Tom Teasley (All Instruments)

Track 1: Gon Bops Hybrid Kit Consisting of Djembe, Cajon, Bongos, Pandeiro, Tombali (My adaptation of a timbale-bass drum), Sabian Cymbals
Melodica, Rav Vast Drum
Track 2: Yamaha Hip Gig Custom, Sabian Cymbals, ATV aFrame Drum
Track 3: Cooperman frame Drum, Melodica Sabian Crotales, Sabian Cymbals, Gon Bops Hybrid Kit, Korg Minilogue
Track 4: Rav Vast Drum - G Pygmy Scale
Track 5: Gon Bops Hybrid Kit, Melodica, Hubb Darbuka
Track 6: Gon Bops Hybrid Kit, Sabian Cymbals Hugh Tracy Kalimba, Korg Minilogue
Track 7: Gon Bops Hybrid Kit, Sabian Cymbals, Gyil, Gon Bops Caxixi, Korg Minilogue
Track 8: Gon Bops Hybrid Kit, Sabian Cymbals, Rav Vast Drum - D Celtic Minor Scale Melodica,
Track 9: Gon Bops Hybrid Kit, Sabian Cymbals, ATV aFrame Drum
Track 10: Shadows of Courage – Rav Vast Drum – Arabian Night Scale
Track 11: Gon Bops Hybrid Kit, Rav Vast Drum – D Celtic Minor Scale, Sabian Cymbals, Melodica

Thank you for listening to my newest release! I hope it provides some listening enjoyment and potential healing, meditative experience. Much of this was recorded before, during, and after the pandemic. There is an intent of hope and healing throughout the collection that permeates every track. This music can serve as a still and moving meditation and reflects my current interest in the functional healing properties of music and sound.

This collection exemplifies my multicultural experiences touring for the U.S. Department of State like previous releases. Wind Over Baghdad and Crescent Moon are inspired by my tour of Iraq and the magical feeling that the country imparts. I utilized the Arabic Hajiz scale in these pieces. I find the crotales a magical instrument and like them in combination with the melodica. Hope Is Where We Live, Ocean of Sand, and Lightness From the Dark are meditative pieces that feature the Rav Vast Drum combined with the hybrid kit and melodica. These were created as a type of contemplative prayer during the pandemic. I continue to find meditative solace in these pieces. I hope you agree. Be Longing, and Shadows of Courage are solo turns on the Rav Vast. Here, I am exploring a variety of percussive and melodic textures on various Rav Vast drums. The latter selection is a homage to the bravery of the Ukrainian people.

I want to combine unusual and ancient instruments with digital and electronic technology. Both Ra of Sunshine, dedicated to the extraterrestrial sonic explorer Sun Ra, and Wind Over Baghdad use the ATV innovative instrument, the a Frame Drum, which has remarkable touch nuance allowing me to change pitches by applying various amounts of pressure to the drumhead. Ra of Sunshine and Jack B. Nimble are examples of my jazz roots.

In this collection of sonic explorations, I hope to deliver spontaneous and grooving music, meditative and healing experiences, and a widening of the sonic tent we all live under.

Thank you for taking this journey with me.

Peace,
Tom