2nd recording/Podcast about the new musical direction using the Looper.
I thought to document a process, a thought, and workflow process, as I compose my new piece for a gig that is happening on the 18th April, in Bloc+, Glasgow, UK.
It will be partly a blog, but also an audio diary so I can explain the sounds, and say things that would take ages to write. Ideally it would be a video diary, but looking at synths while I explain things is a bit like watching paint dry, say it in a photo… saying it audio.
It is not the very beginning of the dairy, as I have been composing this piece for 3 weeks now (2-3 weeks). But it is more of a diary of “work in progress”, more of the changes (more about development, success and failings) as the final piece will probably be on the 18th April (hopefully not a few minutes before I go on!)
(Podcast No.1 The music at the beginning and the end are my composition experiments relating to this blog)
The info I got for the gig is that I “have 30 minutes… play what you want”. 30 minutes! and already it has been 3 weeks of trials, error and experiment. Often I would get up early morning start working things out by 10am and basically work though until 11pm or later. I don’t know why it takes so long? Is this normal? When I look at youtube I see people playing things effortlessly…
Even now the set up of instruments have changed from 3 weeks ago. The SQ1 (bottom left) sequencer, the keyboard, and the SP404mkii (Right) has gone. More instruments have been added, namely a Volca Bass and the Volca Modular (bottom Right), there might be more or there might be less before I am finished.
From left to right- zoom H8, MPC one, Crave
O Coast, Volca Modular
Volca FM, Volca Bass
I brought up a better speaker, it is not excellent but at least it has a better bass range than the small amp.
The podcast will describe more, the music at the beginning and the end is from my audio composition.
My first tack on the sampler Sp404 mkii using various flutes, panpipes and a guitar. Adding FX from the SP is an easy process and you can get an interesting workflow with its layout. A new way of making a collage of sound.
A new composition by BusinessControlled called “Delay Repay”. For those who do not live in the UK, this is what the National Rail companies say when your train has been delayed, with a bitter sweet pill of getting some money back from your delayed journey (not always the case though). This happens A LOT in the UK, and very often trains are cancelled for no reason. It all adds up to the rail network being a chaotic shambles.
Over the years since Covid, commuters have had to suffer strikes, disruptions, cancellations, floods washing out the lines, a bit of snow and the trains cancel at short notice, inadequate bus replacement, drivers strike, lack of staff, rude staff, suicides on the lines, things being thrown onto the tracks, subsidence of track, trees blown down onto tracks… the excuses for delayed and cancelled trains are legendary.
The video is filmed in Glasgow, and Glasgow’s weather is always reliable, which can not be said of the rail network!
The final line up of next weeks Box of Noise event is out. I am playing first…. get it over with eh? I hope all goes well as there are 7 acts performing and it can be chaos with so many wires and synths lying around.
My set up is simple. the Mpc One is the brains connecting everything together via midi, going out to 3 volcas (FM, Sampler, Bass) and a Crave.
The Mpc One has 2 tracks of percussion with midi controlling the home made samples (it is amazing how a guitar can be a drum kit !!). The Mpc also has 1 virtual synth track and vocal sample track. The theme of the text is Opium Consumption… which could me a metaphor for drug taking in general in regard to pain relief, or other types of drugs like consumerism.
The style of the 20 minute piece is more melodic than rhythmic, not techno but more ambient… at 142 bpm !! and I am using harmonies as rhythmic percussion, Counterpoint and syncopated stabs.
5 small compositions make up one 20 minute piece, all synths go to my Zoom H8 mic, which I am using as a mixing deck which has a small amount of compression and plate reverb. This sends a stereo mix to the P.A.
I have altered the composition a few times, but in the end you have to say “stop” and just perform it. Here is an old version of the piece recorded 2 weeks ago. The only difference is the intro section.
I composed this piece for a concert I will be giving on the 19th October, 2023. In Glasgow’s “Bloc+” a club/bar in the city centre. The event wanted a piece under 25 minutes in length, so instead of mixing and matching a few melodies into 1, I wrote this piece using one piece of midi.
The text is from “Confessions of an English Opium-Eater” by Thomas De Quincey. He lived in Cumbria in the 1840s (a county in the NE of England, where I am also from), his book is an insight into taking opium when it was legal commerce, a bit like buying a beer today.
I know of a few people who took opium, and know of a few people who takes hashish as a way of relieving pain, it seems these plants can help a lot of people who are struggling with day to day illnesses, illnesses that the medical profession can not relieve.
I am not an advocate for selling illegal or legal drugs… I am an advocate of pain relief. People should not be suffering where there is relief from that suffering, it is as simple as that. Only when the pain has subsided can a person logically talk about the pros and cons… of drug taking.
The music is a snapshot in time, I have already changed and adapted certain parameters since recording that video a few days ago, and I am sure it will change again before the 19th of Oct. That is the beauty of it, the structure stays the same but the sound is never the same, each time one plays it is it different, never constant. I like that, it is live and it is original. I learn about the instrument/s each time I play it.
The style of music is not very “gritty” it is a clean sounding piece, but if I am writing a type of counterpoint, then I let the melody/harmony do the talking… I do not need the gritty texture to make it interesting. I find this way of writing very interesting and surprising.
The music was recorded live using the Zoom H8 mic, then I added a plate reverb in post production using Reaper DAW. The instruments are: Crave, MPC One, Volca Sampler, Volca FM, Volca Bass.
While on holiday in Sweden I had some time on my hands in the evenings. I had some music apps on my mobile phone which I used to create beats and ideas. Some apps wee better than others, some were useless! But the 3 or 4 that I found were very good to create rhythms and do some experimentation.
The set up used was like this: Mobile phone/apps with a lead going out from the headphone socket going into my Zoom H2 microphone. The H2 I let run and what ever I did on the phone app I recorded. Later on, I edited the recordings via Reaper DAW.
The problem was, I recorded the beats at 128 bpm, and all the rest was done at 120 bpm, so matching the recording later on in the DAW was a pain….
The types of apps used was a Beat maker which I could change on the fly, adding and subtracting beats. Another app was Granular Synthesis, stretching audio (in this case spoken word) and applying FX. Another app was a sequencer, where I could apply FX and filters. There is also a recording of a Tibetan Bowl, that was in the room we were staying. Put all this together and apply some sound production techniques and here you have the recording.
The video is of a train ride we took in rural Sweden. With FX from Filmora.
