Has it really been this long?

Yup, it sure has been ages. This was an unusual year in the context of the last 10 - I won't get deeply into why, since that's not important and besides, who cares. What IS important is, I have a new place and a studio room with a view for a change! Though the photo doesn't really show it, I have a nice city view and this makes me happy.

What's going on currently: Still cranking on the Seekret iPad Projekt™ with the guys, though it's recently kicked into higher gear with the additional of another talented contributor, which is very exciting. I'm also finishing music with Sussan Deyhim and starting music with Anton Sanko. Sussan and I have a great working relationship, and I did some parts on her cover of Dylan's "All I Really Want To Do" for an Amnesty International album of Dylan covers by some famous people a few months ago. Got some new software tools, but sad to report that yet again, nothing's as exciting as The 'Clav. Seeing as my hatred for bad interface design (as personified mainly by The Monome) has abated not at all, I figured I may do one last rant on the subject before I vow to give it a rest. Must exorcise those demons in an appropriately articulate way, so if you're a fan of that sort of thing, stay tuned.

Other than all that, I am getting over being sick for nearly a month-
The combined stress of moving house and building my new studio, plus a particularly virulent strain of whatever it is that's going around at the moment, pretty much laid me out for weeks on end.
It's nearly gone, but wow. This was the longest I can recall being sick pretty much ever. Not recommended.

Son Of "On The Radar Currently"

Way back a few years ago when I started this...whatever this is, I posted a collection of things that were on my radar at that moment. I suppose this is pure indulgence, but so be it. I think I may resurrect this practice, starting now.

...Pretty much the same pop culture profile as always, and some new instrumental obsession in there as well.

News scraps, endorsements and secret goings-on

Current/recent:

I played on the score to a film called The Lincoln Lawyer- It comes out 3/18/11 in North America. The composer was Cliff Martinez, who's great to work with and makes really evocative music- I was a fan of his work on the Solaris remake and Traffic before we met. We worked together briefly once before, on a small documentary called Severe Clear, though on that project I provided textures via the internet rather than in-person sessions. I contributed processed guitar to the score.

I also played on one of the last episodes of the TV series "Big Love", which I've worked on in the past (as followers of this blog may know) and is just about to reach the end of its run. It was one of the first times I've used my new electric upright bass on a session, and we got some very good stuff.
 
I'd like to do something I pretty much never do here: Mention (endorse?) a specific product. I'm a big user of Alessandro Petrolati's Density 2; It's a gem. There, I said it.

Vague references to exciting things:

There is a very interesting new musical collaboration in the offing at the moment, but I don't want to get more specific than that just now...Suffice it to say that something great is very likely to result if this situation materializes the way it seems to be. More later.

On another front, I'm designing an iPad app that is being coded and implemented by a small group of very accomplished, talented friends. It's a recording tool which I hope will help facilitate the creative process for a lot of musicians. Details as we get closer to the release date.

Last thing I'll mention for now,

Jon Hassell's "Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street" (ECM 2077) was recently released in Europe as a double album on 180-gram audiophile vinyl. I think it may be destined for wider worldwide release as well. As I mentioned when the original CD was released awhile back, I'm proud of this record and the added bonus of seeing it in my favorite format is a nice development.