Kimara Sajn - The Memory of Touch

[Polypet]

I'm sharing this demo of a new song, which will probably be the only version. I rarely share demos but this one works and i think people might get some solace from it. So here it is....



As additional entertainment in these rough times (although there is surely far more and better out there), i'm providing a free link to download a copy of our next album "+1 - Voodoo Ruins". It's not a lot but it feels like something i can do, at the very least, to bring some measure of cheer.

You can download a free copy of the album using the link below. If you have friends who you think might enjoy it, feel free to share the link. However, i ask that you be respectful and discreet, as much as possible. This is really just for PE folks. It will be coming out as a CD in May, that is, if the world is even vaguely the same by then

+1 "Voodoo Ruins"
http://www.generalrubric.com/transfe...odoo_Ruins.zip

The link to the online stream is http://www.precognitiverecords.com/VoodooRuins. You will find all of the credits and the cover art there. Just click the splash page to get to the player, as usual. This one features a track i did with one of my oldest and dearest friends, the mighty Brian Woodbury. Those of you who know his work will realise already that he is a brilliant musician. I urge you to also check out his music. We'll hopefully be working together on some tracks for an upcoming album of his.

Thanks to those of you who support local independent "weird rock music". Buy up those Cuneiform, Wayside, Moonjune and Bandcamp items, if possible. Our performing artist and music distribution friends are really struggling right now. Of course, all of the arts are and well, lots of others too. Hopefully, things will improve and we'll be a better world for it. For now... here's to joy wherever you can find it.

Finally, thanks to everyone who've supported and befriended us here over the years. We really appreciate PE and all who make it the great place it is.

Thank you

Stay strong and be safe,

Kimara and B.Sue
Precognitive Records

[Polypet]

One gentle bump in case anyone is actually interested and missed this... granted, folks have other concerns right now. But if one has a hankering for a bit of free musical cheer, the links above may provide some.

That's all i've go for now, gang. All the best to everyone!

Onward and upward

Kim

[aith01]

One gentle bump in case anyone is actually interested and missed this... granted, folks have other concerns right now. But if one has a hankering for a bit of free musical cheer, the links above may provide some.

That's all i've go for now, gang. All the best to everyone!

Onward and upward

Kim

Thanks Kim. I appreciate you sharing this music.

[Polypet]

My pleasure. We appreciate your listening and, hopefully, getting some enjoyment from it.

I guess the wider audience for this is elsewhere at the moment. If anyone else should stumble upon this post, we hope they like the album.

Cheers,

Kim

[Polypet]

One last bumpity bump and out....

Stay sane, be well and look nice everyone. Here's to health and safety for us all

[Troopers For Sound]

Such a lovely little melody...gets better with each listen

I just realised how hard it was to catch those brief key changes via this recording method! Was the lead vocal first??

matt.

[Polypet]

Such a lovely little melody...gets better with each listen

I just realised how hard it was to catch those brief key changes via this recording method! Was the lead vocal first??

matt.

Yeah, i recorded the lead vocal and then sang parts around it to imply the harmonics. I'm so glad you guys have gotten something from it anyway

Take care of yourselves. And all the best to your PM for a speedy and full recovery, Matt. This thing is brutal, eh? Sheesh... <heart emoji/>

Kim

[Polypet]

The two of you might dig this - a rare recording of the last live Polyethylene Pet/+1 perfomance piece "Visuals". It was rebuilt from a set of bootleg tapes i've had lo these 40 years. Lovingly remastered and digitally refactored recently with only the slightest bit of frizzle and woom.

The soundtrack here won't convey the largely visual and rather abstract nature of the performance. Suffice it to say, it was very much a Dada performance art piece and a meta-concert (not truly a rock show at all). This will probably be clear to both of you when you hear it. Without further ado, i bring you "Visuals (A Concert)" recorded live on December 8th, 1981 at the Moraga Concert Hall in Santa Cruz. Featuring the mighty talents of Ed Dickie (keyboards, percussion, tape, vocals, misc), Joe Palermo (drums, percussion, misc), Van Spragins (fretless bass, style), Peter White (tapes, vocals, misc), Dave Egan (sound, tapes, misc) and, you know, viewers like you



Thanks again for even looking at this post. I do appreciate it. And again wish you and your families all the best in this spooky and unsettling time. I hope this brings some cheer to your spaces.

