JIM SANDE

Harvest Bell Ride

2010 CD

Jim Sande (self-released)

From the artist-
"Harvest Bell Ride Themes And Underlying Interests There are many formal contemplative practices which people engage in for tranquility and some peace of mind. As I was writing the music for Harvest Bell Ride, I was thinking about the informal ways that people also practice contemplation. A good example of this is how we will sit around the fire or fireplace on a cool Fall or Winter evening. We'll quietly sit there, gazing at the fire, and allow ourselves to relax and find some ease of mind. This simple thing can be very enjoyable and satisfying. The fire catches our attention and we can slowly let go of the jumble of thoughts that usually holds our attention and place the mind's attention on the fire. Gardening can be like this, planting flowers or food plants. People do this with great focus and with little distraction. There are many activities like this, star gazing, tree climbing, forms of exercise, walking, and even cooking. It's partly up to the individual and the cultural surroundings. As the seasons change, the activities change. These seasonal activities and the way they change became my intentional theme for Harvest Bell Ride. It's an appreciation for the common activities that we do that become informal contemplative practices even though we might not think of them as such. People might simply say, oh I really like gardening. For The Techies, Musicians, And Curious All of the music on 'Harvest Bell Ride' was recorded on Mac computers, a desktop and a laptop. I used Digital Performer for recording software. For instrumental sounds I used Vienna Symphonic Instruments, Garritan Personal Orchestra, M-Tron Pro, my handy Yamaha P-90, and an acoustic-electric Epiphone guitar. Occasionally I use a few of the virtual instruments packed in with Digital Performer. The sound pallet was orchestral instruments along with straight forward digital enhancements especially delays and panning effects. The Finished Sounds I mixed these pieces in my studio with the barest of essentials added. There is a tiny amount of compression used. Please please listen to this music on some decent speakers or good headphones. Listening to it with less than good speakers on a laptop or boom box with reduce it to a skeleton."

CD is in EXCELLENT condition, completely play-tested. Jim Sande's music on this CD is a wonderful cornucopia of modern melodic, cinematic, somewhat electronic, eclectic instrumental compositions.