This week I got my new batch of CD covers in their raw state direct from the printers. I only print a few copies off at a time, but the results are really good.
“Plugged in Dixon” Electronic sampled based compositions. The CD cover design is A.I. generated imagery. The idea is from Wendy Carlos’s 1969 “Switched on Bach” LP when she plays Bach with a modular Synthesizer. I took this idea and turned a 1733 Northumbrian folk/baroque notation compilation and played it with my semi-modular synths.
“Sackpipa” This cover was done for my Swedish friend and bagpipe maker Bors Anders Ohman. I have visited Anders for many years and he has written many tunes for the Sackpipa, in a book format. I have recorded these tunes and made them into a CD for him. It is a way of saying thanks to him, and to celebrate the melodies that he has written.
“One Tracked Mind” is the new CD, new original recordings from the BusinessControlled repertoire. The Cover design is taken from my photos from Glasgow/UK and a walk in the Swedish woods. The Glasgow image is a mural on the side of a large building in the Centre of Glasgow.
“One Tracked Mind / The Hatchery” This is the cassette version of the above CD. Same tracks, but the cover design is done using the “Maltese Cross” design. The imagery is A.I. produced. The cover folds in on itself producing the cover for the cassette.
“Strangled Growth” is a new CD design with more info than on the previous version. The recording is the same as the cassette version, which is longer with more tracks to fill out the 90 minutes. The CD version was reduced in length so it could fit onto 1 CD. This new version is a double CD, and has the original compositions in their original length. The recording was done on the Axoloti Core and the cover gives a brief introduction to the synth.
The “Sackpipa” CD and the “Plugged in Dixon” CD, are the 2 CDs that come under the name of “ethnopiper”, the rest are under BusinessControlled.
A video and music composition using improvisation techniques. The synths are the Volca Sampler and Volca Modular, The Crave, The Axoloti Core, a drum machine using the 808 sounds from my DJ505. Everything was passed through the Zoom H8, which was used as a mixer, and then edited on Reaper DAW.
The video was made using Filmora and Resolume Softwares. The final cut was also done in real time, improvising the imagery by tweaking the parameters.
I fell out with Bandcamp a few years ago, they only deal with paypal and paypal froze my account with out reason or warning. I could not access my cash, log in or delete the account. They look my money, without any negotiation via their web site. In normal circumstances it would be theft, but what can you do? We do not read the small print and it is the nature of the internet…sadly.
I deleted my Bandcamp as I did not want people paying money into my Paypal Account. It was a pity because I actually liked Bandcamp. As a musician, they give about 80-90% of the sale back to the artist. That is pretty good compared to all the rest of these steaming sites.
I still do not deal with paypal and you can not buy CDs or Cassettes through my Bandcamp site, it has been empty for a year or so, and wayway I prefer to deal with people directly, to have some sort of correspondence with them.
I thought to add my CDs again to Bandcamp as it is publicity… or knowledge of what I am doing. A lot of people use Bandcamp and why not publicise there. I still like what they stand for, but I just think to use the virtual money is bogus. I never understand why people do it anyways.
Here is the front image of my site, it shows what I have created recently on https://businesscontrolled.bandcamp.com/music
Completed the art work for my new CD “Human Habitation” got it back from the printers, and did the CD labels and finalized the recording…. completed. It has taken me just as long as to do the mixing and mastering than it did to do the recording.
I am pleased with it, it shows a progression in a style which came out of improvisation and learning about sound production and electronic music. The Cd is sampled based (sounds created by myself) using various hardware synths, manipulated text for a rhythmic lyrical percussion.
It is the 3rd CD in this genre, and I feel I can now move on to combine acoustic and electronic improvisation.
The art work I did myself, designing the style of cover (taken from the Maltese Cross cassette covers) to fit into a CD style, enough for 2 CDs and text if needed. Hard card and a mat finish.
4 new tracks made from improvisations using the Tascam 24 mixer and Reaper DAW. My partner was ill in bed with Covid. To concentrate the mind I did a long improvisation using various synths (Neutron, Volcas, Modwave). Later, I sliced them up and manipulated them in post-production. Thus, there is a theme to all of the audio.
For many weeks now I have been taking train trips to look after a boat. The wind and sea have been rough and high, I took videos to document this process, and used effects to create moving images, these became the videos to the music.
You might say the music and the videos do not match? But why should they, they match as both are a part of the life I am leading at the moment, it might be disjointed or abstract but that is life at this present time. Two different aspects coming together.
My appreciation of the Highland bagpipe has increased by attending the “Pipe Idol” competitions at the Piping Live Festival, after so many years, and not being schooled in the format of bagpipe competitions, I have learned a lot about the dedication and skill of these young players.
Here are 4 pipers from Mondays competition.
Here are the photos I took, they match the order of the recordings… 1, 2, 3, 4
Piping Live starts for me on a Monday, usually we travelled either from Carlisle, Croy or Madrid to get there for the first performances at the Street Cafe. Leila and I had a “ritual” of going for a coffee after the train to Glasgow and then making our way to the Street Cafe to hear the 1st acts. I would stay there most of the day.
I have grouped all the artists together, as I upload them bit by bit. The first artist was from Iran, Lian Sharifian and her band “The Lian Music Band”, she played the Nayanban from southern Iran (2 reed chanters, playing in unison, fixed into a goat bag which was very colourful, no drones, and it is mouth blown). Her father was also there, and her teacher, and percussionist. The first day was a short performance, 20 minutes, but the audience was lively.
The 2nd artist I recorded was the Ross Millar Trio.
Ross Millar Trio
Before I went for lunch I recorded 2 pieces from the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra.
I never intended it to be a project. I had a weekend free and I wanted to learn new software, namely Resolume and Filmora. I had my workflow with making music, but I have wanted to add visuals to my music, thus I had started to learn Filmora and a new software that is mainly used at festivals, Resolume.
I took generative A.I. photos and put one into Resolume, played around with it until I was happy with the image then recorded a “clip” then I repeated the process until I had several versions of the photo. Then I used those images in Filmora, and made my movie, then I took that movie back into Resolume to make changes and add to the finished video. I made 6 of them to go with the 6 tracks.
The music is a long improvisation, done on my Tascam Model 24, using a Volca Sampler with my own samples, and a Behringer Crave synth. The improvisation was about 30 minutes long, this I chopped up into 3-4 minutes length and made 6 tracks from it. Then I added various other instruments, mixed it all down and added dialogues, sampled on my Roland DJ505.
