Janeks new album

[stonecoldbass]

I've tried but just can't get into Janeks new album. On top of that I feel rather let down that this is what he has released. I understand the concept of spontaneous creation in the studio and picking players you hope will contribute to the project in a unique way and with today's technology the ability to play with things in post production can be really eye opening. However, the album really does sound like a jam, a cool jam, but a jam nonetheless. There are no real melodies or hooks, very few interesting basslines and a general lack of compositional ingenuity. I say this because Janek has so often spoke about the importance of melody and such like but seems to have forgotten about it with this offering. I was also disappointed with the lack of natural bass tones and solos from janek. He seems to have hidden away behind a wall of fx in the hope that this makes it different enough to be interesting. Not for me. And I love bass effects, but when they're used all the time, they lose their impact.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Janek hater by any means, I really respect him for what he's done for the online community and he is undoubtably a fantastic musician and businessman. I just feel that he has pulled a fast one on us with this album, I was really expecting a lot more than what he offered.
What do you guys think? It's possible this is exactly the album Janek wanted to make and this is just how his musical voice has evolved, it's also possible it was an experiment that didn't quite work out...
Please, I'm not here to start a fight, I'm looking for an open, thoughtful discussion.

 

[user3653753]

well you nailed it on the head with all the things you feel are missing from the album. They're "missing" for a reason. In fact there's nothing missing at all... It wasn't an experiment to pull a "fast one" on anyone. It was an experiment just like any other album I've ever made and ever will make. There are no solos for a reason, and there is lots of sub harmonic and low end for a reason.

Making albums with lots of bass solos (which I've actually done very little of on record) sounds dated to me. There really isn't anyone out there that's breaking any ground with their playing melodically or saying anything that hasn't been said before. Consciously moving away from that genre and concept of playing allowed me to open up a completely different avenue of expression.

I appreciate your honest post, and there is no such thing as bad feedback or a "wrong" opinion to me. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect that very much.

And to let you know about your last statement in the post... this IS exactly the album I wanted to make and it represents two days in my life long musical journey. Nothing more, nothing less. To me that's what records are. They are honest representations of what an artist is doing, feeling, and expressing at that given time of recording.

I would have hated to force an album of melodies and solos out there and it be totally dishonest. You would have seen through that in a heartbeat. So what I put out is what I'm honestly feeling and hearing. It's a departure from my previous three albums for sure. it's a sonic statement, and not a "hey look at me I can play the bass really fast".

I hope it grows on you, but if not I won't be offended at all. Imagine if everyone liked everyone's music? the world would be a bloody nightmare of niceness! it's good and healthy to have a difference in taste and opinion, and I appreciate you expressing your openly and honestly.

Janek

 

[wes stephenson]

Well said mr janek! Musical honesty what a nice idea!

 

[chanson]

Good reply from Janek. He always seems to be such a great ambassador for professional musicians. The new album definitely was different than what I was expecting, but you have to put your expectations aside and listen to it objectively for what it is. You know? Take it for what it is, not for what it isn't.

 

[MarkA]

I only know Janek by name and from a few Youtube videos. I checked out his bass lessons site for the first time last night. Signed up. Interested to see what comes down the pipe there (I'll play around with the diminished-to-minor arpeggio exercise in the intro lesson posted on the homepage today). An honest and thoughtful response here (and, credit to the OP, a well-put and honest initial post). It seems that people are most of the time caught up either in PC niceness or combative tribalism, so it's nice to see honest, meaningful exchange. I'm inclined to check out more of Janek's music now. Depending on how that goes, I might even pick up an album...

 

[stonecoldbass]

