Improvised Waves
Mellotron and synthesizer improvisations
Ken Leonard / Jimmy Moore / with Brad Schuman
* * *
"... This is a nice release. ..."
E-dition
Magazine #13, June 2006
* * * 1/2
"... far better than most modern EM albums. ..."
Planet Mellotron
Improvised Waves: Mellotron/X3/A6
Electronic Improvisations
 | Ken Leonard - Korg X3, Alesis Andromeda A6, Mellotron
(on "Arpeg Two") |
| Jimmy Moore - Mellotron |
| Brad Schuman - Guitar (on "Arpeg Two") |
Recorded in
the basement of Jimmy Moore's home, outside
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA during Christmas Week 2004.
Edited/mixed/mastered by Ken Leonard January-April 2005.
4 tracks, 1:04:52 total time, stereo
|
is anyone else
recording chilled out tron music like this?
you might have invented a
new form of e.m here.
andy c. -
the glimmer room |
|
| ...it is amazing to hear how
amateur keyboardists
who had never played together before produced such interesting,
flowing passages. |
|
"...a
great example of great Mellotron work. I highly recommend
this CD to all Mellotron fans and enthusiasts."
- Allan, from the
Mellotronists List |
|
About Improvised Waves |
| Improvised Waves was recorded during Christmas Week 2004 by Ken
Leonard and Jimmy Moore, finishing up with Mellotron and Electric Guitar
overdubs on New Year's Eve by Ken Leonard and Brad Schuman. With its focus
on the Mellotron playing of Jimmy Moore and synthesizer work by Ken Leonard, Improvised Waves takes an electronic
journey from the upbeat Berlin School to ponderous space textures. "Flute
and Piano" adds a "pleasant" touch. Improvised Waves is "live" and completely improvised, with the only overdubs---also
improvised---belonging to "Arpeg Two". The setting was
the basement
of Jimmy Moore's home outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The
recordings were edited, mixed, and mastered by Ken Leonard during the early part
of 2005. No additional material was recorded during the editing process.
By and large, this material is as it was during Christmas Week 2004. |
| These recording sessions
were a conversation between musicians who were interacting by listening
and communicating through various instruments. Having no planned
templates, these songs are intuitive musical conversations in the simplest
of terms. It's a mystical, adrenaline-laced, excited feeling.
- Jimmy Moore
|
|
|
..."live" and completely improvised...
By
and large, this material
is as it was
during Christmas Week 2004.
|
This
recording captures live, improvised, unplanned sessions and, although edited
slightly, shows the...ahem..."live" nature in parts.
But it is amazing to hear how amateur keyboardists
who had never played together before produced such interesting,
flowing passages.
Fans of the Mellotron and classic electronic music
might find the headphone journey irresistible.
|
A stunning example of pure musical chemistry. I'd
have sworn it was a Berlin School CD featured on NPR. Brings me
back to my early electronic music roots. And performed by my
friends on my favorite instruments. Bravo!
- Mellotron Professor Jerry Korb |
|
I listen to the completed CD a lot, even though I
should probably be tired of it after the editing and mixing. In some
ways the two longer "spacier" tracks remind me of my solo track "TellTale".
It's music that I like, and it's even better when I'm part of it.
- Ken Leonard
|
| Listen to excerpts from the tracks Using the Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or similar piece of music playing
software, you can listen to excerpts from the CD. Right click on the links in
the MP3 (MPEG encoded) or WMA (Windows Media) columns and save as a local file
to play from your computer at any time. If you prefer, right click on the
ZIP file link in the bottom row to save all the MP3 files to your machine as a
single bundle (you may need a software program like WinZip to read the ZIP file,
but some computers (like Windows XP systems) understand ZIP files without
anything special needed).
| Excerpt from... |
Time |
MP3 |
WMA |
| 1. Arpeg Two |
1'36" |
1.2MB |
600KB |
2. As the Water Recedes...
This excerpt contains four short sections
from the 27-minute long piece. |
5'28" |
3.9MB |
2.4MB |
| 3. Flute and Piano |
1'24" |
1MB |
650KB |
| 4. Track 1 |
2'09" |
1.6MB |
900KB |
| All MP3 excerpts in a ZIP file (save as a local file) |
|
7.4MB |
|
The short excerpts above give you a flavor for what the tracks are all about.
To preserve album continuity, it is suggested that you listen to them in order.
|
|
"Fresh, honest, evocative,
restrained (that's a good thing)."
-
Fritz Doddy
|
| "...absolutely essential mellotron
album..." - RMa on
EMForum.nl |
|
Track Notes
| I'm sure that
some of you'll like this cd...So many users are complaining
permanently about missing analogue sounds...
- GeraldW,
Tangerine Dream Forum |
|
| 1. Arpeg Two was recorded in two passes. Early in the week Ken Leonard set up an arpeggiation on the Alesis Andromeda A6 and provided pads and leads on the Korg
X3 Workstation. Jimmy Moore joined in on the Mellotron, generating the
classic Berlin School sound. On New
Year's Eve Brad Schuman showed up with a vintage Gretsch guitar. Jimmy and
Ken had him plug in and start recording without letting Brad listen to the
track first. Ken played Mellotron during the second pass, but
he could barely hear it through the headphones... "Arpeg Two" had the
most editing of the four tracks, with the creation of an introduction and the
addition of a few more "crashes", but it's much as it was.
