A three-note pattern that is played entirely on the first string.  Occasionally I move up the neck to play an ascending/descending set of triads in the upper octave.  False harmonics are employed as well .  The buzzing and rattling tone was created by the use of a partial capo which hindered my two highest strings when the guitar neck was bent back and forth.  The partial capo also helped me to create a tuning where five of the six strings are the same tone.  Quiet hand claps are heard as well.

Download | Duration: 00:09:56

This piece feels like a bush recording.  The guitar part consists of a two-note ascending/descending pattern, with slight variations in intonation and rhythm.  There are also occasional sliding bass notes that interupt the drone.  The toad and the crickets were recorded at the Pawnee Buttes, CO in the Summer of 2007.  The quiet percussion is created by rubbing my palms together.  The rhythmic breathing is a tribute to Rwandan whispered moon music.

Download | Duration: 00:12:51

Before I added the field recording of the elephant seals I thought the music was beautiful. After I added the seals, the music took on an ominous quality. Maybe anything you pair with the sounds of elephant seals becomes disturbing by association. I recorded these seals on their calving beach located near Big Sur, CA. I imagine the bull elephant seals hearing this music during their incredibly deep dives into the cold and dark.

Download | Duration: 00:23:47

I listen for the birds (how do they sing like that?) and the insects. They were recorded in the summer of 2006 at my property in Northern Colorado and at the Pawnee Buttes in Eastern Colorado. I don’t know what species the birds are. Their singing is otherworldly. The bird from the Buttes was recorded in the deep night – this particular bird was singing wildly under the stars, in a deep canyon. It was odd; you don’t often hear extended bird songs at night. The playing consists of a two part pattern, each part repeated twice before moving on to the next. While playing the parts, I was focusing on changes in accent and dynamics within the patterns. There is an Aeolian guitar drone accompaniment as well.

Download | Duration: 00:09:56

I accidentally settled into this two chord round and didn’t want to leave it. More and more I am able to do this, allow myself to get stuck in a beautiful rut and enjoy it. This piece is like driving through the prairie, change is gradual and subtle.

Download | Duration: 00:08:43

The boy yelling is my neighbor across the street, arguing with his folks. The drumming is courtesy of the neighborhood garage band that practices nightly. Ruth Etting provides the beautiful crooning and the stringed instrument accompaniment at the end of the piece is Korean kayagum. It never ceases to amaze me how I can put on any record, seemingly at random, and it will seamlessly fold into my music. I take it as proof that everything is symbiotic, that one choice is as good as another, that no matter what happens, you will thrive, just as sounds do when thrown together. The accordion and clarinet play long tones in unison; I chose 3 notes and used a random number generator to determine which note would be played. I especially enjoy the end of this piece (as I usually do); all the extraneous energy has been expended and I’m able to settle into the music without fear of having to express anything.

Download | Duration: 00:24:39

A collage of the bird calls of North America. The piece builds from beginning to end, starts with 2 calls, then 3, then 4 – up to 8 calls simultaneously by the end. The idea was to simulate the chorus of birds on a spring morning.

Download | Duration: 00:20:11

Contains a recording of fire, my favorite sound in the world; I can listen to it endlessly. I listen for the entry of each instrument, building to the crazy, distorted guitar at the end. I’m still capable of rocking out once every few years. The textures in the Aeolian guitar at the beginning are marvelous.

Download | Duration: 00:24:30

I consider this as my northstar; I never get tired of hearing it. There was a magic to how this music came together; it has an effortless, calm feel that I strive for in all my music. I recorded it on a windy evening; the rustling is from my beloved bamboo patch outside my studio. Wind chimes provide the tinkling and gong-like sounds. This piece was created with minimal input from me; I was not in the room while the recording was made. I set up my guitar and bass and they played quietly by themselves. I’m always able to hear it.

Download | Duration: 01:01:39

There are a few chords in this piece that hang in the air beautifully. The poet is e.e. cummings, and it turns out that the tuning of his voice is exactly matched to the tuning of the knocking guitar. In the last poem, where he begins “sweet spring is your time…” you would think that he was intoning to the music, but the reading was added after I had recorded the music. I placed a microphone out my window to record the neighborhood while I played, at one point there is a bird that seems to be interacting with me, even though there is no way for that bird to have heard what I was doing. But somehow he did.

Download | Duration: 00:16:53