Hey Janek, thanks for your reply, it was really insightful and you pretty much answered all my points.
I guess there are many forms an album can take, and when yours didn't fit my preconception of what it should've been, I dismissed it. However, having read your reply I understand your reasoning behind your musical choices much better and that helps me understand what the album is trying to say. It opened an interesting thought process for me relating to how our perception of music is influenced by our knowledge of the person creating it.
For example: the first time I heard Charlie Hunter playing I was in a restaurant and his cd was playing. I thought to myself 'I really like this music, it's got a great feel and the tunes are cool' then when I got home and looked him up online I was amazed to discover he plays an 8 string guitar and plays both bass and guitar parts simultaneously! If I had known beforehand the Charlie Hunter played this way I would have been analysing the music from the perspective of trying to figure out how he does certain things and judging his bass lines compared to what I think a real bass player would play. But because the first time I heard his music I had no prior knowledge of him, I was listening to it purely on its musical merits. And now that I know how it's made I still enjoy it and I'm amazed by his musicality, but it's only because his material is strong enough that I keep going back to it. The 'gimmick' of how it's made is not the deciding factor on why I listen to it. It's like when I was younger and only wanted to listen to the fastest shred solos or extreme fast slap bass. I was attracted by the technicality of it but was blind to the musical content. Like how trumpet players are impressed by playing really high, but a 3yr old can play the exact same note on a piano with supreme ease. Therefore it's not how the notes are made, but why. Any piece of music should be just as viable transplanted onto another instrument. The contents merit should not be defined by the technical facility required to play it.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say (and now I'm not so sure my example is that great!) is that While knowing how and why your album is made now changes how I listen to it, that shouldnt really affect how the music speaks to me. Knowing the incredible stories behind albums like bitches brew and gracelands don't change the fact that one is my favourite album of all time and one just doesn't speak to me in a way I enjoy.
Um.....I hope im making some kinda sense!!
So being honest with myself I guess I listened to your album with 'coloured' ears and expectation of what it should be. I will now revisit your album and cast aside what I thought and know about it and try to listen innocently and as whole. That's really the fairest way to check stuff out. Basically take my own advice!
As for an album of bass solos being outdated, I guess it depends on the players musical voice and how they best feel that they can express themselves. Does the same logic apply to album of guitar solos? I think as long as its an honest expression it doesn't have to be groundbreaking or new to be valid. Like I was saying earlier, if you had made an album with lots of bass solos, and the album was to be re orchestrated and all your solos were played on a saxophone, I'm sure it would still be a cohesive musical statement. People seem to get caught up in how things are made as opposed to just thinking 'is this actually good music?'......which is a whole other can of worms!!
Ok.... I think I should stop writing now, I'll end up going found in circles and contradicting myself if I keep going!
Again, I thank you for thoughtful reply, and for your musical contribution to my life as a musician through your online lessons, blogs, podcasts and albums. I know you appreciate open and honest discussion!

 

[user3653753]

Good to hear back from you, thanks for the post.

I think the main thing for me is to take the ego out of the music, and ironically having done that as much as I could with my latest album, it's the one thing a certain group of die hard fusion/bass solo fans want to put right back into it.

Subtlety is something that may have passed a few people by in this micro "bass" community, and the comparisons with Matt and Hadrien come rolling in from a select few bedroom touring players with comments of a highly competitive nature. I think this has a lot to do with the connectivity of services like youtube "informing" people about what's going on around the world far more rapidly than ever before, and delivering a massive amount of information to people to digest in one go. Just think how much information you can serve yourself in 10 minutes on youtube? how could you possibly process all of that objectively and form an original opinion? people's opinions get herded into a "related videos" concept of thinking and the associations that are made between artists often end up becoming very competitive.

It's sad in a way because I think the underlying musical concept of players like Matt and Hadrien gets missed for the most part. People are so hell bent and awe struck with the facility of the player that they never even get close to understanding the process or the depth to a musicians voice. The ego is immediately impressed with technique, like a quick fix of narcotics, and then unfortunately music starts being measured with that barometer of technical prowess.

It's ironic to me that now I am somewhat known as a musician in certain circles and enjoy the honor of being called by some of my all time heroes like Mike Stern and Randy Brecker, I always find myself having to reboot that partition of my brain to go and play that style of music as it's something I rarely do for myself anymore. That's not because I can't, it's because I choose not to. And in the spirit of transparency and open discussion it's something that can be really scary at times. Taking a conscious decision to play music that I feel right now rather than play music I felt 10 years ago or music that I think people will like, is a rather daunting task. And it's something I have to work on on a daily basis to be okay with. Just reaffirming that I can trust my instincts and do whatever I want. I don't have to conform to what a handful of bass players think online, because what matters at the end of the day is my own happiness first.

Now don't get me wrong, if you're a bass fan, music fan, whatever fan, and you're along for the ride I have the upmost respect for you, and will do my best to communicate with fans and audience members on a regular basis to have this open and honest discussion. But what I'm very much over is comparisons with other bass players, competition in music, and people who make hobby careers out of hiding behind screen names and posting antagonistic streams of uninformed nonsense to make themselves feel better about whatever is lacking in their lives.