Here is the end result. I am very pleased with the results, and I will be doing more of this kind of thing in the future.
Audio Tracks
Videos
The recent buying of a 24 track mixer is a big step for me. It is a conscious move away from the computer based recording and workflow. It has been many decades since I used an analogue set up to record my music and I have gotten so used to making digital music on the computer with a DAW and vsts, plugins and a 2 input interface that I have had to re-learn, and it has been a steep learning curve.
What I decided to to do in the end is use both worlds, digital and analogue. Using the mixer to record music, mix music and Master music, while I use the computer as an instrument, do fine adjustments, cuts and edits, and finally make the Master file.
These videos show a process, a working process and solutions to the workflow that I was experiencing. It was enjoyable and frustrating at the same time. I now use 24 inputs as my interface, so I can plug in all my instruments and leave them plugged in, it saves a lot of time. Also I can use my VSTs such as compressors and other FX’s to produce the sound I want. The Model 24 has onboard FX’s too as well as a basic compressor, but it is the sound card that makes the difference and the use of the deck’s sliders and knobs, it gives a different way of working, listening and feel while producing my music.
The biggest difference is its limitations! You might think it is a step backwards, that I have fewer options, but it is this process that interests me. I have to limit my choices, I have to refine the possibilities and make decisions. It reduces the options but in doing so I get a more streamlined approach, I get a feel of what I am doing, it is hands on, it is real and I have an object to create upon. I suppose it is like playing a virtual guitar to playing a real guitar. I have more options on a virtual guitar, but the real guitar “is a guitar” and I don’t have to re-create the sound, as it is the sound.
I will be creating more videos, to show the workflow and how mixing desks can be utilized with in the DAW
If you are doing the Hadrian’s Wall Long Distance Footpath this summer, as you enter/leave Port Carlisle there is a footpath hidden away between the road and the beach. This is a beauitful wooded area, which is filled with all sorts of tree and bush, moss and vines, blossom and flower.
In the spring it is very beautiful and winter it shades you as you get the easterly icy winds. Some people say it is “not being used for anything” but I think it is exactly what it should be.
I am playing a Swedish Sackpipa (bagpipe) made by my friend Bors Anders
I have begun to record my improvisations on various instruments. In europe we don’t think much of our improvisations, but in other countries they are very important in performance practice. I hope to encourage you to take more seriously the “doodlings” we do before the melody begins!
I began a new recording today on Bandcamp. I did my first improvisation using the Korg Volca FM and the Korg Volca Sample. This was played live in to Reaper DAW. The only other piece of equipment is a Zoom FX box, which I have the Volca Sample going in to, and the Impact LX 25+ midi controller which is connected to the Volca FM. Both are going into my interface.
I am playing live, manipulating the effects, volcas and the controls on the controller at the same time. My intension is to play a series of live improvisations and to release them on “Business Controlled” Bandcamp page. I really enjoyed this type of improvisation, constantly changing instruments.
The first improvisation I mixed today, 17 minutes long, mixed using reverb and compression, with a modulation effect on the reverb, a kind of “phase” effect over the effect. The release date is when I get several compositions finished. This one is called “Volca Dawn”.
I came across a piece of Turkish notation that completely baffled me. I can’t remember where I got it (possibly Istanbul); it had no title or composer in the heading. What baffled me was the melody; it did not seem complete, as though it was a section from another longer piece. When I played the section, it also seemed incomplete, there was too many pauses (3rd line), as though the melody was following a lyric (there was none, it indicates it is an instrumental piece “Sazlarla”), or perhaps another instrument was complimenting the melody, a duet, or call and response?
Since Sanat music is generally monophonic, the only other instrument could be the percussive kudum or bendir. Turkish rhythms (usul) are complex and there are many beats to 1 bar (from 2 to 120). I felt that this melody was using the pauses, or possibly a syncopated rhythm, to let the usul come through. This dialogue between melody and usul is common and characteristic; both play “the spaces”. In this instance the usul was called “Duyek” and 8/8 rhythm.
When I wrote my M.A. thesis I had to think up a way to notate Turkish Sanat music, the normal European way of writing music falls short. Turkish Ney is a non-pitched instrument; you can have any root note within a range of a semitone of what is written on the notation. So when I looked at this unknown piece of notation I felt I needed to look at it in a new way. To understand what it was sounding like, so I could “hear it” and therefore play it.
I could have used a metronome of course, but that did not allow for the usul being part of the music, a metronome did not have the accents and phrases; it was a duet after all. I thought about tapping the usul out on my bendir, recording it and then playing it back in a loop. But there are disadvantages with this method:
That might solve this particular piece of notation, but what of other difficult notations I came across in the future? What about tempo, what speed should I play at? What about mistakes? Do I trust myself to play the usul correctly, to use the different textures that are wanting from a bendir or kudum, otherwise it would sound bland. Learning the usul and bendir might be useful but it is also time consuming, having to learn complex multi-layered beats and play them correctly takes years of practise.
I approached it from another angle. I would use a sampler! If this was 2003 then I would not of dreamed of doing this. But I have now achieved a happy balance between acoustic and electro-acoustic music. They do not have to be opposed to each other, they can complement each other, and I think in this case they can help gain an insight into a historical music (and as a foreigner trying to glimpse into a historical conversation, without the aid of a translator, I need all the help I can get).
I used the sampler that comes in my Reaper DAW. I used sounds from the kudum and bendir, and I allocated them keys on my keyboard. Then I opened the midi editor and I decided how many bars I would use to indicate a: Dum2, Tek2, tek, dum, ke, ka…etc. which are the phonetic symbols that help memorize the beats of the usul.
“Dum2” would be minim/crotchet, “dum” would be a crotchet/quaver, and “ke” would be a quaver/semi-quaver…etc depending on the time signature of the piece. The important thing was the equal distances I gave to each sound/beat. These beats I arranged in the midi editor, by typing in the values of the usul, or to look at it another way – I played the spaces.
When the usul was correctly played into the sampler, and the sounds that were coming from the keyboard were actual textured bendir/kudum sounds, I could experiment with tempo, I could loop the midi, if it was too fast I could slow it down, when I got used to the melody I could speed it up. I could copy and paste the midi file to a given time, having it repeat for 3-4 minutes or how many bars that was in the notation. It became more versatile as an education tool, not just a fixed recording, as it would have been if I had recorded my playing. I could use this method to achieve a more versatile informative approach.
