Here I play the second section of The Gates of Delirium, also known as “the battle” suite. Most appropriate, I would say… I managed to play it in two nights of recording, having to stop after on the first night I had run out of fingers… they still hurt :))
I must say also that the studying of this particular bassline (including the first section) has been a complete treasure for me. Taking on what seems to be a beautiful musical chaos and listening it in small sections. You will find very particular aspects of Chris’ playing – regarding note choices, rhythm patterns, fingering solutions…. I have learned a lot from the bass guitar itself after studying this bassline, with the help of the available videos, especially the QPR show from 1975, which I adopted as a visual reference for left and right hand positions, which is most probably the closest footage to what might have happened during the Relayer and Yesshows years.
The speed at which this version was played is really on my technical limits… more so after some weeks of holiday without playing and letting my left hand finger tips go softer. Hope you enjoy the music and thanks for watching!
My latest clip appears on Voxbulgarica – this site, beautifully re-designed, is a must-see for those interested in Bulgarian Music, including sheet music and recordings on their catalog, covering many styles of Bulgarian Music.
I am delighted with the mention of my work on such a prestigious website. Thank you very much, Voxbulgarica – Много благодаря!
Pilence Pee (Пиленце пее) is my latest musical adventure. This song features a traditional Bulgarian choir arrangement, adapted by me to an ensemble of bass instruments.
Sometimes an idea is just an idea… the idea of making this arrangement has been haunting me for the last 8 months and for 8 whole months I worked on it. This is the second effort of my BEBE, following the test experience of “Svatba”. My dear channel viewers sent me an incredible loving feedback by then, including some very own native Bulgarian friends. I thank you all for your encouragement and I really hope that this time it will please you too.
Having in mind, once again, that the Bulgarian female choir voices *are* irreplaceable, I tried again to absorb the inspiration of those wondrous sounds and, somehow, to speak my soul through my playing.
The original BEBE concept had to be extended. To achieve the expression of the sustained pairs of voices, I used effects on some basses, namely, the Malekko b:assmaster (second appearence after “Amazing Grace“) and a Sansamp TRI O.D.. My BEBE (Bulgarian Electric Bass Ensemble) had a very special non “electric” guest – one of my doublebasses had an important contribution for the final texture of the sound. BEBE’s veteran members Rickenbacker 4001CS and Fender VI also welcomed the Zon Sonus 8-string and the Warwick Thumb Bass.
The notes were taken all by ear and, later, checked with the help of a friend of mine. Then many changes were (as in Svatba) made, as to adapt the song to my own taste and style of playing, hopefully without spoiling it too much. On the outro I did take some more freedom, harmonically, and in general drifted away from the original Krassimir Kiurktchiiski’s arrangement.
Pilence Pee (sounds like “Pilentse Peh”) is a Bulgarian folk song and it means something like “Little bird sings”. I just know a little Bulgarian and I searched for the meaning of this song, with the generous contribution of some friends. For 20 years, since I heard this song released on the album by 4AD, I sang it without understanding a word, just sounds. But, having understood the lyrics this year, I honestly had the sensation that I already had got the message. The message is beautifully composed and yet extremely tragic. And if there is a sign of hope for the years to come, the beauty of the Bulgarian Music that blossomed from its people, in spite of five centuries of slavery couldn’t be a better example. Love now – because it may be too late and you will regret it. Hear what the little bird speaks.
Voice order
high (main):Rickenbacker 4001CS + b:assmaster
high (pedal):Warwick ThumBass + TRI-O.D.
mid (main & pedal):Fender VI and doublebass
low (main):Rickenbacker 4001CS + b:assmaster
low (pedal): Zon Sonus 8
I spent my National Holiday (one year after I did Astral Traveller) editing this clip. For the past weeks I have been learning how to play it, from my favourite version, from Yesshows – it’s a live version, so my moto was chosen “my room is my stage” :) I collected some photos on the net, trying to illustrate a Yesshow from that era. I did 4 takes, but sadly on one of them the camera was off focus, the audio was ok though. Then I tryed to get the best of those takes (you can see I put two video takes at some point on the background just for fun).
