A Creative Storm

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/0ec31d_833ba450b5b8408c9b26e042199cdf32/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

February brought the biggest blizzard in a decade to New York City, and with it, a creative storm inside my studio.

My inspiration for this new track was the celestial sphere of Mercury – the Roman god of travelers, merchants, and thieves. Mercury served as messenger to the gods, and was known for his cunning and speed.

With these images in mind, I began by creating an upbeat sequence on the Moog Grandmother, with a custom patch that used “Sample and Hold” to create unpredictable changes in timbre and tone. With this sequence playing in the background, I improvised a piano melody on top. Like much of my music, this was done in a single take, capturing the moment of inspiration as it happened in real time.

At this point, I was struck by an idea that seemed to come out of nowhere – how would it sound if I added a hammered dulcimer to the mix? I’ve always loved the sound of the dulcimer, and I felt like this would keep the music grounded in a more “medieval” vein. The end result was an exciting blend of ancient and modern timbres, with the piano and dulcimer dancing together on a bed of bubbling analog rhythms.

Around the halfway point, the music led me into a surprise modulation and a “breakdown” of sorts, with the dulcimer soloing over a muted background sequence. From there, the piece began to build up in anticipation, as if flying past Mercury and getting caught up in a solar flare (which was sonically created on my new Solar 42N). This set things up for the big crescendo and return to the original piano melody.

“The Quickening Air” was a lot of fun to create, and I found myself making small changes to the arrangement and the mix for several weeks. The current version is the 13^th mix – and I think I’m finally done with it now!

You can download the finished track at https://kevinkeller.bandcamp.com/track/the-quickening-air

Once “The Quickening Air” was mastered and uploaded, I could hear clearly how my travel plans to Namibia had inspired this music. It really does sound like a drive across the desert to my ears. I can’t wait to bring this track with me and play it in the car as my wife and I drive through the desert in our rented 4x4!

Unitl next month, happy listening!