I totally get it though! I think it's the hardest thing in the world to ask for help, or to admit there's something you don't understand or could be better at. But once you get to that place of being able to ask questions instead of dictating your inner frustrations... man, I can't tell you how liberating that feels, and I think my musical process and ability to communicate gets better every day as a result of finding that place of vulnerability. I realized that in order to progress I needed to be searching for mistakes way more than admiring what I could already do. As soon as I started seeking out things I had no concept of how to do I immediately gave myself a life's work of being more honest not just with myself but with my audience.

If I lose a few "bass fans" along the way, I couldn't be happier. It's like people who are on your mailing list that are dead weight. They hang out and open one out of 50 emails you send out, and probably only arrived on the list to get something free in the first place. The more people like that I can trim away the better. People who call themselves "fans" just so they can hang out and make derogatory comments about what you do aren't really fans at the end of the day are they? People who focus too much on the instrument and not on the music generally come to shows and stand there motionless all night with their coat still on, and perhaps even a backpack with the latest copy of whatever industry magazine they just picked up, a set of strings or a pair of drumsticks. They don't buy drinks which pisses of the club or venue owner, and they certainly don't bring girls to the show which gets old after a while... and the worst part of all, they don't position themselves in a place of openness to enjoy the music because they're so wrapped up in how impossible it is to play as fast as Matt, Me, Hadrien or whoever. What they haven't realized is that if they really wanted to, they could play like that in 3 years. But there you come across yet another major issue with most people who are on this thought path or trajectory, they don't ever want to do the work. I really feel blessed to have such incredible fans that come out to shows and buy or download my music. They are loving, kind, and respectful, and I can do nothing but the same thing back to them. Long may this trend continue for my music. I will die a very happy person if this is the shape of things to come.

Again, this is by no means my ego saying look at me I play with X and I did all this hard work. It's just a commonality amongst any musician/artist/scientist/writer/performer/pioneer/inventer in any field that made a choice due to a passion. The passion was to learn, and when that spark ignites the passion in your life, as long as it's a strong feeling, there's almost nothing that will put it out. Then follows the hard work and patience, and hopefully at some point some happiness and inner success in the chosen pursuit.

As flattering as the positive reviews of anything I do are, they have to hold as much weight (zero) as the negative stuff. That way the trajectory can be maintained and a positive outlook and strong passion for what I do can be ever more consistent. I think that, aside from the massive amount of communication I get/do online, the biggest reward is that presence and physical energy I feel at a live show. There are no chat rooms, no screen names, no comfort zone of the four walled bedroom youtube commenter, just honest and open communication between artist and audience. I think that's why I'm a huge fan of releasing bootlegs of my shows because the music gets developed so much more than the album in that arena. It has the length of a tour to breathe and not just a couple of days in the studio when there is financial pressure and time constraints.

Anyway, I think I'm going to turn this thread into a blog post about communication if that's okay with you guys. It's rare in a forum like this that people can voice their opinion and no one get bent out of shape. I very much appreciate that, and hope that is something that might catch on across the pond and across the world one of these days.

John Mayer has a great quote about the internet and it's something like "If it happened online, then it didn't really happen".

Our music happens in the studio and on the gig. I hope people can appreciate that more and more and be involved in this rather wonderful community we have both inside and outside the internet.


Janek

 

[Ben Heard]

While I haven't had the chance to purchase or really listen to the album yet aside from what I'd heard from your live video stream from the studio, I just wanted to say a huge thanks for doing a stream of the whole recording process. It's really cool that you're doing all this stuff for the online bass community, and I hope others are enjoying it and learning as much as I am.

 

[silddx]

Now this is interesting!

I too had a listen to half the album today (prompted by a thread on Basschat), and I didn't like it either, for very similar reasons to StoneCold. I really don't think that will change but so what (that's not a pun).

I completely agree with Janek that there really don't seem to be any bassists out there doing much that is refreshing and new in terms of melodic and harmonic approaches. There seems to be a lack of romance in current 'solo' / 'virtuoso' electric bass. The old DB jazzers are much nicer to listen to, although I can't get into jazz really. Scott Thunes was the last great beautiful 'clever' bassist I heard, he seems so romantic in his phrasing and energy, where has that gone? I must be missing something.