I have tried doing this technique via Finale or Sibelius, music notation software’s, but the result was disappointing. I ended up with a cheap sounding electronic sound to listen too. Now with Reaper and the advance in Vst sounds I can also play the melody using more interesting sounds. By combing the usul and the melody I can hear the duet in full. By familiarizing myself with the melody (without the microtonal intervals) it also helps memorization and how the structure of the piece works together. The vst I chose is the Mellotron, a vst of the 60s synth.
Vst sounds can be experimented with (different flute sounds for example) and an interesting combination can be achieved, taking the original acoustic feel and transforming it into a synthesis of sound textures. The piece is transformed, one level it is an educational exercise, but on another it is becoming something in its own right, not Sanat music (I no longer can call it so), it had become another genre.
I have tried teaching with the sampled usul with one of my students. I think it would work better if we were in the same room together, as then I could change the tempo to suit his ability. But as I am teaching via Zoom at the moment I have to keep it simple for now. Also the constraints of Zoom is another factor…but that is a different blog posting!
I suggested doing the song “Ranting Rovin Robin” for the next Solway Band lockdown session. In previous sessions I had only contributed the music. I was listening to a lot of Robert Burns’ and watching a few documentaries on his life and this songs. I had heard the Battlefield band doing this version in the 1990s, I always loved their arrangement. There are 2 versions of the song and I wanted to try and do this melody version but with our arrangement.
Being in lockdown meant I was able to attend, on Zoom, a few lectures on Robert Burns and I was learning a lot of things I never knew before; and since I live not too far from Dumfries it had a “local” feel about doing the song.
It has been the first time I have mixed a song with data from other people. I was sent video and mp3s from the band members who had recorded their sections on different equipment, mainly smart phones. Extracting the audio did not work on Reaper, so I used Audition CC. Just a straight conversion from Mp4 to WAV files, I then inserted them into Reaper.
The editing, mixing and mastering music from other people was new to me, but as a project it was interesting to do. You have to sculpt from something you had no control over. This created challenges but also it turned the music into something that I could never have achieved. It is the beauty of playing with other people… not just doing a solo recording. The sound quality was all different, the original click track was only a metronome and a basic mandolin track, which the musician either sang or played against, and from that I had to piece everything together. The whole process/project lasted 1 week, from receiving the mp4 and mp3 tracks to arranging, mixing and mastering, to the final/finished render.
The final Mastered track was added to the video.
An mp3 version of the track is heard here:
The video was created by my partner, Leila; we used all the people/instruments used in the audio recording. Leila, used Camtasia to make the video. She inserted the Mastered audio track into Camtasia and then by using the different video files that were sent, she made the video over 2 days. The arrangement is hers.
I certainly want to do more video work in the future, perhaps use it more creatively with more effects.
I suggested doing the song “Ranting Rovin Robin” for the next Solway Band lockdown session. In previous sessions I had only contributed the music. I was listening to a lot of Robert Burns’ and watching a few documentaries on his life and this songs. I had heard the Battlefield band doing this song in the 90s, I always loved their arrangement. There are 2 version of the song and I wanted to try and do this version.
It has been the first time I have mixed a song with data from other people. I was sent videos and mp3s from the band members who had recorded their sections on different equipment, mainly smart phones. Extracting the audio did not work on Reaper, so I used Audition CC. Just a straight conversion from Mp4 to WAV files, I then inserted them into Reaper. My 1st mistake was to: arrange them and to do a mix, check levels, and add reverb, colour grouped them…etc. to do everything as if it was a mix session.
What I should have done was to add compression and then bounce the tracks down as “stem files”. Convert raw data into a working file, something that was usable and slightly edited, so it could be mixed down. The raw data was not usable as the levels were all different, it needed compressed and converted.
I inserted the “stem files” into a new project, and saved it in the same folder. This I colour coded, arranged, added reverb, used compression etc. This would be my mixed session as everything was going through a reverb bus and all went into the Master channel, which had compression. I did experiment by using separate compression/reverb buses, but I just don’t like the idea of taking separate tracks and passing them through 1 channel, I feel I lose the “live feel” to the music. Also I cannot get my head around “buses” if I want several tracks panned left and right, then in a bus I lose that, as the channel is only out putting a mono signal, I lose all the variation of panning. I could reroute the reverb bus back into the channel but…?
Rightly or wrongly, I led everything, including the reverb channel, into the Master channel. I used a drum plate reverb on the Master, as it did not have a long tail delay, and it seemed to bring up the bass frequencies. As I had already put the “raw data” files through compression I did not do it again on each track, it only went onto the Master. The exception being the 3 vocal tracks, I grouped them, and I added compression to them and a touch of reverb.
I divided the tracks into 2 groups: 1 – the instruments, 2 – the vocals. I rendered them separately through the Master, which had compression. This gave me 2 tracks to do a 2nd mix.
I created a new project and saved it in the same folder. I added the 2 mixed tracks, and then I duplicated the instrument track and panned them 10% left and right. I then duplicated twice the vocal track, thus creating 3 vocal tracks, each one I named: chorus, solo, and duet. These I played separately against the instrument tracks, altering levels. I added a reverb track using the same drum plate reverb as before, all these tracks went directly to the Master track. When I was happy with the mix I rendered the tracks, again using a compression on the Master track. Finally, I had my rendered mixed track.
Then I created a new project and saved it in the same folder. I inserted the single mixed track. Then I added reverb, this time I used a different reverb, something that made the sound brighter, highlighting the higher frequencies. I added compression to the Master and then rendered it for the last time.
A mp3 version of the track is heard here:
The whole process/project lasted 1 week, from receiving the mp4 and mp3 tracks to the finished render.
It was an interesting exercise; I had not worked with different media sent from different people before. The sound quality was all different, the original click track was only a metronome and a basic mandolin track, which the musician either sang or played against.
The raw data came out ok – time wise. I did not have to correct it too much. I wasted a lot of time on the raw data, I should have just compressed it and rendered it as a stem file, it would have saved a lot of time, as I ended up mixing it twice. I am still unsure about using buses; I do not like the work flow of it, although I know producers use it a lot. It makes sense to create 1 level from many, and to save on processing power, but it also takes away the variety on each track, especially panning…or maybe I misunderstand the process! But I think my way works as well!
