the BiosLumen back story is really a story about a group of extraordinary people who i have had the honor and privilege of crossing paths with.
a number of years back i was at a gathering of artists in Minneapolis, i had composed the music for a film about a Romanian sculptor named Liviu Mocan and it was to premier there. while i was there i met J Kyle Gregory and we connected immediately.
i have always had a deep love for jazz and as a hip hop producer i was always chopping up jazz samples for my beats. as J Kyle and i kept in touch, he shared with me his album World Downside Up, a record he recorded with his quintet. i love this album and i asked him if i could remix it. after doing a few remixes, Kyle and i decided to form a group and create an album based on these remixes and a few other original pieces. now this is a rabit trail worth exploring because in addition to J Kyle, the musicians he runs with are extraordinary. the personnel in the World Downside Up quintet are: Paolo Birro (Piano), Roberto Dani (Drums), Salvatore Maiore (Bass) and Aya Shimura (cello). their work makes up much of the source material used on the BiosLumen album.
in November of 2009, i took a trip out to Verona Italy to hang with J Kyle in his element. while i was there i had the incredible opportunity to spend time with each person in his quintet. my experiences were as follows.
i got to Meet Salvatore and his wonderful family at a thanksgiving dinner hosted by J Kyle and his family. they had their Italian friends over as a fun way to share this American holiday. after dinner we went into the living room and Kyle had me share some of my tunes. yikes! among the tunes i shared was a remix of one of Salvatore's songs. i was a bit nervous showing this wonderful musician how i had literally butchered his song, not to mention the remix would maybe not be considered a pleasant listen being that its pretty glitchy and dissonant. i was super relived when it ended and he smiled and liked what i had done. his song that i remixed is called Virus which became the title track on the BiosLumen album The Good Virus. but maybe his version is actually the Good Virus and mine might be the bad… :)
on the BiosLumen album in the song Homeless Beauty i had chopped up a piano progression from the World Downside Up song Beautiful are the Poor. when i showed the track to Kyle he laughed because the section from his song i had chosen to use was a part that he didn't even write, it was a segment improvised by pianist Paolo Birro, Kyle said i chose wisely. i had the privilege of meeting Paolo and having lunch at his home. he had a beautiful house, one of the newest in Italy, only about 100 years old. he brought us in and Kyle had me share some of my music with him. again i got to show this incredible pianist how i had sliced and diced his piano work. he also was so gracious and really liked the outcome of the remix. he then played for us a piece he had written on an upright piano in his living room, it was spectacular. a few minutes later his 16 year old son came in from school, Kyle explained that he too was a pianist and asked him to play for us, he agreed and took us to the back room where the baby grand was. i thought to my self, oh how great, this kid is learning to play piano like his dad. a split second later, my jaw was on the floor as i witnessed his lighting speed fingers fly across the keys more than doing justice to a Debussy piece. he was amazing. then we had pasta that Paolo cooked, an unforgettable time.
can a drummer be an acrobat? yes. can a drummer make the sound of a waterfall or babbling stream? yes. well, at least this drummer can. we went to Roberto's place, it was a beautiful drive, he lives by the mountains and i remember the greenery complimented by orange trees, a kind of magical place. again i got to share my music, Roberto was very encouraging in his response to my tunes. we ate lunch there and then he took us up the way to his music creation space, or maybe better described as a science lab because there was a drum set that he had genetically enhanced into something next level. he played for us or rather performed. he looked like an acrobat as he changed utensils from brushes to violin bowes and sticks, creating tones i didn't know you could create on a drum set. he played abstract grooves while creating a pad all without ever stopping. Roberto is way more than ahead of his time, maybe some day we will all catch up.
i got to go with Kyle to an event played in an ancient abbey next to volcanic hills that looked like giant hedgehogs or something from a Mercer Mayer book. he played with strings that evening and among the string players was Aya. as they sound-checked in this Abbey i could not believe the beauty of the natural reverb it produced. Kyle would play a note and it would float endlessly, so warm and silky. after, we went back to one of the musician's apartment where we had pasta and drank wine from that regeon. the wine tasted like the air smelled, the air smelled like the wine tasted. it all seemed very connected there. so i got to hang with Aya who was a wonderful person and it was amazing to hear her play with Kyle and the other strings in the Abbey.
well, i wanted highlight these incredible people because they are so much more than just material to sample and chop, they are extraordinary musicians in their own right and their music would enrich your life if you can get ahold of it.
BiosLumen: The Good Virus available now!
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