Respect to Janek for your honesty and grace, we all have our musical prejudices, and we can overcome them as StoneCold says, and we all have coloured ears. However, if that colour is feeding your own aesthetic, celebrate it. You can't love everything. Where do we get these loves, hates and indifferences in our musical tastes? That's the really interesting question, and I have never heard a satisfactory explanation.

What is odd is that it seems to me that one's own ego must somehow match the perceived ego of the musicians one likes. That perception is ever changing, and if you later find, for example, that the musician supports the same football team you do, or loves the same restaurant you go to, you may become more predisposed to accept their output and grow to love it. That's probably bollocks

 

[silddx]

Since Janek would like to go down the communication route on this thread, what does any music communicate? Is it more about the reception than the communication? Any deliberate communication of the musician or composer ceases to exist as soon as it is received by the listener, as it is then usually a matter of interpretation, lyrics are no exception. It is very difficult to communicate even a base emotion through musical expression. It demands so much from the musician, especially when improvising.

I say all that and then there is the paradox. I play with a world class sitarist. She has studied and practiced a LOT. I have had experiences listening to her play raags where I can actually feel it's a morning or evening raag with virtually no knowledge or experience of Indian classical music. It requires some effort of letting go and simply allowing the music to affect one's core humanity, almost like meditation. It vibrates the mind, and the mind senses truth, and somehow what it is to experience the environment as a human. I'm too far gone and inexperienced to make this the art and science of my own music, but one can try.

 

[Barkless Dog]

Funny, I never heard of you before. Tino (Steve Lawson) posted on Facebook about you new LP, which I bought & enjoyed quite a bit. I have not absorbed all of it yet, but the tracks "It Only Happens Once" & Social Network , really stood out to me. I found it really creative & kind of opening up a door in your mind. Thanks to Tino for posting about it and thanks for making it.

I sent links to others and am getting positive responses from your music.

 

[user3653753]

Hey, thanks for spreading the word, that's much appreciated.

I was just reading over this thread before highlighting some of the topics to put into a blog post, and I think I didn't really address the main opening issue the thread starter had, which was my album.

I guess my consistent and honest feeling or response to that would be that it really doesn't matter to me on either side of the fence. Some people are going to love what I do, and some people are going to hate it. I think it would actually be rather boring if everyone either loved or hated it, and there was no difference of opinion. And that wouldn't be something that was unique to me if that existed in the world, it would be occurring across the board and mediocrity and tunnel vision would be a seriously depressing issue...

I went into the studio with a completely clean slate and no prepared musical ideas whatsoever. It was a question of starting to jam a little, maybe coming up with a simple groove or melody idea, and then going with it for a few minutes. I think we must have recorded about 10hrs of material, and the real task was trying to decide what got included on the album which is less than 60mins of music. There was no chopping of tracks together, just a simple concept of locating start points and end points. I wanted to let the music arrive on people's iPods and computer just the way it had happened in the studio. One of my best friends of 20 years was there making a documentary on the process (which I can't wait to release btw... I think it might open up a whole other world to people about the process), and also prepared a couple of loops in ableton for us to jam to in the studio. We used two of them that consisted of about two bars each I think, so that was the sole extent of pre production and pre conceived compositional devices for the sessions.

Even most of the effects you hear like the Space Echo on the snare drum on a couple of tracks was all done live by John Davis our engineer. I think we went back on one of the tracks and redid the space echo in the mix just to give a higher production quality, but the concept was maintained from start to finish. Capture what was happening in our collective musical lives and thoughts over two days in the studio. Nothing more, nothing less. It is absolutely a framework, and not a detailed picture from a compositional perspective. But it is an incredibly detailed illustration of the improvisational minds of 7 incredible musicians.

One of the most interesting things about the process (and bear in mind it's only been out for about two weeks) is the incredibly positive input from a new audience for this music. I talked about losing a few youtube commenters as fans along the way, but they have been replaced 10 fold with people who just dig the music, and don't want to think about what effect is being used on the bass, or why there are no solos because there were solos on previous recordings. To me that's a stop forwards, and I'm grateful to those new people checking out the music and giving me positive feedback on it. Being rather plumbed into how the interweb works I'm very much aware of what my demographic is, and I'm always looking to expand that. Who wouldn't want to reach more people with what they do? Benjamin Zander has a great concept that goes something like "it's not that classical music only has 3% of the global music market, it's that 97% of listeners just don't know about it yet...". That's not word for word, but it's something like that. And for every youtuber I lost with this new album, I gained 10 more people who just listen to music rather than place an instrument (the bass in this case) in front of the product as a filter or barometer to compare everything to. My friend Richard Niles always used to say that the word instrument should be taken in it's literal meaning. Just like a spoon is an instrument to facilitate the eating of cereal, the bass in my case is an instrument to facilitate musical ideas.

