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This is How I Disappear has arrived

From Michael DeLalla: My first solo guitar recording in years has finally arrived, just in time for the 2012 touring season. The title refers to both my long hiatus from recording as a solo artist and the subsequent re-evaluation of how and why I compose. In short, I wasn’t interested in producing a “guitar recording”–for me, it’s vital to strive to transcend the instrument, to let the music speak through the voice of the guitar, not be confined by it. It’s been an intensely personal journey and creative process, as the downloadable program notes will explain.

This CD also illustrates my creative process of “disappearing”–removing my preconceived notions from the compositional process; in effect, getting out of the way of the music. Then, one must “reappear” to render the performance.

In addition, I explore a lot of traditions worldwide–Brazilian berimbau music, North African o’ud music, Japanese koto/shamisen music, and of course, Celtic traditions. The idea is to honor and evoke these traditions through the voice of the guitar, not merely imitate them.

While This is How I Disappear is predominently a solo guitar recording, it is graced by appearances by some stellar players. “Camera Obscura” features Dexter Payne (Downbeat Readers’ Poll finalist) on clarinet trading solos with violinist Anthony Salvo, with Raoul Rossiter and Jim Baird on drums/percussion and bass, respectively. N. Scott Robinson plays berimbau on our co-composition “13 strings”, while “Reappearing/Witchi Tai To” has stellar performances by Craig Matovich on English horn, piano and percussion, Dave Walters on drums/percussion, and Jim on bass.   

The pieces on This is How I Disappear all serve to illustrate that my sense of artistic principles translates across musical cultures. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did in producing it.

Meet EC: Falling Mountain’s Director of Media Relations/Promotions

EC Erb is no stranger to all things related to the promotion of music. She spent 7 years as the Music Director at KGNU, Boulder CO’s community radio station, where she still maintains a presence as a programmer for the shows “Musica Mundi”, “Jazz and Beyond” and “Soundlab”.

Being on the receiving end of promotional materials from artists for so many years certainly helps when trying to formulate a campaign for a new release or tour, as EC has been doing already for some time–she was instrumental in FMM’s work with cellist David Darling and producer Mickey Houlihan to get David’s “Prayer for Compassion” out to radio stations and music publications. That CD went on to win a Grammy for best New Age recording.

Besides her work behind the scenes with our friends in radio and the press, EC has a longstanding reputation as one of radio’s best on-air interviewers, exhibiting her prowess at having insightful conversations with artists about their craft. She is diligent about getting the necessary background to formulate a cogent discussion. With some exciting interviews in the near future, look for a new page here at FMM with MP3’s of her work.

Finally, EC is an exellent candidate for voice-over work, having both the perfectly modulated voice for the airwaves and the technical expertise to engineer such work in-house at Falling Mountain. If you are in need of such services contact her at EC@fallingmountain.com .

Welcome Carrie Bartsch

It’s a pleasure to welcome Carrie Bartsch to Falling Mountain fans. As the other half of the DeLalla-Bartsch Duo, Carrie lives, loves and laughs music. After leaving the St. Olaf Orchestra she followed her fiddle around the US and Europe, performing, touring and recording with a long and venerable list of artists, including Gnarls Barkely, Brian Wilson, Love with Arthur Lee, Kanye West, and 30 Seconds to Mars. She has long been on the A-List of go-to violinists, with appearances with the Crystal Cathedral orchestra, the TV show “House,” David Benoit’s Orchestra at the Kodak Theatre, and Conan O’Brien’s last Tonight Show episode. She has also shared the stage with Hal Wilner’s SNL Orchestra, Randy Newman, Firesign Theatre productions, Jackson Browne and Todd Rundgren. Her work in live comedy improvisation sketches keeps both audiences and Michael—given his own brand of onstage irreverence–on their toes.

Together as the DeLalla-Bartsch Duo, they make for a formidable and eclectic evening of music that draws from many wells, including Gypsy Jazz, Swing, Celtic fiddle tunes and traditions worldwide. Visit the Calendar Page to catch a show near you.

New: Digital Download Cards spread beautiful music and beautiful wildflowers

For the summer 2011 tour there was a new addition to the sales table: digital download cards. They were a runaway hit and will now be a fixture at concerts–look for them on the 2012 tours as well. But these aren’t any ordinary download cards (though how could they be when they can redeem the wonderful music from Falling Mountain?). Rather than add to the ever-burgeoning supply of one-use plastic that will haunt our future generations, Falling Mountain offers bio-degradable cards embedded with wildflower seeds. Once you’ve downloaded your music from the Falling Mountain Online Store, simply find a favorite spot waiting to be beautified, cover the card with a thin layer of topsoil, add a little water, and you’ll have wildflowers before you can say And Then…Or Somewhat Later. For 9.99 you can customize the download to include the music you want. Choose from Michael’s entire catalog, including new music from his upcoming release “This Is How I Disappear”, as well as new music from Oxymora. We’ll be adding music from the rest of the FMM catalog, so check back in with us often. 

At Falling Mountain, we continue to live up to our motto by Making Music Matter. But now, our music will also be making organic matter…

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