it comes in waves

this is basically a love song. (i’m surprising myself by publicly admitting to that.) it’s based on a chord progression from another strange project i took on in january 2021. i organized a quartet of tubists to play a series of chords in the woods on the beach at goddard state park in rhode island. it was a dream of mine that i was for some reason determined to realize in the middle of the pandemic – i wanted to hear the horns of ghost ships sounding their calls during a brisk winter twilight. it was a stunning experience to have musicians and friends gathered in the cold by the beach to make this wild thing happen, especially during a pandemic. we recorded it on ambisonic microphones, one in the woods amongst the tubas and the other on the beach amongst the wind and the waves.

the “love song” bit came afterwards in the warmth of my home. i recorded a version of that with me on cello/voice and my partner mark cetilia on electronics at a local recording studio and former venue, machines with magnets. for this performance, i’m combining the field recording of the tubists on the beach with an acoustic performance of the song. the two weren’t originally intended to be together, but sometimes that’s when the most serendipitous things can happen.