Kim

[Polypet]

I will bump this one more time and let it drop. I do hope a few more folks are able to get some pleasure from it before it completely vanishes...

Remember: all your base are belong to us

Kim

[Dean Watson]

I’m excited to listen to this today Kim! Thanks for sharing.

[Dean Watson]

Just listened. Something lovely and unique in our troubling times. Thanks for that. I especially like your prepared piano tunes, is that a real upright piano? Lila is incredible, oh and I couldn't get the last tune to play, just silence. Love your use of maj/min 7ths, but I've told you this many times before I'm sure .... good going Kim!

[Troopers For Sound]

The Visuals concert is just insane! So much wonderful stuff in there...the whole sequence feels like one piece. Some really beautiful ambient moments that sound a bit like early Floyd or T Dream improvising. And those deranged Da Da sequences...like Beefheart meets Python. I wish there was film of you covering the audience with sheets whilst you then packed up your gear and left

[Polypet]

Just listened. Something lovely and unique in our troubling times. Thanks for that. I especially like your prepared piano tunes, is that a real upright piano? Lila is incredible, oh and I couldn't get the last tune to play, just silence. Love your use of maj/min 7ths, but I've told you this many times before I'm sure .... good going Kim!

It's our upright, yes. And the last track IS silent (like many other pieces in our catalogue).

Thanks Dean

[Polypet]

The Visuals concert is just insane! So much wonderful stuff in there...the whole sequence feels like one piece. Some really beautiful ambient moments that sound a bit like early Floyd or T Dream improvising. And those deranged Da Da sequences...like Beefheart meets Python. I wish there was film of you covering the audience with sheets whilst you then packed up your gear and left

Yeah, we were bummed to not get video of the show. It was one 3 part thing, you're right. "Not Silent" (the sheet covered audience et al) was always a favourite moment.

Thanks for the lovely comments. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[aith01]

Okay, now I have to ask: What happened at that show?

The audience was covered in a sheet? Please explain, I want to know! That sounds like a crazy show!

[Polypet]

Well, first you have to understand that we were very much *not* an actual "rock group" (as i may have described elsewhere on the site here). I was composing conceptual art pieces for annual shows my colleague Chris Diurni and i were performing (every year from 1979 - 1981). We were part of the Mendocino Dada movement in California. The pieces were rather abstract and, though humourous, very avant-punk. The idea was to comment on the audience/artist dialectic. In the interim before this last show, we'd served as the opener and closer of the infamous Interdada 80 festival. That went very well. And we had just released the PP/+1 EP "Slow Photos". Consequently, I was very inspired to do one final show. However, in that time Chris had moved and so this one was done without him.

The shows were always free (or donation). Once you came in, you had to stay for the entire show. The shows were pretty brutal. Pretty much avant sort of Dada things but with my "musical" sensibilities (even when there was no music, which was most of the show, as a rule). A lot of silence and pieces about the audience. The first two shows were nonetheless quite popular. Somehow i didn't find that quite satisfying enough

But this show was different. It included a nice chunk of musical stuff. Interestingly, it was the one that landed hardest, as it turned out. It either delighted or, you know, infuriated people. Primarily because it started to smell a little like a real rock concert around the edges. If Faust were doing the concert, maybe

Also, Moraga Concert Hall (in Santa Cruz, CA) was a very cool and unique space. It was nicely fitted with super comfy couches and chairs, so at one point in the show there was love, like, all in the air and stuff.

I have a piece called "Silent/Not Silent" which we performed at every show. The first part is us staring at the audience calmly and with disinterest for roughly 8 minutes or so. It's a difficult piece to perform for a bunch of reasons. But people seemed to enjoy it in the first two shows. The other part is Not Silent wherein we simply start tearing things down and leave the stage without saying anything to anybody. We didn't perform Silent this time around but we performed Not Silent with a vengeance.