At the end of the session I had 4 saved project files, and I now needed to delete the files I did not want. This is easy to do in reaper and saves a lot of space. I can open up the different project files in 1 project and then press one tab, and Reaper keeps all the files that are used in the projects, and deletes the files that are no longer used. It saves a lot of hard disc space.
The video was created by my partner, Leila; we used all the people/instruments used in the audio recording. Leila, used Camtasia to make the video. She inserted the Mastered audio track into Camtasia and then by using the different video files that were sent, she made the video over 2 days. The arrangement is hers.
The video was created by my partner; we used all the people/instruments used in the audio. I certainly want to do more video work in the future.
I decided to move my current audio site for my Turkish ney audio examples, that I give to my students for to learn basic melodies, to a new site. Soundcloud is causing problems! This is not the first time that this giant online companies have blocked me from my own material, but it will be the last, time to get rid of them once and for all. I chose Audiomack and it is a lot easier to use and to “get into”!
So I created a “new page” for the blog, and I intend to add to these recordings as I increase my ney notation usage.
I have been editing my Turkish research recently, collected between 1998-2005, there is a lot of it, and besides the editing and organization, there is a lot of creating too, creating lessons and Powerpoint presentations. The research gives me ideas, and this I can use in lesson plans.
Here is a pay-list of my ney recordings (for students), it is not made for listening, but for to get an idea how a melody goes…it is for beginners, but still the melodies are what you put into them, and you can make them as complicated as you wish.
Since teaching Turkish ney again on a regular basis it has allowed me to look at my Turkish research (1998-2005) again more closely. I am re-opening my folders and note books searching for appropriate material to give to students. This is a long process as there is so much “stuff” to shift through.
The majority of the material is notation: photocopies from the conservatoire, books from music shops. I have a lot of the photocopies recorded by my teachers, but the books I do not. So I am in the process of finding these recordings online, and hearing (perhaps for the first time) what the notation sounds like.
I have made a playlist of Ney artists that were recommended to me by my teachers. It is a lineage of musicians which have the “approval” of a certain Turkish tradition (silsila). This means there are different traditions within one musical genre, in this case Turkish Sanat music.
I never realised this before I went to Turkey. I thought it is just music…Bach, Beethoven are individual composers, right? But in Turkey, I learned there was “good and bad” music in Sanat music, and I should “listen to the right” kind of music!
At first I thought this was quite arrogant, who is to say what is good or bad? But now I think it means something different. Following a certain musical tradition is connected to a deeper cultural identity, which is also connected to things beyond music.
So what do you listen to if you are not part of a lineage? Or you don´t have a teacher to tell you what to listen to? Is it ok just to turn on youtube and hear anything? I feel you have to start somewhere, and perhaps this playlist is a “somewhere”.
I tried to put this playlist together for my students, the thing which binds them together is the Turkish ney, Sanat musicians and Ottoman composers. It comprises of ilahi (hymns), instrumental music, secular love songs etc.
They were recommended to me by my teachers (some of the musicians were my teachers at one point), so I have a connection with them. But the list also gives a good idea of ney music too, not only the “taksim” (improvisations), which we hear a lot of, but composed music and how the ney fits in with the orchestra. Some pieces are repeated by different artists to give an idea of different interpretations of the same notation.
I have made a few of these playlists recently, which I will share with you when I have edited them. This one is a general starting point, but in the future it will be more genre specific: books and notation, musicians and composers. Not only Turkish music, but also other genres of music that give an insight into a particular musical genre.
A full track list of the playlist can be found via my youtube site.
With the lock-down in the in February (2020, UK) I thought it had put a stop to playing live. Sessions were cancelled and, for me, musical activities in our new home of Glasgow was non starting. There was a spate of “session videos” which were not practical due to the latency and to be honest it is not the same playing to a video screen!
Thankfully, there was an outlet and that was with the Bowness on Solway session group, called the Solway Band. I had not met them for a while due to moving to Glasgow, but I was willing to contribute to the new CD venture.
I played English Concertina and Mandolin, and there was a array of instruments by the other members: guitars, harmonica, bodhran, ukulele, fiddle, whistles, low flute…and beautiful harmonies sung.
The CD incorporates a mixture of blues, folk rock and folk music, done in our own way. Cover version of songs are worked upon in the sessions and altered to suit the bands style. Instruments are added or subtracted and harmonies worked upon. Humorous lyrics and anti war songs sit side by side to each other, slow murder Border ballads, 60s revivalist songs go next to self penned songs, Cumbrian instrumentals and Mallorcan Boleros all come into the mix during our folk sessions, and some of that is reflected in the CD.
The CD was recorded individually, sent through the internet to David, and he mixed and mastered the individual recordings. He created a booklet of all the songs performed, which comes in handy when wanted to join in at the sessions and also if you want to play along with the CD. He wrote an inside sleeve with info about the tracks as well as the Solway Band. The a colourful picture cover to the CD and the picture disc is a nice touch also. Well done David.
More info about the band and the people involved can be found via the band’s web site The Solway Band
I have just finished the new CD “Til the tide comes in“.
It is very different to my other solo CDs as it grew in size and texture. In fact the name of the CD, at first was going to be called “Textures”. I wanted to record traditional melodies, with each track being different; different in style and feel…texture.
I tried to create this texture by using different instruments: Spanish Gaita, Northumbrian Small Pipes, English Concertina, Mandolin, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electro-acoustic guitar, guitars with different tuning’s, open tuning’s, whistles, drums, shakers, etc.
The recordings were done in Madrid (Casa Asturias), Carlisle and Glasgow. The project kept on growing and I finally decided to release it. I am happy with the result, and I will be doing more of this style in the future.
I also decided to sell my digital CD on Bandcamp, but this time do it more seriously. Since I have stopped busking (due to the lock-down and other reasons), I need to get making music for a living once again.
The melodies were taken from the music books that are associated with the Scottish and English Borders, they are not necessarily Border tunes. But it follows my wish to only play and record the “old melodies”.
Have a listen via the link above, see if you like it?
With lock-down being the party-pooper for any 50th birthday celebration (not mine), we decided to keep our social distancing, and head for the nature…
Glasgow´s Drumpellier Country Park is just about walking distance for us, 1 hour of crossing motorways and following main roads, until you get to the small path that leads into the woods and small pathways that snake around lakes and natural forested areas.