And looking at some of my comments about people who hide behind screen names etc etc.. I do fully stand behind that because most of the abuse I or anyone else has ever been a recipient of has come from cowardly individuals who have nothing better to do in their lives that cause other people grief from a place of anonymity. It is of course a generalization and one I'm not a massive fan of, but I am at a loss for how to explain my feelings without making a statement like that. There are of course going to be people who tell you you're an *******, or that they hate you, in plain sight with their names in full view. I think I might have been one of those before, having given honest answers to loaded questions and made public statements about my feelings of other people and their music. You live and learn. My goal now is to be as positive as possible in all aspects of my life, and treat everyone with respect. Will I be successful 100% of the time? I hope so, but I doubt it. I'll do my best, and that's all I can do.

Since releasing this new album I've had yet another influx of fantastically misinformed comments about my music, and about my career which I find bemusing. The comparisons between Hadrien, Matt and myself are so massive in quantity that there is virtually no point in addressing them ever again. They're pointless, and for the most part incorrect on a basic factual level. I was hanging out with Hadrien a couple of nights ago talking about this very topic. He's getting ready to release a new album of his own, and we were discussing the merits and the pitfalls of opening yourself up to the world with an honest musical statement about how you feel at a given time. For the most part it's incredibly rewarding, and we both agreed that we have a lot of fun doing it. But no matter how zen or mentally prepared you are for something, negativity has a habit of creeping in and attacking when you least expect it. At the end of the day Hadrien and I will probably keep making records and performing all over the world until we die. We have a great friendship, support each others work, appreciate the time we get to hang out (which is actually quite often now we live in the same city), and be as positive as we can be.

Some of the quotes I've been sent about me and him are quite hilarious though... People seem to think that all I do is tour as a sideman, and all he does is tour as a leader. it's actually almost the complete opposite right now, and has been for a while since I made a conscious effort to try and spend more time at home with my wife, and since he moved to the US and got the gig with Jada Pinkett Smith. But I think we both agree on something when it comes to touring as a sideman, and that's that the music has to be fulfilling and just plain good at the end of the day. I think there's nothing worse than feeling like what you just poured your heart and soul into on a tour didn't matter, and I know when I get home having made good music on the road I'm inspired to do more with my own music. Does it really matter what the vehicle that a musician expresses his or herself in is? As long as it's honest, you enhance people's lives as a result of it, and you have a good time, I think you're in pretty good shape.

Janek

 

[Pacman]

I dig it. I appreciate the honesty of reaching to try to break ground, and actually think a few really nice melodies showed up. Inspiring!

 

[silddx]

Hey, thanks for spreading the word, that's much appreciated.

I went into the studio with a completely clean slate and no prepared musical ideas whatsoever. It was a question of starting to jam a little, maybe coming up with a simple groove or melody idea, and then going with it for a few minutes. I think we must have recorded about 10hrs of material, and the real task was trying to decide what got included on the album which is less than 60mins of music. There was no chopping of tracks together, just a simple concept of locating start points and end points. I wanted to let the music arrive on people's iPods and computer just the way it had happened in the studio. One of my best friends of 20 years was there making a documentary on the process (which I can't wait to release btw... I think it might open up a whole other world to people about the process), and also prepared a couple of loops in ableton for us to jam to in the studio. We used two of them that consisted of about two bars each I think, so that was the sole extent of pre production and pre conceived compositional devices for the sessions.

Even most of the effects you hear like the Space Echo on the snare drum on a couple of tracks was all done live by John Davis our engineer. I think we went back on one of the tracks and redid the space echo in the mix just to give a higher production quality, but the concept was maintained from start to finish. Capture what was happening in our collective musical lives and thoughts over two days in the studio. Nothing more, nothing less. It is absolutely a framework, and not a detailed picture from a compositional perspective. But it is an incredibly detailed illustration of the improvisational minds of 7 incredible musicians.

