December by Chris Beckstrom
Not long after Thanksgiving, our dog Walter got sick. We found ourselves taking many trips to the vet, talking to doctors, and spending a lot of time waiting for test results, worrying about our best friend.
Around the same time, Claire encouraged me to make the music that I want to make, not concerning myself copping specific styles or wondering what others might think: Just making music.
During the month of December music just poured out of me: Melodies, harmonies, basslines, hooks, and interludes came out and went right into the computer. For the first time in quite a while I found myself writing complete melodies and compositions with many different sections. After assembling these tracks I realize they aren't simply "tracks" but an aural journal, a way to deal with the mix of emotions I encountered in December.
More than any other music I've created, these songs are part of a whole; They were created in a very short timespan and reflect a very particular period of my life. I usually shy away from being too "artsy" and trying to express emotion with music, but I can't deny that is what this is.
It just happened, and now I realize that creating this music helped me during this difficult time.
Walter is better now– the doctors think he had a mild case of auto-immune meningitis. Although we still give him medication daily, the prognosis is good. I wish we wouldn't have gone through that ordeal, but without it I would not have been so inspired to express myself through music.
I am fiercely proud of this music. I feel it is very true to me as a musician; This music is a distillation of my favorite artists, my ideas about music, and it came out sounding very true to who I am and the sort of music I enjoy.
It is, I believe, 100% Chris Beckstrom.
......
composed, recorded, and produced December 4, 2014 - January 3, 2015
Besides the emotional turmoil, there are a few very specific musical influences that I thought of when writing this music. In the interest of sharing, they are:
Battles - Earth, Wind and Fire - Herbie Hancock - Daft Punk - Snarky Puppy - Ryan Andrews - Garrett McGinn - Robert Glasper - Common - Flying Lotus - Skrillex - Ravi Shankar - Josh Rouse - Little Dragon - Q-Tip - Pat Metheny - Moon Hooch - Shona mbira music - Modeselektor - J Dilla
Tracklist
| 1. | Montuno | 5:01 |
| 2. | December | 7:10 |
| 3. | Give and Take | 5:45 |
| 4. | I'll Ride With You | 6:08 |
| 5. | The Wait | 4:49 |
| 6. | Wa-oh Wa-oh Wa-oh Wa-oh | 5:53 |
| 7. | The Way Home | 6:49 |
Credits
Chris Beckstrom: compositions, production, programming, sampling, tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, electric bass, drums, keyboards, synthesizers, melodica, Hammond organ, Rhodes, Korg Volca Keys, Moog Animoog, Yamaha WX5 wind controller, Korg Gadget, percussion
