Cover art by Juan Ezcurdia.
I think this is my best work ever. The first track is a really a nine-movement 28 minute suite called ANIMALS.
It is followed by several shorter standalone compositions.
I am playing everything with the exception of a guitar solo (Ken Basman), a scat solo (Bobby Kaplan), Kalimba (Andy Robinson), synth (Keli Marks) and
Cover art by Juan Ezcurdia.
I think this is my best work ever. The first track is a really a nine-movement 28 minute suite called ANIMALS.
It is followed by several shorter standalone compositions.
I am playing everything with the exception of a guitar solo (Ken Basman), a scat solo (Bobby Kaplan), Kalimba (Andy Robinson), synth (Keli Marks) and saxophone (Tripp Sprague).
Here is a glowing review from Recording Magazine for one track, "Forest Movement 6.5"
Doug Robinson
Equipment Used: Logic 9 on a Mac Mini Server with Steinberg MR816csx interface and Mackie Control Universal Pro control surface, running Apple Logic Pro 9 and Spectrasonics Omnisphere; Roland VS-1680 desktop recorder. AKG 414 (x2), Earthworks SR1 (x2), and Studio Projects C1 and B1 mics. Millennia HV3B preamps. Genelec 1030A monitors with Mackie Big Knob monitor controller. Yamaha nylon-string travel guitar; Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar played with an EBow, fingers, and as a drum on the back of the guitar; Le Soprano acoustic drums with Zildjian cymbals; Suzuki Andes 25 reed melodica, Hammond 44 melodica, assorted hand percussion and electronic percussion.
Production Notes & Credits: "Forest Movement 6.5" is a world music instrumental song. Doug wrote, performed, recorded, and mixed the track. Ron Marinelli did the mastering.
Reviewed By: Marty Peters
at Recording Magazine
Greetings, everybody, and welcome to SPOTLIGHT. This month's featured track is a largely acoustic-based instrumental that features some tasty playing, as well as a few instrumental surprises, all wrapped up in a most interesting arrangement. Let's break down Doug's submission and see just what all this sonic goodness is about.
While we have heard minimal song intros during our time at RECORDING Magazine, perhaps none have been as sparse as Doug's hand-slapped acoustic guitar. In short order, however, we are greeted with a beautifully performed and recorded nylon-string guitar part that establishes the song's melody. Though the exact signal chain that Doug used to track the guitar is unknown, his gear list includes more than a few pieces that would provide this kind of quality, including the AKG C414 and Earthworks SR1 microphones as well as the Millenia HV-3B preamps. Of course, gear can only capture what it's given, and Doug's stellar playing makes for a complete package.
As the song continues to build, we are met with additional sound sources including melodica, as well as acoustic and electronic percussion, all presented with the same skill on both sides of the glass. It is the steel string guitar sound here, however, that is the icing on the cake in our view.
To an arrangement already ripe with mystery, Doug adds an acoustic guitar part played via an EBow. For those of you unfamiliar with this device, it's an electromagnetic machine that the guitar player holds gently above a string on his guitar instead of a pick. The EBow induces vibration in the string, causing it to sound as if being played by a bow.
While we have heard EBows used on several submissions down through the years here at Readers' Tracks, this may be the only time we have heard it accomplished on an acoustic guitar -- in this case Doug's Gibson J-45 -- and we must say that the results are most satisfactory. The controlled nature of the performance lends a fantastic sense of drama to a track already full of emotion, and really seals the deal here in our opinion. Well done!
Summary: Top notch in all aspects!
Contact: Doug Robinson, jazzooo@aol.com"
