According to Jork, Andy’s Song was written a long time ago but was never published. He added that it is a very special tune
Lee Tobin a.k.a. Jork
with special meaning. I did not ask further as I plan that for future post. I think it fits the mood to the day:stormy, uncertain and reflective. I love his compositional skills. I followed this guy for years now and I am always enthusiastic with every new material from him. I can rarely say that to other artists as I listen to LOTS of music and you know how that is.
Jork is Lee Tobin and he plays many musical instruments. He has done many collaborations and dabbled with different musical styles including chiptune. Looking forward to more from him.
Recording a crisp clear album impromptu takes a lot of skill to achieve. But singer/songwriter Layne Greene has been mixing and arranging music for years. So the live EP was conceived out of the desire to come up with songs that he recorded and arranged in the past but wanted a different take on them. This Business Administration major from St. Francis Xavier University(now in his sophomore year) juggles between making music and seeing himself producing them in the future. He even jokes that :” If worse comes to worse, I can work a crappy, well
Blue Mountain Church This is Knox Presbyterian Church located in Blue Mountain, Nova Scotia, Canada.Photo: H.R. Hatfield
paying, desk job”. Well I am sure it won’t come to that because he makes excellent songs that are well crafted.
One of the songs here called Working Man is dedicated to his grandfather who is a carpenter and builder of musical instruments. There are other songs that are biographical in nature. His lyrics show an introspective and philosophical nature. Although he admits that he isn’t much of a lyrics guy. He is more prone to think of songs like cathedrals with their intricate structures and designs.
Alexander MacNeil is a jazz musician who is also working with Layne on another recording. He adds his distinctive guitar style to this project. He also did the backing vocals in Iron Town. He has his own jazz Trio and Quartet. You can tell that these two made a great tandem in this EP.
One of the things that I really appreciate about this EP is the atmospheric beauty of all the tracks. I asked Layne if they used studio reverb and he said no. Everything in this project- especially the acoustic density -is through the interior of the Knox Presbyterian Church located in Blue Mountain, Nova Scotia, Canada. Engineering/mixing credit goes to Shawn Bisson who flawlessly captured the soul of the venue with such exquisite attention to detail.
Working Man
They say you’re a working man,
Through sweat and tears, and by your hands.
A man of few words,
Because people listen better when your hardly heard.
And you tear yourself away
What’s past is done and gone.
We live with it every day.
And now it’s time to move along.
An early day, a rough way out.
A turn of phrase, that leads to doubt.
A symbol of faith,
Because all you need is buried in leaves.
And you tear yourself away,
What’s past is done and gone.
We live with it ever day.
And now it’s time to move along.
And we’re moving on.
Lyrics printed with permission from the composer.
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Featured video: Glen Hansard – The Song of Good Hope
All ye young minds and sad hearts, listen to this track by Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard. Glen is that voice that pulls you out of the black hole …he knows the human condition..he knows suffering and beauty. But most of all he sings about our life and celebrates our complexities through his music.
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Featured Music App: Polyrhythm Lite
Here is a cool toy that also proves to be useful to music makers. Check what it says:
“Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more conflicting rhythms, that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter.” – New Harvard Dictionary of Music.
This application teaches you polyrhythms. You can hear what they sound like and the application provides a score based on how well you perform them.
The polyrhythm is visualised using the beat circle shown at the centre of the screen. This circle contains two types of beats. The beats are represented by coloured shapes placed along the circle’s circumference, and are colour coded green or blue. When the green beat is heard you tap the screen on the word “Green”, and likewise when the blue beat is heard, tap the word “Blue”. When you are happy you understand the polyrhythm you just stop tapping and the application will tell you how well you did.
This application uses Adobe Air. This version is limited to a 4 beat subdivision, so you can do up to 4:4. The full version allows up to 8:8.
Irish singer/songwriter Peter Chains talks about his debut EP.
Peter Chains-Lynch is an Irish singer/songwriter who now lives in Windsor Ontario, Canada. This EP is a continuation of his musical work that was put on hold for years after leaving Ireland. He started writing songs for the acoustic guitar. He also wrote and co-wrote complex songs when he fronted Irish metal band Giora.
My idea of writing an article about the EP turned into a brief interview. He was around and I thought I could use a little craic which is an Irish way of saying that we had a great time conversing beyond this interview. It was great catching up with this wonderful artist.
Peter it has taken years and now the EP is here. Your labour of love! It must have been a hectic spot in your life leaving Ireland and your old band and building new roots in Canada. Tell me a little bit about this interesting journey.
