cubest 001

since joining the cube orchestra in october 2013 i have recorded over 230 improvised tracks with an eclectic array of musicians. most of this was done in mono on an iphone using a voice memo app and levels often peaked, rendering the sound almost unlistenable. more recently though we’ve taken to setting up two mics to enable stereo-esque recording in high quality. i can’t say it’s improved our playing, but at least the listening back is not as painful

also, improvising often leads to long sections, while we explore a theme’s possibilities. seven minutes, ten, twenty+ minutes feels like no time at all while we play. more recently we appear to be mastering the art of ending a tune, yet the track lengths are still… er… impressive. in an effort to present my pick of the best of the cube orchestra in a more listener-friendly fashion i’ve edited them wherever i’ve felt prudence allowed

so here is my selection of the best of the cube orchestra stereo recordings so far in 2014… (some session musicians listed may not be performing on the track selected)

rub shoulders

2014 06 25 –
Steve Burwell: Violin;
Fionn Ball: Percussion;
Chema Gala: Sax;
Christian Liberati: Harmonica;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Bass;
Ramon Sanchez: Trumpet, Percussion, Vocals;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals;
Jon Shepherd: Guitar, Bass;
Javier Cebrian: Percussion;
Ollie Owen: Guitar;
Ellie Glitch: Guitar, Jaw Harp, Vocals;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards;

okay, so i’ve started my stereo selection with a mono track, but this jazzy number came so complete i just had to include it …and no edits anywhere …it’s just too good. javier’s drumming is bright and lively – we miss him. the bass and guitars are working well, chema’s sax is spot on, ramon pipes in and there’s even a cricket chirruping! the tune finds a collective ending, building up then dropping off so well it’s hard to believe it isn’t practised

duh-nung na nuh-nung

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

gentle and floating and full of funny incidental sounds. the guitar parts are sterling. i managed to edit over two minutes out of the original take

ripple

2014 07 16 –
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Tambourine;
Jon Shepherd: Bass;
Ollie Owen: Guitar;
Fionn Ball: Percussion;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards;
Amali: Flute, Accordion

a short burst

parp parp

2014 09 03 –
Steve Watson: Guitar;
Ramon Sanchez: Percussion;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals;
Ollie Owen: Effects;
Chema Gala: Sax;
David Finch: Flute;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards, Vocals

chema is great on his sax, solid with a sense of fun, accompanied by david’s flute, with glitches from ollie’s box of tricks

flitter

amali (i think that’s her name) turned up on our doorstep with a friend and we let them in and encouraged her to join in. she departed halfway through the session and we were left wondering if she’d come to play with us or whether we’d simply swept her up and forced her to make music. the track sports a fine drum solo from fionn and dreamy bass from jon

ka ring

crazy morphing sounds as our instruments gather and take flight, fluttering, stalling, effervescent, settling on a bed of sounds that i’ve no idea where they came from

rhythmic descendent

we just burst into this from out of nowhere and i’m struggling to keep up on the drums, occasionally skipping a beat to make up time. gareth’s sax sounds great, but there are great guitar parts, plus some restrained keyboards from marcus. i even like the talking halfway through

gargle

sad, sweet melody with electronic gargling from ollie’s box of tricks

funky jogger

i’m on the drums again but thankfully i have assistance from ramon pummeling a floor drum and christian’s wonderful triangle. as always it came unexpected and developed into an afro beat with great guitars

surge

2014 08 20 –
Jon Shepherd: Bass;
Chema Gala: Sax;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion;
Ramon Sanchez: Trumpet, Percussion;
Ollie Owen: Guitar;
Steve Watson: Guitar;
Ale Fernandez: Bass;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards

odd things happen when you touch those dials

gritty muesli

2014 09 10 –
Steve Watson: Guitar;
Ramon Sanchez: Trumpet, Percussion;
Chema Gala: Sax, Vocals;
Oliver Kohll: Viola;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion;
Jon Shepherd: Bass;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards

i love the way this track comes together, feeling its way around, then – instant – snappy. pity i’m on those slippery drums again. steve is playing slap guitar like he’s gonna break a string, while oliver and ramon nibble around the edge

mario

2014 09 17 –
Steve Watson: Guitar;
Dalila Rabih: Vocals;
Ramon Sanchez: Trumpet, Percussion;
Chema Gala: Sax;
David Finch: Flute;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion;
Jon Shepherd: Bass;
Ollie Owen: Effects;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards

we’ve run out of time, but the hangers-on want to party

i could’ve carried on adding tracks, but i decided to present this as the first in a series of selected albums

keef chemistry

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