Janek

Hello Janek,

Given the process under which you recorded your album was almost purely improvisational, may I ask you what you believe to be the communicative value of improvisation as opposed to thoughtful composition? And what process and controls you used to discard 90% of the result in favour of the released 10%?

From my own point of view, over the lifetime of a musician, and depending on their static and evolving motivations, their brains will probably always be musically further advanced than their technical ability to render their musical thoughts in real time. So the object of the improvisational musician is not only to develop their own musical aesthetic, but to develop an incredibly comprehensive set of motor skills and theoretical knowledge in order to keep up with their brain and create, in real time, some music they feel represents their free-form musical thoughts. My feeling is that this process can for most people actually impede natural musical thoughts (like when you hear in your head your own superimposed musical thoughts over a piece of music you are listening to) by introducing a physical interpretative procedure on a musical instrument. Hence I feel that only superskilled players are able to fully improvise with any great degree of musicality without falling into physical patterns and repetition, and even the superskilled are not truly representing what they would have thought had they not been encumbered with an instrument through which to render them audible.

 

[user3653753]

very interesting questions, thanks!

the process of deciding what ended up on the album was, albeit very time consuming sifting through all the material, actually quite simple.

I initially set myself a time frame for the album from recording to release date so there is minimal time for pondering, and maximum honesty can be achieved when it comes to standing behind the performances that were made in the studio.

I also think there might be some scope for DJ and producer remixes of some of the unreleased material for some vinyl releases down the road. Lots of good stuff ended up on the cutting room floor in the end, and I don't want it to go to waste.

I guess to answer your question directly the controls I used were my ears and taste when listening back to the sessions. I tried to find the most cohesive parts of the story telling process in what we had recorded, and then fashion 3-6 minutes songs out of the tracks and put it in a sequence that I thought made sense.

The second point or points that you're making are very valid IMO. It is a parallel process between the brain and the technical ability on the instrument, and one that never ends. I think a huge factor in the success of any improvising musician is getting the balance between having a unique voice, and also not getting stuck in specific patterns and routes on the instrument. I've often thought it would have been cool to be a singer and not have a physical instrument to hold (besides a microphone) or get in the way. But there are limitations with everything we do, we're human after all. The more musicians I interview, tour with, and generally hang out with the more I see a trend in the real job of a musician. To push through those limitations and use whatever you find on the other side as your unique tools to push forward with your voice.

Janek

 

[silddx]

And very interesting answers! Thanks Janek.

I think a lot of musicians with amazing technical skills feel they have to use them. Sometimes it feels like they don't have the confidence to simply use taste and judgement and restrain themselves, and some of their performances come across almost as brand positioning So I absolutely salute you in your restraint on this album (I've heard half of it), and playing quite simply but with the emphasis on creating an atmosphere, where ALL the musicians in the ensemble have room to think, breathe, and create. The process of taking away is much more important than its counterpart. I forget which sculptor said it, and this may be paraphrasing a little, but when asked how he created such incredible sculptures of horses, he replied 'It's simple, I just remove anything that isn't horse.' and I might add that such a philosophy is a very lovely way of creating truthful music, and aside from a few indulgences, the way I like to create bass and guitar parts for the artists I play with.

I will have another listen to your new album. I think the problem was that I had expectations and prejudices based on your writings in Bass Guitar Magazine, interviews and videos, and what I'd read from some of your devotees who probably like you for dazzling Coltrane-like sheets of notes. I created my own limits on how I perceived your musical expression and I will admit that I was thinking that you have great skills and knowledge, but not a lot of compositional ability when given the freedom to express it. I misunderstood the intent of this album, and I think it's partly the fault of dumb audiences almost forcing great musicians to make crass displays of athletics at the expense of music, because so many people need instant gratification now, and music has become so 'quantifiable'. I sometimes want to scream at them that just because they consider themselves 'fans' and buy the music, it doesn't make them f*cking shareholders! I almost EXPECT these athletic displays now and hope and pray they will excite me on a musical level. I'd love to hear someone shredding MUSICALLY, but I so rarely find anything other than bland mediocrity.