I am not sure if it was because I had not been out of the house in ages, or because the damp weather highlighted the forest colours, but I was fascinated with the richness of the flora, with the colour of green. So many different shades of green…
I was expecting wild flowers and carpets of different coloured mosses, but I must have just missed them or they will be coming out later on? But I was not disappointed with the depth of colour and the freshness of the woods, to take videos of our walk.
I removed the background sounds from the video, as although there was a lot of bird song, there was a loud backdrop of motorway sounds… I replaced it with some recordings I did a few years ago, mandolin and English concertina, traditional melodies from Spain and the Scottish Borders.
The 2nd video shows an wooded area close to Port Carlisle. There is a walk adjacent to the sea, which is part of the Hadrian´s Wall Footpath, which in Spring is beautiful to do. It is a wooded area and with the sun and shadow it is a delightful stroll.
I have wanted to experiment with Synth and guitar for a long time, like an itch that needs scratching. To multi-track these instruments is the obvious way to do things, but I have been thinking to play them live, not multi-tracked; to have a simple percussive backing track, playing through Reaper, whilst I play over the top.
Today I recorded some initial improvisational ideas, work in progress you might say, using an acoustic guitar tuned to an open D chord (d,a,d,f#,a,d) played with a plectrum and finger picking styles; and my Native Instrument M32 midi controller.
The Synth is playing through a small busking amp “Blacksar Fly Vintage” which gave the volume, and I connected the amp to my interface, and my interface is connected to my laptop. I was running Reaper and the Arturia plug-in “Analogue Lab 4″ and I was trying out various sounds, not altering the presets, just seeing how the 2 hands co-ordinate themselves and how the 2 instruments blended together.
The recordings are not “pieces” but only experiments. I added some ReaComp, and a little ReaVerb. There are 2 Stereo tracks for each side of the Zoom´s directional microphone. Through the Master channel is ¨”O Zone 8” plug-in.
I set my “Zoom H2” microphone to stereo recording, and I placed it between my acoustic guitar and the speaker of the Blackstar, to get a rough mix. The stereo recording output allows me to split the tracks and balance them in Reaper.
Here are the recordings I made :
The day did not start too well. I went to the wrong venue! It was not at The Piping Centre, but it was at the College of Piping, Otago Street, Glasgow. I got there a bit wet and annoyed as I had asked directions from someone “where is Glasgow University” and he sent me in the opposite direction.
I mention all this as I got there late, so I missed the first 2 pipers of the day. My apologies to them.
In the morning from 9am to 1pm it was Pibroch. I find listening to Pibroch very meditative, and I often doze off during it, luckily I had my recorder to capture the players.
Piobaireachd/Pibroch.
(1. Sarah Muir – not recorded
2. Gordon McCready) – not recorded
3. Finlay Johnston
4. Glenn Brown
5. Alasdair Henderson
6. Roderick J. MacLeod
7. Angus D. MacColl
8. Sandy Cameron
9. Connor Sinclair
10. Iain Speirs
11. Niall Stewart
Names of Melodies:
Pibroch Recordings:
The March, Strathspey and Reel, and Hornpipe and Jig competitions followed after lunch:
1. Pipe Major Ben Duncan
2. Alasdair Henderson
3. Niall Stewart
4. Angus D. MacColl
5. Iain Speirs
6. Glenn Brown
7. Sarah Muir
8. Gordon McCready
9. Finlay Johnston
10. Roderick J. MacLeod
11. Connor Sinclair
Names of Melodies:
Recordings of MSR, Hornpipes and Jigs:
The day ended with a pipe recital from Chloe Steele, who flew in from Uist for the performance.
During the tuning up for the MSR event, the piper played a song melody, on the back row there came a impromptu chorus of male voices, singing along.
The Facebook poster of the event.
These recordings are from the World Solo Drumming Competitions, which were held on Saturday 19th October 2019, at the Caledonian Univiersity, Glasgow, Scotland. It was an all day event, free of charge except for a small charge for the Finals in the late afternoon.
I was a bit hesitant at first as I am normally listening to the melody instrument, and I thought the drumming would be over powering, but not at all. The mix was just right and I came away with an appreciation of Highland drumming styles.
I include the recordings in reverse order, starting with the Finals, the ones that made it through the Heats. I do not know the names of the drummers, or the pipers, nor the tunes. My intention was to record the event, and for people to listen to it. I am sure those who were there can detect themselves (?) but I only wanted this to be a resource for drummers/players who were not able to attend, and for them to hear the technique and styles.
Finals
Semi Finals
The Heats took place all over the University, in many rooms, with many players of all ages. I mainly sat and recorded the participants in the Carnegie Suite in room M137.Heats, but also there were other events and some were young drummers.
I have wanted to start this blog for a long time, but I never had the confidence to do it. I have been teaching myself to “Record, Mix and Master” for a few years now, mainly from tutorials on YouTube, especially the Reaper tutorials (Kenny Gioia, Reaper TV, The Reaper Blog) as well as other ones not dealing with Reaper but which had some good points to tell about Sound Production.
Another reason to begin this blog is that I have just completed a 2 week short course at the Academy of Music and Sound which is based in Glasgow, and it is this that led me to have the confidence to start writing about Sound Production. Not that the course taught me “all” I needed to know…but by doing the course I felt that I had all the tools already, in my head, and at my finger tips, and I just needed a “confirmation and a green light” to believe I can do it. By seeing my workflow alongside others I felt confident to say “it is ok…I can do it, even if I get it wrong” (and that is the point, there is no real wrong).
I did learn a lot of things on the 2 week course, and I will write about that in the future blog postings, but after the course I felt I know “enough” to begin, to get out there and share these results. This blog is not about what I record as such, it is about sharing a process, a workflow, and to (hopefully) get some feedback and discussion about what I am trying to do and what others are doing.
My DAW of choice is Reaper, I started using Reaper perhaps about 7 years ago, and it has become an old friend, I use it all the time, not only with multi-tracking, but with all sorts of audio production.
I have been recording most of my life, and I really enjoy it. Not only my own music but I enjoy recording other people and events.
My first recording was done at the cinema when I first went to see Star Wars (perhaps I was 10 years old), I sneaked in a large radio cassette player and recorded the sound: dialogue, music, the audio effects… this I listened to when I went to bed, and by doing so I memorised the dialogue. Years later when they showed Stars Wars on TV I remembered the sounds in my brain like a long sustained delay.
