cubest 003

you never know what to expect at a cube orchestra session. expect the unexpected. there may be 20 people or just a handful, three guitarists or none, two sax’s, two flutes and, on more than one occasion, a saw and bow. the results are sometimes samey or fractured, other times out there and fluid and occasionally on fire

this collection, the third in the series so far, aims to expose the listener to some of the variety of sounds we produce on the fly, no discussion, just play and see …

here are some sleeve notes to accompany each track on cubest 003 provide some background to what’s going on

plate it up and serve with relish

2014 10 22
Sammy Weaver: Flute, Vocals
David Cunningham: Flute
David Finch: Sax
Steve Watson: Guitar
Ramon Sanchez: Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals
Ghoufran Warlow: Piano
David Insua-Cao: Percussion, Vibes
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion
Jon Shepherd: Bass
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards

we kick off with an instrumental of sorts. i’m ‘moaning’ into my echo pad, set like a plate reverb, jon sets a groove on bass, david flits around it on flute and sammy provides great vocals. i particularly like the lippy sounds and background outbursts. the groove builds with percussive accents, while steve cranks his guitar over the top with some stylish off-beat notation. it dissolves into bleeps. nice

lucky boy, lucky man

2014 10 15
David Finch: Sax
Steve Watson: Guitar
Ramon Sanchez: Sax, Percussion, Vocals
Sharleena Raczkiewicz: Vocals
Bertrand Lesca: Percussion
David Insua-Cao: Percussion, Vibes
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Percussion
Jon Shepherd: Bass
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards

here we find ramon in fine vocal form, keeping it positive over a reflective piano-based piece of music. david Insua-cao provides interest on vibes while the other dave pumps the sax throughout. often what helps makes a tune is what’s not there, like sharleena’s absense. it’s good practise to not have everyone doing something all the time, find a space if it’s there or let the others develop. it’s a bit hard to hear it here, but it’s too good a tune to omit

further in the future

2014 10 16
Steve Lake: Vocals, Synth
Ghoufran Warlow: Piano, Cubichord
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Percussion, Vocals

from a live performance with a theme about the year of the sex olympics. steve is in full-flight here, his narrative painting a picture of our future, with him on your tv. it builds and builds to a crescendo, then drops out to a dub beat with some nice interplay between the piano and synth

da-da da da da da da da da da

2014 07 23
Gareth Pitt: Sax, Percussion
Steve Watson: Guitar
Ramon Sanchez: Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals
Christian Liberati: Harmonica, Triangle, Vocals
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Percussion
Ollie Owen: Guitar
Fionn Ball: Percussion
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards

sometimes everybody is tuned in, listening and reacting, and this is a good example of fluid playing. the three guitarists are combining to create pulses over the double bass i’m playing on the ipad, with fionn following what’s going on with some expressive drumming. weaving through the rhythm is gareth’s sax, hot and dirty, wonderful. steve’s overdriven bassy guitar piece at the end is epic, with great accompaniment from jean-michel and ollie. you can hear stomp boxes getting stomped. i had a mare with the levels, as a channel knob was knocked right up and i didn’t notice until well into the proceedings. i’ve tried to salvage the sound as best i could, right to the drifting end

hey hey you’re alright

2014 10 25
Steve Watson: Guitar
Dalila Rabih: Vocals
Ramon Sanchez: Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals, Keyboards
Oliver Kohll: Viola, Piano
David Finch: Flute, Sax
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion
Jon Shepherd: Bass
Ollie Owen: Guitar, Effects, Percussion
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards

we did a gig at the cube for marcus’ birthday, in front of an audience, with a sound-check and everything. for about four and a half hours we improvised on stage with barely a pause and i attempted to record it all! as fate would have it, i lost the first hour or two due to some dud batteries, but still ended up with over two and a half hours of material. this little ditty is on the face of it raw and loose, but it’s the jerkiness i like. you don’t know if there’s gonna be a next chord and pretty soon there isn’t! poor dalila is just getting going as the band peter out – classic

slow motion devotion

if there’s one thing ramon can do it’s get into the zone. the tune is lazy, like drifting down a wide river, mantra-like, with two discordant flutes and a fluffy sax. ramon’s chant is mystical. the only thing missing is the incense

trouble with the clangers

2014 10 29
Sammy Weaver: Flute, Vocals
Ramon Sanchez: Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals
David Insua-Cao: Percussion
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, iPad, Percussion, Vocals, Bass
Jon Shepherd: Bass, Harmonica, Vocals
Marcus Valentine: Piano

ramon is venting while david and sammy converse like the clangers. jon’s bass drifts along, sometimes dropping out only to resurface further along the line, while the clangers try to attract ramon’s attention, eventually tempting him over to the drums and we all join in together in a triumphant march. the tune actually morphs into a rhythm and blues song with me singing what i’m seeing projected on the cube’s screen, but i prefer the clangers any day so i cut it out

queremos paz

more upbeat now with some blistering drums from david, keeping it together. ramon focuses his mood on the continuing state of world politics, alternating his attack with calls for peace. here i made a rare decision to edit out some of the vocal lines with an ear on listener presentation and hope i haven’t diluted the message

tortilla slice

another track from our live gig at the cube for marcus’ birthday. a gentle and dreamy number. there’s some nice interplay between ramon and dalila, between steve and ollie’s guitars, between the bass and drums, all locked in for the ride. i like the way it lifts up three minutes in

we will all go together when we go

2014 10 08
Ramon Sanchez: Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals
Ghoufran Warlow: Piano, Percussion, Melodica
Alice Holland: Vocals
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Bass, Percussion
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Percussion
Jon Shepherd: Bass, Guitar
Ollie Owen: Guitar
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards

short and sweet. marcus provides a nice piano line to follow and alice’s words are poignant and powerful. come the time you can be sure the cube orchestra will have a tune to play us out with

i hope this collection provides the listener with a varied presentation of what the cube orchestra creates

download the album: cube orchestra – cubest 003 (81mb zip file)
the first cube orchestra selection: cubest 001
the second cube orchestra selection: cubest 002
even more cube orchestra music: session 23 july 2014
more info about the cube orchestra: cube orchestra wiki

keef chemistry