Anyway, in this final show we actually had a fair amount of musical material, as you'll hear in the recording.

Note: the streams page on our site has the track listing and credits: http://www.precognitiverecords.com/Visuals1981

It was a 3-part conceptual art piece which i'll detail for you below, since you've asked. It went like this:

Part ONE

1. Audience Entry/Reveal the Sky pt 2

People coming into the darkened hall.

2. Revelations

People are sat in the dark wondering when the show would begin

3. Invaders

Stage lights up - "band" onstage performing - stage lights back off at the end

4. Sex Threat B

Genuine applause artificially extended by stooges in the audience and blending with the tape piece itself

All still in the dark...

5. Splinters pt 1

A tape piece with colourful abstract screen projections

6. Slow Photos

People walking around in the dark carrying big signs with ambiguous words on during the tape piece

7. Beyond Freud

The "band" reappears on the darkened stage to perform this

After the legless spider comment, a photographer runs across the front, taking flash photos of the audience. They were stunned into silence, literally.

(this was the flash pots part of the "rock concert")

Part TWO

Stage lights come up on the band doing a nice funk groove.

A welcome and band introduction was made as if a normal rock show was already in process... (this isn't on the tape, alas - was munched)

"Hey Santa Cruz? We're +1. How's everybody doing tonight? Love this town... You ready to rock some more? Very very good."

We then go right into the "rock music" part of the show, as heard here.

1. Friends and Family
2. Vivace
3. Loops/Splinters
4. Aleatory in 3 parts
5. Lost

During the last 2 pieces there, folks were getting cozy and lovey dovey. It was almost hard for us as we knew what was coming next...

6. Dream Piece

Part THREE

1. Station Break

They started applauding and then i assured them that the show was not over yet. We got out giant white sheets and walked out into the audience, had them help us cover them all up, explaining that this was the closing piece. They were a little confused but assisted in the spirit of fun.

Once the entire audience was covered, we performed "Not Silent". At some point, some of them started wondering what was up and slowly the sheets came off to find us mostly broken down and leaving.

Needless to say, we would've eventually had to let them know the thing was done, since i had to clean the hall after they left. But most people got it and started laughing. Some did not and, well, yum yum yum. I've never been happier with a piece. It was a very cool and somewhat mean but effective performance.

There's all the data on that anyone would *ever* need to know

Thanks for asking, though. I do wish we'd gotten some sort of visual recording but it is what it is. Amazing to think that this was almost 40 years ago. I'm very thankful to the people that played a part, especially the "band" which seriously killed it.

For more details on the history of the project, you can go here: http://www.precognitiverecords.com/concert/petbio.html

I hope everyone is safe. And that you've gotten your free copy of our upcoming album. I hope also that you enjoyed the Visuals show.

All the best to you and your loved ones

Kim

[aith01]

Wow, thank you so much for all the info Kim! Now I understand what Silent/Not Silent is, finally! I have one of your live recordings on CD and I confess I didn't quite understand what I was hearing (or not hearing). Now I have a better idea. It's great!

I intend to listen to the recording you've shared while reading your commentary so I can follow it along.

Thank you again for delving into some of the history; I find it very interesting, and I'd hoped you would go into detail about it (which you did). I only wish I could have been around then to experience it in person.

Think I'm going to queue up some of your music to listen to while I work from home today. Just recently listened to Life Stories again, which never gets old for me. But I think I'm in the mood for Why Not? No. and After The Storm today.

While I'm thinking about it, there's something about your playing style (on the keyboard especially) that is very hard for me to pin down when trying to describe it. I feel like I could recognize your playing just by hearing it, but I can't actually explain why. Sometimes your usage of chords reminds me of Todd Rundgren, which makes sense since you both had some similar influences (if I remember correctly). But your style when playing/composing melodies, or when soloing, is highly idiosyncratic -- if I had to use a single word, I'd say it sounds fluid. It's very much not like a typical "rock" approach, and it makes me wonder if jazz had a significant influence on you as a musician?