I started recording and multi-tracking in the 1970s by using 2 cassette decks next to each other, I recorded an electric guitar into one cassette deck and a beat box went through the amp, and I sang and played guitar live, the other cassette deck recorded the whole event. It was an experiment and perhaps it did not work quite well…but it was fun trying.
After that I used my dad’s “Reel to Reel Recorder” to record myself, this played 2 tracks simultaneously and I could record over myself and play it back in sync with the first track. There was not much mixing involved but it taught me a lot about tempo and listening. I used the Reel to Reel to record some songs in the late 70s and early 80s. I also used it to record the bands I was in, and it also doubled up as my guitar amp!
This is not the right Model but it looked something like this: 
In the mid 90s I bought a Marantz PMD720 Cassette Tape Recorder, and this I used a lot to record my songs as well as some experimental music using a Yamaha keyboard.
Throughout the 90’s I had done a Performing Arts course (BTEC) and a Contemporary Arts course (B.A.)majoring in music, and I had composed with electronic music in my coursework and performances, using an early version of Cubase, which used to crash all the time! No one used the computer for this reason except me, and I learn some basic digital looping and I experimented with minimalism, writing notation using Sibelius, and reversing audio.
The Marantz PMD720 helped me a lot to learn about mixing and multi-tracking and “bouncing down” so I could record 8 tracks in total. A few years ago it died on me, the motor gave out and it slows down and speeds up at will…a nice effect, I fed the audio through a “Zoom Studio 1204” reverb and effects box, which I still use today.
I multi-tracked several acoustic instruments for my BA degree, and matched these to videos I recorded while I was in India collecting music. The songs I was making at the time I also recorded on the Marantz, and these recordings I put onto CD and I still have them, they sound bloody awful, as the mixing and mastering is not good. But it is a record of what I was trying to do at the time, and now I am looking back at those old compositions, I have an idea what they sounded like then.
I spent a lot of my time in the Middle East collecting music and by the time I was thinking to multi-track again the digital age was upon me (2000) and I bought a computer and a laptop. I got an early version of Cakewalk which was difficult to use and the software kept on crashing, I preferred using the old method of recording from “one computer into the other” (like the cassette method) and thus having 2 tracks. I recorded several of my Northumbrian pipe CDs this way, one computer playing the drone, which kept me in tune with the chanter, and the other computer recorded the melody. I edited the tracks using software called “Magix” it had a 2 track facility and this I used to mix both of the audio tracks using a little reverb. Magix was a great tool.
At the same time I found Audacity, and I record with this a lot when I lived in Spain. I have met a lot of people who have started multi-tracking using Audacity and on the 2 week Sound Production course I used it once again, as it is the only accessible software that converts audio into “Raw” files.
I used Adobe Audition C6 for a year or two and later I upgraded to Audition CC, but I was using electronics more and more, especially Vst’s such as Izotope and Native Instruments, and Audition did not have the facility to use them (although now it does). Audition has great plugins included within its DAW for manipulating audio, and it is easy to use and can produce great results if you are mainly using vocals and acoustic instruments, also there are some very good tutorials online especially Mike Russell’s videos, which are great for podcasts and radio/audio production, but I wanted “1 DAW to fix all” and the lack of plugins to cover electronic music made me look around for another DAW.
I tried quite a few DAWs, the demo versions, Sonar, Bitwig, Protools, Cubase, FL Studio, Studio 1, and Ableton… some of them were OK, some of them were really difficult to understand, and the workflow was complicated. Some of them you had to know what you were going to record before you started recording….an audio…a midi track? What number of audio tracks? How many midi tracks…? Etc. I just did not know.
In the end I choose a DAW called Reaper, and the beauty with Reaper was that it was easy to use, for a beginner, and you could make it as complicated as you wanted, later on, and depending on what level you were at.
If I wanted to create a track in Reaper it is the same if it audio or midi, and I could later change it without starting again. I found it suitable to my needs. It is great with midi as well as with audio, it seems to handle all sorts of plugins and it is simple (now) to Rewire other DAWs into Reaper. There are some things I would change, Reaper comes with a stack of plugins and most of them are good, but there is not a lot of thought gone into the “look” of these plugins; Care about the GUI would go a long way, but this is just a small point, it does not matter how it looks like, they work. I have used a lot of external plugins in Reaper, but I am also experimenting with the JS plugins that come with Reaper (but some detailed info about what they all do would be helpful (does anyone know?), and now that I know more about sampling and compression, EQing and effects, I can use the Reaper plugins as much as the external Vst’s.
Reaper has a great series of tutorials online and a good forum to get all sorts of tips and tricks. It seems to be an online community where members can change Reaper, or at least influencing how its future updates are organised, it is not a company who is far off and inaccessible. I just recently joined the forum and I am just learning about what it has to offer. The price is affordable too compared to other DAWs, well under 100 UK pounds.
Reaper has given me a lot over the years, and I just wanted to give a shout out for them.
I went to listen to a selection of groups perform Christmas carols in a church in Azuqueca de Henares, Guadalajara. I knew Casa Asturias´s choir was singing there, but I was also surprised to see and hear ensembles representing the local Christmas carols in various regions of Spain: Extremadura and Andalusia, as well as Guadalajara. New and old songs, all different all incorporating elements of tradition and modernity.
I do not know the name of the bands, or where they came from exactly, so I have just titled them “band 1, Group 2” etc. Casa Asturias I know only.
I made note of some of the instruments used by each band:
Band 1
Bottles for scrapping, Cajon, accordion guitar, drum, (friction drum) zambomba, triangles, shakers, castanets.
Band 2
Guitar, bandurria , drum, (friction drum) zambomba, bandurria rondalla, tambourine, Mortar and Pestle, various percussion instruments, castanets, a split bamboo percussive instrument used in Extremadura.
Casa Asturias (Alcala de Henares)
Guitar and Accordion.
Band 4
2 guitars and Ukuleles.
Band 5
Guitars, violin, percussive instruments, bandurria rondalla. 
Each Group played an average of 3 carols, and all the groups came together at the end to perform “Silent Night” in the Final piece.
The recordings
I decided to have a theme for this year’s concert at Newcastle Folk Festival. Last year at the Friday night concert, I played a random set of tunes from the Peacock Manuscript. But this year I wanted to select different “variation” pieces of Northumbrian music played on the Northumbrian Small pipes.
