Still love the name Bandcamp for a music streaming site. Anyway, pieces from the past couple of years that seem to go together: Squint Eye Specifically: Squint Eye (title piece 3:38), Prelude and Strut (5:23), Bolero Boogie (5:02), Samba Sailin (3:16), Exi Maxi (4:18), and Bells of Trieste (3:58). Just under 25 minutes all together.… Continue reading Just Out at Bandcamp
Category: Music
Over on Bluesky and Bandcamp
I discontinued my TwiXter account many months ago, but when people on FB mentioned joining Bluesky, I decided to give it a try. So I’m over there @russellv.bsky.social. I post occasionally. It’s fine. But I did notice quite a few writers and musicians, and writers includes translators and musicians includes amateur composers. That part is… Continue reading Over on Bluesky and Bandcamp
Insights and such
Boy No. 1, who is now twenty-one and knows more than his father about such things, says it’s all about the algorithms. I am still hoping that Crack: A Tone Poem has in fact reached the people SoundCloud’s insights page is telling me it has reached. They are… …in the US 53 listeners; in Australia… Continue reading Insights and such
Crack: A Tone Poem
I did a limited release of Crack: A Tone Poem on SoundCloud yesterday, which quickly had just under 50 plays. That by itself is not extraordinary, but I was surprised by the places where the plays came from: 6 from the the US; 3 each from the UK, Australia, Canada, and Germany; 2 each from… Continue reading Crack: A Tone Poem
Squint Eye
I released a song on July 31, which seems to have pushed Ba.Ren.Chi above 14,000 plays on Jamendo. I still like that service because of how well curated it is, the simplicity of uploading and keeping track of content, and the fact that it’s free to anyone. SoundCloud shares some of these features, though it… Continue reading Squint Eye
Oh Say Can You? No, it’s something a little different.
After a test run and some mixing tweaks, Ba.Ren.Chi’s “Oh Say Can You” went live on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music Streaming, and some other platforms I don’t remember about a month ago. Then I started making changes. I don’t think I quite understood the song before. It was angrier than I… Continue reading Oh Say Can You? No, it’s something a little different.
Si Lalo Si
Ba Ren Chi recently topped 10,000 listens on Jamendo, and of the two pieces way out in front, this old tribute to the great Lalo Schifrin, which I gave the title “Lalo Si” when I wrote it around 1997, keeps tempting me to go back and tinker. The piano still sounds good, but there are… Continue reading Si Lalo Si
Samuel on SoundCloud…
…says “this track is a bop.” I agree. Also a Walk in the Park. (Or on SoundCloud, if you prefer.)
The Thaw
During two winters of Covid lock-down, I looked out a window onto the January snow and ice and wondered what it would be like when we all emerged, a little like the spring thaw, and I started working on this piece. At first it was just atmosphere, then it started to feel rhythmic, a little… Continue reading The Thaw
Seven Spot
Ba Ren Chi topped 6,500 listens on Jamendo recently, which is nice, but much nicer is this new piece I finished. “Seven Spot” is all about sevens, nines, and other assorted (mostly odd) numbers. I was busy with everything, but it was haunting me. Maybe it won’t be waking me up so much in the… Continue reading Seven Spot
Russell Scott Valentino 