Happy Zenkov

(This is a bit of a rehash from the original Kromata post.)
Happy Zenkov was probably my first good composition. I think what makes it work is that for the first time I wasn't thinking of mixing this and that, it was a natural and intuitive invention that certainly has some Balkan and Irish things but not in an artificial way.
I came across the Zenkov rhythm in Kesslari's Doumbek Madness. The meter is 21/8 divided in three phrases 9/8 (2+2+2+3), 7/8 (2+2+3) and 5/8 (2+3). So there's some vague fractalness to the rhythm that becomes really comfortable once you get used to it.

Kromata*:
Alex Daniels - Accordion
Polen Iñaki Pérez - Flute
Charly Daniels - Darbuka
Axel Tamayo - Bass Guitar

* The Attribution for Happy Zenkov should contain this list.

Ephemeral Music: 15 November 2010 "Passacaglia"

A little layered improvisation. Using some of the nice sounds of the Triton.... And a tambourine.

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Trip Journal: 14 August 2010 "Sint-Nicolaaskerk"

There's a really quiet spot some 150 yards from Amsterdam Centraal Train Station where my brother and I sat down to enjoy the sunny morning and to look at Sint-Nicolaaskerk, at the glittering water of the Oosterdok and at the train station. We both opened our sketchbooks, Cha to draw, and I to scribble down the melody that I had been humming without noticing.

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Trip Journal: 2 August 2010 "Crickets"

I started singing this melody to myself while lying on a hammock and listening to hundreds of crickets singing.

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Ephemeral Music: 8 July 2010

This little piece is an exploration of a nice sounding symmetric scale I discovered by accident: G Ab B C# D F. It sounds to me as somewhere between Messiaen, some of the strange scales in Hungarian folk and an Indian Raga.
It has two parts, a slow intro and a rhythmic section.

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Ephemeral Music: 18 June 2010 "Water & Glass"

I enjoyed a lot to record with the bottle for the previous Ephemeral Music post. This time I decided to use only the bottle and a wine glass with water. I'm really pleased with the result. The music is mysterious and pacifying.

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Ephemeral Music: 12 May 2010

This is loosely based in Ethiopian music, basically I just copied a scale I heard ;)
I recommend anyone who likes the colour of the scale to listen to Mahmoud Ahmed, he's indescribably amazing.
The percussion is made by hitting and scratching two coins together, and by thumping the bellows of the accordion.

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