These variation sets, are long pieces of music; similar to having 5 or 6 melodies added after each other. They are very characteristic of old Border Northumbrian melodies. There are suggestions why these variations came to be added after the main piece of music (the A and B sections of a melody). Some say they are for dancing, for the musician not to be bored; some say they are for listening, as in a concert environment and the player can express their virtuosity and skill.
Whatever the reason these variations can be simple or complex, often long in length sometimes having 25 sections; or as little as 2.
The old manuscripts have variation pieces in them: Dixon, Peacock, and Bewick are the manuscripts I chose to play from.
I started the concert with a reason why I chose to do the variation pieces. This was because 2 years ago I was sitting in a session listening to a friend of mine playing a variation piece on the Scottish Small pipes. As I was listening a man learned across to me and whispered in my ear “it goes on a bit”. He clearly did not like these long pieces of music. It is an expression I have heard before, especially from non-musicians. They do not understand why it is so long, or what the tune is trying to convey to the listener.
People have a short concentration span, 3 minutes on average, as long as a pop song; after that their mind goes onto other things. The variation piece needs concentration to listen and understand it properly; or the audience needs activity as in dancing. These melodies more makes sense when one is playing for a dance; it can get very boring to play the same melody over again, often 15 times while the dance is going on. It makes more sense to keep adding parts so the musician can keep an interest and therefore put some life into the playing.
The comment, made by the man in the session, kept in my mind for a while and I mused upon its reason and solution. “How could I make these traditional pieces of music more understandable and digestible for the listener?”.
In the concert at Newcastleton, I began with a very simple variation piece, Peacock’s “Highland Laddie”; mentioning that the 2nd part of the tune, is another melody called “Butter’d Peas” also from Peacock with the parts changed around. Instead of parts C and D, as in the Highland Laddie, they become parts A and B in Butter’d Peas.
With this example I began to mention my method for other variation pieces. I said “I began to chop up the variations into A and B parts, to make them more easily remembered, as well as giving them a life of their own, then when I had mastered the 2 parts, I joined them onto the variation piece once more”.
To demonstrate this I played Dixon’s “Highland Laddie” mentioning that I missed out the last 2 parts as I found it was “enough for me to play”. I wanted to say that musicians should play what feels comfortable to them, what they like and what they consider appropriate. There is no law that you must play all of the variations. Pick out the best parts and play those.
My next example was Bewick’s “Blackett O’Wylam” where I played all of the parts; followed by Peacock’s “Newmarket Races” where I only played the first 4 parts.
The next melody was Bewick’s “Sir John Fenwick’s” where I played all of the parts, and lastly I played Dixon’s “New Way to Bowden” where I played all the parts.
The concert was recorded and I will upload the recording at a later date.
Here is a recording of a Northumbrian Small Pipe melody called “The Millers Daughter” from the Peacock manuscript from 1800. It is a melody I have played a lot on Small Pipes and Border Pipes over the years.
I am experimenting a lot these days, by playing various Small Pipe melodies on the Galician chanter. The reason why I am playing these tunes on a Spanish bagpipe is not for this blog right now, but there are certain Northumbrian tunes that go well with the Gaita (bagpipe) and certain tunes that do not feel ‘right’.
I bought this chanter, which is in the key of D. A high pitch sounding instrument, that is not that common in Spanish music. Normally you would hear a chanter in C or Bb. I chose D as I wanted it compatible with a lot of Northumbrian/Irish session instruments.
The pitch is a little high, so I made a bass drone in D and a tenor drone in A, but this did not sound right either, it did not suit the melodies too well, so I made another bass drone in D. 2 bass drones in D, give a deeper harmonic in relationship to the high-pitched D chanter (although this recording does not show it too well, this was only a demo).
I have been re-looking at my Bandcamp site. It takes a lot of time to edit it.
I have re-mastered (as they say) the Border pipes CD “O’er the Dyke” and in doing so, it was like finding a lost manuscript, hidden in my archives. I had to re-understand what I was doing all those years ago while recording that CD, using the equipment I had back then. No such thing as DAWs as today, I used to record using a normal computer and its own sound programme. 2 computers to create 1 CD.
Technology moves so fast and now it is easier to record, edit and publish a CD using 1 computer and 1 programme. It takes a lot of time of course, days, weeks and months… but the actual recording can be done a lot quicker.
I have been working on 2 new CDs.
The 1st CD is of the Northumbrian Smallpipes: looking more closely at the Dixon manuscript, with their complex variations. And also I have been looking at various non-British melodies from Sweden, Spain, Belgium and France.
The reason for the mix of styles is a reflection of the countries that have influenced my music of the past 20 years. A CD has to be representative of what I am playing now, and what I am playing are melodies that are directly part of my life. Since I spend a lot of my time in Spain researching the bagpipe, I play a lot of Spanish bagpipe melodies, and since I visit Sweden I have collected 1 or 2 tunes from there… and so it goes on.
The 2nd CD is a concertina CD, with a doubling up of a mandolin on various tracks. The mandolin I started to play again after 30 years break. These tracks are a reflection of my busking activities in the UK and various duets I have been involved with in Spain. The style also covers a range of UK and Spanish melodies that work on the concertina (not all of them do work!). I had to learn a new repertoire on the concertina recently as one of the notes stopped working, so instead of transferring the existing melodies onto a new pitch, I learned a new repertoire in a different key.
These CDs I hope to have finished in December and January.
This is a recording of a melody I did in 2015, in the UK. I was practicing an Asturian melody on the Galician chanter. The melody is called “Si Vas A La Romeria”; I learned it at Casa de Asturias, in Alcala de Henares, Spain. It is my own interpretation of the tune, and I guess I am putting a British “accent” on it… but I hope it is recognizable to the original!
I have been playing with Alba, a fiddle player from Madrid over the past few years. I put to gether a few mp3s connected with our rehearsals. We are called “Jinn & Tonik” and we are trying to mix Spanish and UK music with musical “accents”, how each of us look at each other’s music.
Jinn & Tonik
Another musical project was with a Alba and a singer called Isabel, we concentrated mainly on Scottish Songs, but with the phrasing and “accents” of Spain. We called ourselves “The Flying Cats” (the name was taken from Isabel’s cats who decided to jump from one side of the room to the other and land on our heads while we were reheasing).
Ethnopiper & BusinessControlled 