Cloudwalking-Bruce-Arnold-Judi-Silvano-72DPI-300X288

“Cloudwalking” by Sonic Twist®

sonic-twist-twisting

“Cloudwalking” by Sonic Twist®

Muse Eek Publishing Presents: “Cloudwalking” A CD of Pure Improvised Beauty by Sonic Twist® who is: Judi Silvano and Bruce Arnold

Sonic Twist® is:

Judi Silvano–Voice with Live Processing

Bruce Arnold–Guitar and SuperCollider

“The definitive breakdown of musical categorization was delivered in 1962 by Duke Ellington: “There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind.” File this album in the Good Music section.”

–Steve Holtje, Manager, ESP-Disk

“This is some Beautiful Cosmic Music created by two of the most inventive musicians on the scene today.”

–Joe Lovano, 2016

“Brilliant. Love it; almost a Kraftwerk twist to it.”

–Rob Taylor nmblive.com, 2017

JUDI SILVANO and BRUCE ARNOLD – Cloudwalking (Muse Eek 304; USA) Featuring Judi Silvano on vocals & effects and Bruce Arnold on guitars & effects. This is the second disc from Judi Silvano and Bruce Arnold. To call Ms. Silvano just a jazz singer would be misleading since, as this disc shows, there is quite a bit more going on here than one might imagine. We can still hear her jazz background but she is still stepping into another world, rather mysterious sounding. Her voice on “Ingenue” is lovely, warm, dreamy sounds without words. Mr. Arnold also plays solemn, spacy echoplex guitar chords underneath. Ms. Silvano selectively uses an ample amount of echo effects to expand the sound of her voice. The effects that both musicians use are similar in the way they pulsate and work well together. The effects that Mr. Arnold uses add a hypnotic groove at times upon which Mr. Silvano lets her voice glide, rhythmically, tastefully. There is some magic spice going on here, a rather soothing, dream-like vibe that feels better that some of the more aggravating nonsense we all have to deal with at times. Is this music for a fairy tale or a quaint movie for our minds when we are mellowing out? I like when the voices lays out for a bit while Mr. Arnold creates enchanting scenes from different short stories or chapters in a novel. This gives Ms. Silvano a chance to add her own part of the story, her creating different characters. Since there are no lyrics to think about, it is only the sound of her voice to evoke different feelings. Overall, I find this disc to be rather charming and not too far out, but enough to take us all on a magic carpet ride upwards and onwards. This duo will be playing here at DMG early next year, so keep you eyes & ears peeled.

–Bruce Lee Gallanter, 2019

“Cloudwalking” by Sonic Twist®:

After the warm reception of their maiden voyage, Listen To This, (“This disc is the gem of the month!”…Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, NYC) the duo of Judi Silvano and Bruce Arnold present their second release of improvised electronic music, “Cloudwalking”. While their first effort showed them exploring their musical connections, and reflected an all encompassing approach, “Cloudwalking” is a much more intentionally lyrical outing. It contains evocative electronic soundscapes and haunting melodies. It is atmospheric without being ambient.

All the tracks are completely improvised, yet they all sound composed, with thematic arcs, repeating motifs and intuitive endings. This stems from both of the musicians having a long history of composition, and an affinity for the same music. There is an equal give and take throughout these tracks, with neither Judi nor Bruce dominating the direction. Videographer Michal Shapiro, who shot the sessions, remarks, “Bruce may start off with a chord, or a sound or even a melodic figure, and Judi listens, interacts, and then before you know it, they are creating a beautiful song. Or sometimes Judi just starts singing and Bruce jumps right on it. But it amazes me that they come out the other end with these deep, cohesive musical pieces.”

The two musicians only met a relatively short while ago. Both traveled in the same circles, and made music with the same musicians, but had never met. A chance recommendation from bass player Ratzo B. Harris connected them on a gig, and the rest followed naturally.

sonic-twist-twisting

Judi may be best known for her extensive jazz catalogue (too extensive to list here) but in reality, she is a multi-faceted artist, having grown up with classical, pop and jazz music, and been trained as a classical singer. Her affinities for modern classical music are apparent throughout this album, most notably on the opening track “Ingenue” with its sweet, almost bel canto tones.

Bruce Arnold has been following two different paths for the past ten years: Exploring the potentials of 12-tone music and pitch class sets, and mastering the computer program SuperCollider, to create new and original electric sounds on guitar. On their first session, Bruce notes “I set up an array of pedals, each one programmed to process Judi’s voice in a different way. She assessed the possibilities and immediately started to savor each sound and use the effects creatively.”

