Digital Pill – working musicians talk about their lives

Anthony Schulz plays an improvisation on the stradella and free bass accordion

Visit Anthony on myspace here

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Trombonist Shannon Barnett performs “All and Sun-Dried”, a piece inspired by her hatred for the existence of sun-dried tomatoes. The piece is a kind of etude for trombone that makes use of large intervals and odd-meter phrasing.

Visit her online
myspace.com/shantrom

And hear her on these albums
The Vampires: “Chellowdene” and “South Coasting”
Andrea Keller Quartet “Angels and Rascals”

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John Fleming is a singer and instrumentalist who has performed extensively in comedy and theatre internationally and also composes for TV, film and theatre. This song “Icarus Wings” was written for a 2007 Melbourne Fringe show entitled “Stung”, it’s about taking risks and being prepared to fail in order to learn and grow.

Download the words to this song here

Visit John’s website
www.johncf.com.au

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Anita Hustas performs and talks briefly about two graphic scores ‘Stream’ and ‘Underwater’ from her ‘Water’ collection composed in 2008. In trying to find creative approaches to composing and making music, and integrating visual art and music performance, Anita has been creating graphic scores for improvisors since 2003. In this video Anita plays Double Bass and Waterphone.

Find out more about Anita’s work here
anitahustas.com
myspace.com/anitahustas

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Percussionist Eugene Ughetti plays an improvised percussion solo on gongs and temple bowls

Visit Eugene’s projects on these links
Speak Percussion
Glass Percussion Project

Eugene’s CD is available here

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Mal Webb sings his song – Ad for beer – featuring vocal, guitar and some of Mal’s evolved vocalisations. He wrote it after Chick Ratten of the Rainbow Hotel in Fitzroy told him his music was “not a good ad for beer” and made Mal realise who his audience REALLY was . . . Good on you Chick !

There’s HEAPS more Mal at his website malwebb.com

You can get Mal’s music on iTunes
And his CDs are available here

“You’re a freak” – Ani DiFranco
“I didn’t know beatboxing could be so musical” – Mark Holden
“He’s like Bobby McFerrin, Aphex Twin and Cole Porter playing scrabble” – B. Freely
“An enormously accomplished singer… from jazz to African yodelling”
- John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald.

And then there’s all the Oxo Cubans albums on iTunes

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Girish Makwana was born in Gujurat, India and received his Masters of Music from the Maharajah Sayajirao University of Baroda. Here he performs on tablas with Saby Bhattacharya on sarod and Nicolas Buff on alto saxophone. This performance was filmed at the studios of radio 3CR in Collingwood as part of their ongoing training.

Follow these links for more info

Girish on myspace

radio 3CR website

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Rae Howell is a freelance composer and performer on piano & vibraphone. She is a founding member of Sunwrae Ensemble, showcasing some of Australia’s finest versatile musicians. Here she plays her piece “Decipher the Crooked Ways” on the vibraphone using a combination of bowing and four mallet technique. Decipher the Crooked Ways…. an ambient & (brief) solo version of a Sunwrae Ensemble work (usually ~30 minutes, for vibes, harp, clarinets/flutes, double bass, lap-steel, percussion), from the Never Stops to Wait album. It’s a journey about time, letting things go, deciphering the crooked ways of life, unraveling naturally.

Have a listen to Rae’s other truly incredible recordings from
Sunwrae Ensemble’s official website
Also
Sunwrae Ensemble on myspace
Sunwrae Ensemble on youtube

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ARIA Award winning musician, singer-song writer, theatre collaborator and choir director Kavisha Mazzella sings her song Amour

About this song Kavisha writes
I saw a fantastic film by Tony Gatlif in 1996 called Latcho Drom about gypsies and thier music
and in it there was a scene where the french gypsy musicians visit the medieval church and play to Saint Sara in her shrine … it really touched me and I said to myself one day I will go there … well it happened – 3 years ago I caught a train from Paris down south and went to the Pilgimage of the Gypsies on May the 24th at Saintes Maries de La Mer in the Camargue… it’s a small fishing village south of Arles… Saintes Maries de la Mar is surrounded by fields of pink flamingos, black bulls and white Camargue horses … The bulls are bred for the special bullfighting they have there where the bulls are not killed but a rose is put between their horns and the young men try to snatch it away … many Gypsies have their caravans there and it’s the home of the Gypsy Kings … Every May and October gypsies from all over gather to celebrate the feast of Saint Sara the patroness of gypsies and travellers … The area is a magnificent wetlands and surrounded by mediterranian sea beaches … its a sacred site to the gypsies and on the feast day there is mass celebrated by 7 priests and an archbishop and a procession down to the sea carrying the statue of Saint Sara led by the proud retinue of Camargue Cowboys on the White Camargue horses … after mass the church bells ring out and when you walk into the throng you are surrounded by musicians playing their musics from different countries … over here is flamenco from Spain and there Balkan Brass Band from Rumania and still here organ music of the english travellers … and in that cafe is Manitas Di Plata the legendary guitar master (father of the Gypsy Kings) who I saw on television in the 60′s as a child … I couldnt believe my eyes! Here he was – his white hair cut shoulder length, in his black rap round sunglasses and white linen suit with flashhy shoes … all of 87 years old and holding court in the cafe … it was a real buzz … later when I looked back at the photos I hadn’t realised it but in the crowd watching the musicians play was another great french gypsy musician Titi Robin!
When the pilgrimage procession walks down to the sea with music playing there is an ecstatic feeling as people immerse themselves in the sea as if being baptised by the water made holy by Saint Saras presence and the gypsies wade into the water playing guitars waist deep and singing to the sky … it was unhinged, honest, and beautifully breathtaking! A revelation and a renewal in the beauty of Life even after great sadness …..

Kavisha on Myspace

and her albums on iTunes Music Store

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