Re: Last Night's Performance Recording & Notes - Boise State University Amphitheater

["Krispen Hartung" <khartung@cableone.net>]

Thanks, Dean.  I have come to realize after many reviews and comments on my CDs and  live performances in the last few years that people are drawn to the material that weaves together and integrates melody (that lyrical part you mention) with polytonalism or atonalism - creating tension and release and thus a more interesting emotional experiences (this is exactly what modern jazz does). In this respect, my debut looping CD "Places" continues to be my most popular work, in contrast to my more recent CDs that are becoming more electronic, obscure, and less musical (I use that in a light sense).  That original CD continues to pop out as being my most authentic work (based on comments), where I sat down with a steel string acoustic, Boomerang, and Boss GT3 floor effects unit, and just let the story unravel, playing totally by intuition and feel. 

 

When I released "Fragments", that was sort of an experiment on listener response, as it combined elements of my old approach with elements of my more recent approach. Not surprisingly, the songs of the old approach receieved better reviews, such as "Nebula" which Fabio and others pointed out. It's all very interesting. Even I, as a listener, tend to not listen to the really atonal music, and prefer the gray area between atonal and totoally diatonic.  I would prefer to play the really extreme atonal music, and not listen to it.

 

Thanks all for all the insight into my own playing and direction.  This may compel me to pull out my Nylon string and do a whole CD just with that, in the vein of "Places"..maybe "Places II"? :)

 

Kris

 

Kris, I want to chime in here and say that I listened to the whole show on a drive home Friday through the countryside, and it was a fabulous listening experience. The sound world you've developed is a rich and enveloping one, but what is for me more impressive is the structure, however flickering it may be, and depite a few turns down some alleys. Understanding how to use the myriad looping technoques available to create themes on the fly, transmute them, and then bring their mangled offspring back for breeding with new ideas is something to which many if not all of us aspire. I for one loved hearing the really gorgeous guitar playing that closes the piece. You are not afraid to be lyrical, and it is great to hear more of that than we have for quite some time.

 

World class stuff.. Blah, blah, blah. So???