8-String Guitar
DARK | Access
DARK (Roopam Garg) is creating an innovative artist-audience interface model via website, based on the premise of inviting you into his headspace. Highly organized, catalogued and curated realtime insight into his works in progress: music, transcriptions, video, writings, graphics, essays.
The site updates as he generates new ideas.
I’ve never seen anything like it before — the DARK (virtual) experience is possibly analogous to being fly-on-the-wall inside an artist’s mind.
Subscription based. At a moment when touring is not an option, this might be perfect.
Dark & Chris Buono
Perfect spring day in early May when Roopam Garg flew in to take ownership of his new Wingspan™ 8-string guitar. He’s been a good friend ever since Camping With Animals As Leaders (2013) when we met for the first time. That amazing experience with Tosin, Javier, and Evan Brewer first introduced Ken Kinter and me to Roopam and Gabriel Levi…friendships which have shaped all of our trajectories over this past decade.
His visit was also a first opportunity to establish new connections. I had a hunch Roopam and Chris Buono would generate musical sparks.
Wingspan sounds INCREDIBLE. I am currently still exploring all facets of this instrument. I have only scratched the surface so far. I am finding this instrument to be transformative of my perception and relationship with guitar. I see it as a symphonic tool of strings: strings representing the universe. (Roopam Garg)
Ede Wright & Shou Sugi Ban 8
Killick Hinds & Henry Kaiser
KILLICK HINDS: I ran the fretless eight string to the Schroeder DB7 with a volume pedal (that I seldom used). I also subtly added sustain with a Gamechanger Plus pedal and Collision Devices’ Black Hole Symmetry in its effects loop. The main signal was split before these pedals, with one half going to a volume pedal and then activating Plogue’s Chipsounds via Jam Origin’s MIDI Guitar 2 in the computer. The Schertler piezo on Demi’s headstock ran into an Elite Acoustics StompMix mixer (which contributed occasional delay) into a Henriksen The Bud amp.
It was good working with Henry on this…our sensibilities match extraordinarily well. Playing with the video felt the closest to playing a concert since March.
I’ll add it was recorded with my cellphone against a makeshift green screen made of a picnic tarp and an old clothing rack. The assembly is not quite big enough for the task, so framing was a little tricky, but it worked out very well.
I’m really pleased to share this (as I know Henry is) and am very grateful he suggested the project. I thank Cuneiform Records for their continued support of new and exciting music. And most importantly, thanks to everyone for watching and listening.
RICK TOONE: Cool! He has software that works with green screen?
KILLICK HINDS: Yes, I think Final Cut Pro. I have iMovie and that works with it as well. This was my very first green screen experience.
RICK TOONE: Quite awesome. So you were in Athens and he was…?
KILLICK HINDS: Yes, I was in Athens and he was in California.
RICK TOONE: Could you hear each other during recording?
KILLICK HINDS: I played to the movie first. Then Henry played to my audio and the movie.