While I am preparing myself for what’s next to come, I decided to treat myself with a new effect pedal, which resembles Chris’ legendary fuzz tone of the Gibson Maestro Brassmaster – the Malekko b:assmaster (that’s no typo;). I was so eager to jam along with it that I made this short and quick video to share with you. It’s something that you might consider looking at if you are into this kind of sonic field. The pedal has many other interesting landscapes to explore and I even didn’t quite tweak it so well as to get the tone I wanted. The solo – Amazing Grace (hopefully) as created by our Hero – doesn’t follow any specific version. I played and pumped the pedals freely and it was indeed the only take I did, on the heat of the moment. I did go fingerstyle – which Chris does on his Starlicks video, but not always on some live boots circulating around here and there. For me, it permitted me to have more control on the mad attack response of the fuzz circuitry and also allowed me to muffle the non-played strings which can ressonate and generate frequencies that mess completely the fuzzed-driven sustain of the note I wanted to play (you will notice it anyway). The mighty Moog Taurus sound comes from an incredibly faithful VSTi freeware plugin by kvraudio.com, triggered by my Fatar MP-1. I taylored a bit the settings and off I went… Of course YT audio compression felt a bit dizzy with the earthshaking frequencies… it sounds better than here… but that’s YT. Hope you enjoy the clip. A big warm thank you for all the friends that continue to support and motivate me to carry on with my thing – You’re part of it too! Amazing Grace – Performed by Chris Squire – was recorded at advision studios at November 4, 1976. It was realeased on the Yesyears box-set. It became one of Chris’ main live solo spots, having been released on 90125 Live – The Solos.
While I have been part of several local bands throughout the years, only this one – Caffeine – has released a video clip that actually aired on some tv stations. To put it simple, Caffeine was a rock act that had it’s major activity around the turn of the millenium and saw an EP and full length albums released. Quite far from the prog area (if not from some splashes from yours truly), this was a different thing and maybe not the usual dear channel viewer’s cup of tea. Still, I would like to present you a picture of what I was doing some years back, including some of my own bassline work. You will find “familiar” influences for sure, but also other elements that somehow are part of my style, if there is one.The bass however gets a bit lost in the mix, as this single edit of the song progresses. I used my J-Bass with flanger on the first part of the song, and on 2 occasional overdubs you may spot some 8-string harmonics. The video was shot in 2001 by the occasion of our only international performance, opening for Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (after being invited by Mick Harvey) at La Riviera, Madrid – Spain, and in our homeland, at Lisbon’s Coliseu dos Recreios. Caffeine opened for other more and less well known international alternative acts such as Sigur Ros, Dakota Suite and Day-One.
Music has magic – That stuff of syncopation. Music is a shout of foregone conclusions. Treat it good. Treat it rightly. And if you get it flowing. The harmony is glowing. Music – Good to you.
This idea was inspired by the magnificent music of the Bulgarian female choirs, better known as “Le Mystére des Voix Bulgares”, conceived by the great Filip Kutev. This Music is part of me since I long ago came across its 1st vinyl, released by 4AD. Only some years back I had the great priveledge of witnessing two great performances by The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir, directed by Prof. Dr. Dora Hristova. Needless to say, it was a dream come true. My little tribute’s idea is simple but not necessary successful – To recreate the choir format, such as the voices correspond to bass guitar timbres. Each of the 4 voices was attributed to one specific bass, and played twice to create the ensemble effect. Eventually each voice plays a slightly different line, usually intervals of a second, very specific of these arrangements. A tough task – to transcribe the piece by ear, adapt it to the playability of the basses, trying to mantain the dynamics of the piece, and produce it, so all the low frequences don’t colide too much and each “voice” can be heard. 10 tracks vere recorded and 2 to 6 vocal lines can be (hopefully) heard. No effects were used, to preserve each instruments own “voice”. And then producing the video. I invite you to discover this unique Music, checking my favourites section. This is only a mere recreation, done by heart and it’s galaxies away from the Real Thing. One of my favourite songs is “Svatba” (Wedding) – a Bolyar wedding celebration coming from far away. So, without further delays, I present you: the Rickenbacker 4001, the fret-ripped j-bass copy, and the Fender VI – I name it, with all due respect, the Bulgarian Electric Bass Ensemble, or simply, “BEBE”.
This piece of music came along one night after some noodling on my Fender VI. I left the tape rolling just to save some ideas flowing by. I just played what was going on inside me. After I heard it, I thought it made sense to keep it as a solo improvisation. It’s something I enjoy doing once in a while but never had thought to actually record it. The idea for the video was also another sort of improvisation… Obviously I didn’t flim myself playing… you may decide to find a musical connection with the images or simply close your eyes and listen.
Miguel Falcão (miguelbass) 