Oh, by the way, "Arpeg One" is
here. No, it has
nothing to do with "Arpeg Two". Ken needed a song title, and "Berlin
School 1" was too derivative. :-)
...featured on
WWUH's The Greatest Show From Earth
|
Brad used to play in a Grateful Dead cover band, and I
admire his ability to just "sit in and jam" like he did on the Berlin
School track. And if you listen to Jimmy's Mellotron playing
throughout, you'll hear some interesting twists--from haunting one minute
to something with a blues influence the next--stuff you might miss if
you're not listening closely.
- Ken Leonard |
|
|
Fans of the Mellotron and classic electronic music
might find the headphone journey irresistible. |
2. Christmas Week 2004 brought us the tragic news of the tsunami
affecting southeast Asia. Jimmy and Ken wandered into the basement and
just started recording, and eventually synthesizer patches that took them to
Asia appeared. Jimmy's Mellotron provided mournful flutes. Synthesized bells
painfully played "Mary Had a Little Lamb", reflecting on the many children who
lost their lives. As the Water Recedes... is in thinking of nature's
oft ignored warning where the ocean eerily rushes out and creates an incredibly low tide
shortly before a tsunami hits. What would you do if you were
standing by the sea and saw this happen? Recording note: The
opening progression on Mellotron is really haunting...but Ken had
absolutely no idea what Jimmy was playing! |
| 3. At the start of Flute and Piano, Ken told Jimmy, "C, F, and G,
or something, I
guess." And so it went. The bizarre thing about this piece is the
chord changes and ending were done without any communication aside from the music itself in
the headphones. The piece just worked. Coincidence? Telepathy?
Kismet? Clean living? (Unfortunately this track was
marred by some serious noise, but the editor wanted to preserve it for you as it was
recorded because it's a pleasant piece, so Ken did his best.) |
 |
While listening I don't sit there thinking, "Jeez,
that was a real clam," or, "I wish we had gone somewhere else with this
part of the tune instead of where we did," and so on. OK, so I'm not
any good technically when it comes to playing keys, but, ya know, in the
end, this one's all right for a bunch of old duffers recording in a
basement with one rule: There Are No Rules.
- Ken Leonard |
|
4. Track 1 is called that because it's the first track recorded by
Jimmy Moore and Ken Leonard--ever. Just Mellotron (Jimmy) and A6/X3
(Ken). No planning, no discussions, no practicing---just playing. At the start Ken reached over and hit the record button on the
computer software, and it's a good thing. About 16 minutes later, Jimmy's
son Jimmy Jr. came downstairs to the basement to talk to his dad, leaving Ken to
finish off the tune (and, as it turns out, the album itself) with some synth solos.
|
| Sound quality note:
Some hum, noise, and clicks/pops are present in the original recording.
Care was taken to remove the most unpleasant artifacts, but not everything could
be quieted without compromising the recording. |
| How to get your copy of Improvised Waves
on CD
Improvised Waves is available for $8US (plus shipping)
directly from Ken Leonard. Copies will be shipped world-wide from
the US.
Improvised Waves was pressed by
Diskfaktory and is a high
quality, professionally pressed and printed CD-R that should play in all
CD players. Included is a jewel case and artwork. If the CD is
not as expected, or if it will not play in any of your CD players, please
contact
Ken within 30 days of receipt to arrange a return and refund of the purchase price. |
|
|
<--- Order on-line securely by selecting
the quantity you'd like and clicking
on "Buy Now" to the left. You will be able to order whether you
have an account with the on-line ordering service (PayPal) or not. You can
use non-US currencies, and credit cards are accepted. Packaging
and shipping (world-wide) is included in the price you see.
The service
is provided by PayPal, and you do not need an account with them to use
this. When you order, it may say "Quantity 1" on their page, but
don't worry--you'll get as many as you order!
Generally I'll get your order out within a few days of receipt--I just
need to get to the post office! |
|
 |
<--- US funds are fine, too. Click on the icon to
the left for an address to where payment may be sent. Include your
name, shipping address, quantity desired, and payment. Please
include $8US per CD and $2 shipping for the
first CD and $1 per CD after that. |
|
 |
<--- In person works, if you're in the
New England area or along for one of my
GONewEngland activities.
Please
e-mail and request the quantity of CDs. There will be no
shipping charge. |
|
| Thank you for your support!
It is our hope that you enjoy the tracks on Improvised
Waves as much as we enjoyed playing them and then putting them
together for you.
Please let us know what you think.
- Ken Leonard / Jimmy Moore / Brad Schuman -
April 2005 |
|
Your thoughts about Improvised Waves?
Ken, Jimmy, and Brad would like to know what you think about Improvised
Waves. Click here to visit a page
where you can send in some comments. You can send an e-mail with
your comments by clicking
here.
If you like Improvised Waves, who knows---we may make more!
Contact information:
For more information, send
Ken Leonard
an e-mail or IM kltron/ICQ 34052014.
Ahem. No, Your Webmaster
isn't trying to get top billing. The names are alphabetical. :-)
|