The Tracks

  • Ingenue -2:53 – The most lyrical of the tracks, with both guitar and voice unprocessed.
  • River Crossing – 4:15 – The pulse of a river runs through this.
  • Golden Savanna 3:41 – Sun-drenched plains, windless.
  • Skimming – 2:41 – A subdued interlude, for sitting quietly, watching dust motes.
  • Cloudwalking – 2:47 – Airy, atmospheric textures. Judi is mercurial.
  • Shavings – 2:04- Solo guitar sounds of a subterranean gamelon
  • Meanderful – 2:29 – Wandering in curving paths
  • Have and Hold – 3:49- A languid rumination wherein Judi shows a bit more of her jazz chops.
  • Sparky – 1:44 – Solo Guitar – Bruce calls this “the stars at night.”
  • Journey Past – 5:57 – Looking back and the paths taken.
  • 024 Alap 3:42– Solo guitar – Bruce’s guitar is sitar-like and reminiscent of the first section of a raga.
  • Back Country – 3:52- The sound of snow.

Excerpts from “Cloudwalking”:

    • Ingenue
    • River Crossing
    • Golden Savanna
    • Skimming
    • Cloudwalking
    • Shavings
    • Meanderful
    • Have and Hold
    • Sparky
    • Journey Past
    • 024 Alap

Get “Cloudwalking”…today!

Status: In stock, physical CD ships in 24 hours. Digital downloaded MP3s are available for immediate access.

FREE SHIPPING WHEN ORDER TOTAL IS OVER 200.00 USD.

sonic-twist-twisting

The Equipment Used by Sonic Twist® on this Recording

This CD used extensive live audio processing of the voice and guitar. Below is a list of the equipment used:

Bruce Arnold’s Equipment:

  • Music Man Silhouette Guitar
  • Mac Laptop running SuperCollider
  • Voodoo Lab Ground Control Midifootcontroller
  • Two Proel Expression Pedals
  • Vertex Volume Pedal
  • BB Preamp
  • Distillery by Tone Concepts
  • Lehle “Dual”
  • 1957 Fender Deluxe Amplifier
  • SonoSax SX-M1 and SX-M2 preamps
  • Great River MP-2MV Preamp

Judi Silvano’s Equipment:

  • Mac Laptop running Fishman Triple Play Interface
  • Eventide Anthology X Plugins
  • Universal Audio Apollo Twin DUO Audio Interface
  • Gordius MidifootController
  • 2 Mission Engineering Expression Pedals
  • Great River MP-2MV Preamp
  • SoundDeluxe E47 Microphone

To find out more about Judi Silvano or Bruce Arnold please visit their websites.

Please also visit Sonic Twist’s Website

This entry was posted in Recordings and tagged , , , by Muse Eek. Bookmark the permalink.

About Muse Eek

Muse-Eek Publishing Company is a publishing house with a broad focus on music education. Muse-Eek also publishes fine art and poetry books, and has its own record label, Muse-Eek Records. Our online presence, Muse-Eek.com specializes in the publication of music workbooks, video courses and sound and video recordings that teach the foundation of good musicianship through groundbreaking and innovative methods along with traditional methods that have been taught for centuries. These historic methods date back through centuries of great musicians and educators. To see these interesting relationship please see Bruce Arnold's Music Education Genealogy Chart which tells you a lot about the where many of his educational ideas took root and some of the educational pillars that are evident throughout the books you find on this website. The Muse-Eek Records catalogue contains a diverse selection of music much of it by Bruce Arnold in collaboration with some of today's best players in classical, jazz, rock and avant-garde music. These are available in CD, DVD and mp3 formats. We believe in a working relationship with our music education customers; they are free to interact with the author after purchasing a book to help them through any material they don’t understand or which they need further clarification. We also have a member's area which contains a wealth of free information to help a student understand music at a deeper level and access additional files for our books. Many of our books offer cutting edge ideas regarding ear training, guitar technique, rhythm and time. These methods have a proven track record. Our main author Bruce Arnold has taught at some of the most prestigious music schools in the world, including Princeton, Dartmouth, Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, The New School and NYU. Along with Mr. Arnold's publications on the Muse-eek.com website he has also written books and appeared in educational DVDs for MelBay and Truefire. Over the years Mr Arnold has used his experiences with his students to develop a program that can elevate a musician's ability to world class caliber. If you have questions about any of our books or recordings please send us an email. Along with general questions about either our record label or our publishing company we also welcome questions to help a student choose the proper materials to reach their goals. We have over 300 products to help you learn any style of music and to develop your musicianship to its peak. We also make recommendations for practice schedules for students who use our methods to get the most out of their study time. This, along with personal interaction with Bruce through email, nurtures the student's ability through a closely monitored situation, ensuring there is no wasted time or misunderstanding.