Sopor by Kevin J. O'Conner

Sometimes the purest expression of something comes on the earliest attempts, before you've started to figure things out.

In this case, that means two new recordings incorporating the tongue drum I bought late last year. Though I bought a used drum (because the new ones are way expensive), I was able to get one that has a built-in pickup and came with a matching delay/reverb pedal.

As usual, these two pieces are edited down from longer improvised pieces. To borrow the oft-used words of Empress Rose, I kept what worked and discarded what didn't. I also moved bits and phrases around where it felt appropriate.

Both pieces share similar motifs (partly a function of the scale to which the drum is tuned), but the first piece uses the drum itself, whereas the second piece adds no-input mixer. They will likely work best as background music.

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The cover art is an altered photograph I took of the inside of the drum. I don't use the Hipstamatic app for taking photographs, but I do like using its random combinations of lens, film, and flash filters to modify my existing photos. I'm hoping someday someone will add a similar function to audio editing software, because I do like happy accidents.

Revelling in cultural irrelevance since 1987. Unafraid to rush headlong into obscurity for the sake of art and making sense out of the world. Folds, spindles, and mutilates as needed—but no brickwalling allowed.

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