I don't really like gushing over the musicians who hang out on PE for fear of making them uncomfortable, or for coming across like a suck-up. Please forgive me.

Thanks again for hanging out here and sharing your music. It really does mean a lot.

[bill g]

Visuals is cool stuff! Thanks for sharing! 😎

[Polypet]

Thanks. You guys are too kind, surely. I'm glad you're getting some enjoyment from it all.

As to the question regarding jazz - it was certainly the largest influence, followed closely by contemporary classical music. Both of my parents were jazz musicians (and my mother was a contemporary classical pianist as well).

And i still listen to a lot - a whole lot - of "jazz" (of course that term is limited relative to the wide range of things under the umbrella). When i'm improvising, jazz and so-called "new music" approaches most inform my playing. That said, i'm all over the map. I listen to everything and it all influences me. Many rock soloists and fusion folks like Jan Hammer also had an impact. I continue to learn from all of it. Working toward discipline as always. John Scofield was and continues to be an inspiration and also has had a big impact on my soloing style. Just tons of different inputs. I suppose i've absorbed them all into my own quirky ways

But enough about me...

Thanks for the interest and forcing me to think about it at all

[aith01]

Hey Kim, I'm always happy to force you to think about this stuff.

Here's a confession: I'm a bit of a nerd in general, but especially about music, so stuff like this is always interesting to me. So please feel free to talk about yourself and your music. Plus, we're friends so it's nice to just converse too.

That's very interesting about John Scofield being one of your sources of inspiration. I wouldn't have guessed that, but then I also haven't really listened to much by him. Gotta check out some of his music.

I could see Jan Hammer being some inspiration though.

Jazz has become such a far-encompassing genre that it still continues to offer up music that's full of surprises. When I was young I used to view jazz as boring or "stuffy", but that was because I didn't have an appreciation for the advanced music theory that it involved. Pat Metheny and Esperanza Spalding were my gateways into jazz, so I was very late to the game -- but better late than never, as the saying goes.

[Polypet]

I am deeply flattered and afliterated, man. Thanks again. And yes, i like to think we are friends

Definitely check out Scofield. My favourite aspect of his music is the writing. He's a brilliant writer and arranger. Highly underrated in that regard. But his guitar playing (which is not underrated, of course) is phenomenal as well. In particular, i like his phrasing and how he solos like a composer - referencing and building on the themes and so on. I do like a well crafted off the cuff solo as opposed to licks or noodling. Not that there's isn't some fun to be had in that also (wailing per se as in rock). He has a magical way with a solo, imho.

I got into Scofield when i picked up his album Rough House as an import in a jazz shop (circa 1979). I bought it because i liked the cover. His angular and chromatic melodic lines and unusual harmonics intrigued me immediately. Then he started playing with Miles and that was when he really struck a nerve. Just brilliant. I preferred his style over Mike Stern's, who, though also fabulous, was more lick oriented. Scofield's approach was more avant or something. Perfectly twisted and fiery. I loved it right away. I think i started hearing some of his thinking in my own solos not long after. Not copping from him or anything, you understand. But definitely simpatico. Again, we share influences - he's only a few years older than i am.

We've been fortunate enough to count him among our friends and fans. We met originally by way of my helping his wife Susan with their website. We've also had a long sideways connection through our mutual friendship with Bill Frisell (a former Bainbridge Island local and customer of B.Sue's). So i've been able to let him know directly how much i admire his musical ways. In fact, he had kind words to say recently about both "Uncommon Velocity" (from the new album) and "The Memory of Touch", which i shared with him awhile back. It's always an honour and a treat to hear from him.

Of course, i can't say enough about Jan Hammer, forget about it Being a drummer and a keyboard guy, he and Stevie Wonder were both big for awhile there.

Anyway, yes. I highly recommend you pick up some John Scofield. Pat Metheny and Esperanza are not bad gateways at all, btw. I love both them also!