Yesterday

On Wednesday we finished recording the percussion for “Dune”, and yesterday we had our first accordion recording session. It went really well. We recorded from ten in the morning to one in the afternoon, and then I kept working by myself until half past six in the evening.

What an amazingly expressive instrument the accordion is! As a kid and young adult I had a very very low opinion of the accordion. The instrument was only used in folk music and was the brunt of many jokes – like banjos, trombones and violas. I did come to love the bandoneon, once I discovered Astor Piazzola, but in the last couple of years I discovered the use of accordion in Arabic music and music from the Balkans.

And luckily there is an accordion player right here in Santa Fe who can play like that! :-)

The new album has a really really interesting sound, a bridge between so many styles and traditions. Its roots dive deep into the ground in many locations, but the trunk also rises high above the traditions and lifts the crown into original air.

Monday

Gratitude is liberating. It is subversive.
It helps us to realize that we are sufficient,
and that realization frees us.

— Joanna Macy

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