Although I mostly like music with soaring melody and romantic harmony, and great vocals and lyrics, from pop, rock, orchestral and choral, Indian and Arabic classical - I also like a fair bit of instrumental vibey music, Gong, Hillage, ambient dub, early dubstep, etc. I am glad you have helped me hurdle some of my stupid preconceptions and prejudices through this conversation, Janek. Ta And good luck with the album. I may even buy it and enjoy it now

 

[middlebit]

I really love this album and I've been playing it pretty much on a loop since its release. I found my wife, otherwise always pestering me to turn down "that infernal racket" when I play music from my collection, bobbing her head to Social Network and You Rang? the other day. That in itself is amazing! My daughter (2½ years) digs it too, "good for dancing" she says and struts her stuff.

This is exactly what I want to hear in an album. I'm not interested in dancing or anything like that but I am interested in spontaneous musical interaction and capturing "the moment" (which is why I find live recordings endlessly more interesting than "studio albums", a term I now have to revise my use of after hearing this album). It Only Happens Once seems to me to capture the spirit of a live, improvised meeting of creative minds. As the title suggests, this is special. And yet you can hear that the music does not take itself too seriously - a great plus! I'd rather listen to great musicians having some disciplined good fun than great musicians playing sheet music.

If there is ONE thing I miss on this album, and this was mentioned in first post, it's the lack of proper "bass" tones. I get the concept, I dig the fact that I can enjoy the music without hearing "a Fodera sound" and still identify Janek in an instant even though it sometimes sounds like he's playing an old fax machine. I just happen to also like the sound of a bass.
But I also know that a traditional bass sound would not have fit the music the same way. It would have been a different thing entirely, perhaps equally great but different. So I realise that the thing I miss is also one of the things that make this album special to me. My wife doesn't know anything about bass sound or effects - she just digs the music. Which is perhaps what we should all try to do without getting hung up on what cables or strings this or the other guy uses.

 

[Barkless Dog]

Sometimes I really am taken aback on how close minded the bass community can be, the majority that is, in my opinion.

I think the reason is that the role of the traditional bassist is to be the support of the song & other upper register instruments. Don't get me wrong but ever song needs that. But who says the bass player always has to be in that role?

I also see how a lot of virtuoso guitarists, usually in Metal bands, expect the bass to support their playing, sometimes note for note, then during the recording, push the bass WAY back in the mix so no one can hear what your playing.

One would think the bass playing community should have an open minded attitude to push the role of the bass into new territories and be accepting of new ideas, sadly that is not the case. Its more like - Know your Place. If you read SquarePusher interviews he generally stays away from classifying himself as a solo bassist (a very dirty word in the music world). He considers himself a MUSICIAN creating MUSIC. Roles do not mean anything, it's the vision in the end that matters. He learned a long time ago to stay away from the close minded bass community and its associations.


Just my opinion & observation.

 

[steubig]

hello.

i stumbled across this thread and it addresses some issues that are near and dear to my heart. so if i may . . .

first, after reading that this is a disc of improv music that is not about the usual background/solo hierarchy, i am much more interested in hearing it. if it was about "the solos," i would not be interestd in it at all. (just not my thing.)

re janek's comment that the bass solo thing is starting to sound pretty samey, i have to say i agree. IMHO, most e-bass soloists are coming out of the post-jaco/post-bop thing, not unlike all the alto players who came out after bird. this leads to my question: where are the miles davis, anthony braxton, evan parker, arve hendrickson, etc., of the e-bass? hell, i'd like to hear the muddy waters of the e-bass.

re improvisation and licks. eveyone has licks and areas they like and use (reference evan parker). the trick is to weave those in with what the other folks are doing. for me, it's like a conversation, if all you can talk about is american idol when other people can talk about world history, sports and art, you're not gonna have much of a conversation. so it's not that people have licks that is a problem per se, it's the idea that people would be better off if they have a large vocabularly from which they can draw. and it's rhe ability to listen and react and contribute. (it shocks me sometimes how few musicians really *listen*.)

re the idea that you have to play everything you know. i sometimes am blown away by how little space people use or the way they seem to avoid whole and half notes. space and duration of space seem to be something that many people forget.

re the idea that sometimes the "bass note" is not the "right" note for the moment. completely agree.

anyway, just throwing some thoughts out there.

thanks

 

[user3653753]

thanks for these great posts guys!

Nice to see people thinking and listening, instead of judging and being closed minded. I love that. Like or hate the music, it doesn't really matter. Being open minded about this or any music, that's what matters to me.

Appreciate all the points you're making too, lots for me to think about and learn from for sure.

Now if anyone has a codec solution for web optimized video.... DOH!

I do remember when I was just a musician....!

Janek