Well you pretty much hit the nail on the head.. this EP has been long over due. Basically it was about finding time, motivation and the sound/direction I wanted to go in… Due to recently splitting with my wife, I have found a lot more time to focus on my music, and to really give it a go. So I put together 6/7 tracks that I thought would sum up the direction I was heading, mostly with vocals. This EP is basically me finding my voice and pretty much the direction I am going with it. I truly hope people enjoy it and eagerly anticipate the Album I aim to make from this, which I aim for next summer. This EP is 100% free, as it is basically my writing board.
There are 7 songs and these are old and new right? Did you change anything lyrically (or chord wise) to accommodate a new chapter in your life?
Peter Chains. Picture By Ashley Fay Photography
As I mentioned before the splitting with the wife had an impact on my direction… Not musically, but it did influences my outlook on life, so in turn, effected my lyrics. The song White Lie is pretty much about the flaws we had in our Marriage (both mine and hers – takes two). Obsidian Skies I wrote before the split, but was about my own Doubts, which subsequently, turned out to happen. But all my songs are pretty much personal experiences, and that will always be my direction lyrically.
There are songs with dark themes but there are also inspirational ones. To what extent has fatherhood influenced your creativity?
Fatherhood has definitely given me a more positive outlook, compared to my earlier stuff, which was a lot more depressing, which we can put down to youth in a sense lol. The Lyric in White Lie is about my Daughter, “Within darkness there is light, a little beacon that shines so bright.”
I have also been working on a song for her, which I’m sure will come to most as a surprise, as it wont sound ANYTHING like what I’ve done before, as it will be fully upbeat.
One of the tracks is called Black Rainbow which is co- written by Andreas Geese. This is quite interesting because I never know you to share song writing credits. What’s the reason for the collaboration?
I was in a band in my teens called Children of Lilith.. we played hard rock music to a dark theme.. similar to Alice Cooper. Music was written by myself and Andreas Geese, and Lyrics by myself and Mike Campbell… But Black Rainbow lyrics were 100% me, and really close to home… but the main guitar line was written by Andreas Geese.. an amazing Guitarist, great guy in general.. just a shame that band came to end, to
Peter Chains. Picture By Ashley Fay Photography
much drama in our young lives haha.
Can you give your listeners a timeline of your musical plans? What are the things we can expect to happen after your completion of this EP?
Well the timeline now is to review what I did, pick out the mistakes I made, which I made a few, and work on a full length Debut album..
which I am aiming for the summer of 2013, which I hope to tour this album and with this EP I hope to get some notice.. enough to get in the doors of some venues. Basically to put myself in the shop window. I have started gigging again, but since I am in a country where I am virtually unknown, progress is slow and hard.. but still progress, and I fully aim to increase my efforts. In the mean time I really hope people notice the progress and the efforts I have made the last year in finally producing a solid EP and hope they can find it in there hearts to spread it around, and recommend it to family and friends as a must hear underground musician… I swear I am not asking much😛 .
Watch out for his bandcamp account coming soon.
White Lie is the carrier single off Carrion Crows.
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Featured Blog: unDjentlemanly
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I have been reading the posts of the four people who own this blog with the title above. They write about anything. But their focus is more on music. I listened to the latest edition and it took me until the morning to finish listening to all those links posted. Here is the link to the latest post:http://undjentlemanly.blogspot.ie/2012/08/new-music.html
For the benefit of those who don’t want to click, I am going to paste all the links here. The artists are really eclectic. You get dance, jazz, classical, heavy metal and ambient. They have EVERYTHING for everyone. The author of this post is Lee Tobin who goes by the moniker Jork. Yes he appeared in this blog several times and will be appearing again 🙂
Hellloooo indie fanatics. Today is another great day for music. I want to bring this great guy to your attention. He has a new track out called Metamorpho bro. Jork explores musical realms very few artists would. I mean just listen to this track and you will know what I am talking about. It will rearrange the way you think and listen to music. I love how he puts so much effort in the production of his tracks. But let us be honest here. This isn’t something that anyone who is into mainstream would really dig. It takes repeated listens until it grows on you. And when it does, expect roots and branches…and even flowers. I know I am hearing two musical ideas in this track but I just want to be sure. So I asked Jork a.k.a Lee Tobin.
According to Jork:
I wrote two melodies and two harmonies. I wanted to make the two work together, or at least change a little to fit together.
Bingo!That explains why I think I am hearing two tracks at the same time. Clever.
Chinese Whispers for Drunk Assholes…kind of a tasty name for a track that combines elements of Jazz-very progressive though and scales that approach atonal elements. Jork has mastered the sense of atmosphere and textural beauty. Is this going to be the new direction for a new album after the two offers: Uneasy Truce and Superanuated? In terms of the revolutionary chiptune genre, Jork a.k.a. Lee Tobin is the man!
😛 
