Close-up: Spaghetti Eastern Music – Blues for A Lost Cosmonaut
(written by Sal Cataldi)
“This is the final chapter of a three song venture into the ambient arena begun with my 2020 releases, “Her Lemon Peel Raincoat (Because It’s Raining)” and “Peace Within.” They are a nod to the inspiration I get from early Krautrockers and space rock bands like Tangerine Dream, Cluster, Ash Ra Temple, Gong and the like.
It’s all about playing with texture and space, creating a slowly evolving journey in sounds. It’s a series of waves, an aural mediation built upon a three-note motif which I return to periodically throughout the nine-plus minutes. Synth drones and echoed piano pads are complemented with long sustained Ebow guitars and two melodic acoustic guitars, playing restrained, minimalist fragments of melody. At about 4 minutes in, it shifts into more dissonance and tension before returning to a calm and cavernous ambience for the concluding three minutes.
The direct inspiration came from watching some old videos of the early Soviet space program, especially the first space walk by Alexei Leonov. It was about recreating the contrasting feelings that the vintage film of this moment imparts. There’s peace, wonder and weightless combined with the realization that this could spin out of control at any moment, as it did for some early cosmonauts.
It was just another fun exercise in impulsive sound painting, something recorded in an almost trance like state in the wee small hours of the morning.”
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The ‘Close-up’ series contains insight provided by artists about their work.
