Julian Calv - Nonstop Motion (New)

Nonstop Motion. Non: meaning nine, and there are nine songs in the album. Nonstop: the perpetual melodic cycles. Motion: the flurry of percussive attacks emanating from the trimba. Not every song relates to the number nine, but many do. The references to the number nine are a homage to the composer Moondog's interest in numerology, especially relating to nine.

Moondog and I have shared a musical kinship for some time now. Born Louis Hardin, Moondog was a 20th c American composer, known for his invented percussion instruments, influential eclectic compositions, and dedication to one’s own artistic voice. I studied with Moondog’s only student, Stefan Lakatos, who entrusted me to continue the preservation of this music. For my debut album I wanted to include both of our compositions.

“Zed” and “Stride” are two of my street songs, which is music I perform in a live solo setting while street performing. The name Zed comes from a traveler who rhythmically tapped a Snapple cap along to the beat when I was first improvising the melody on balafon, so I named it after him. On Nonstop Motion, this melody is arranged for piano. “Stride” gets its name from me matching the tempo of the balafon and trimba to the stride of someone walking by. The two-part piano canon was then composed based on this walking groove.

“Encore” and “2 West 46th Street” propel you to Moondog's days on the streets of New York City. “Encore” is arranged from an older song called “Utsu.” “Utsu” was composed for his invented instrument of the same name. “2 West 46th Street” was along Sixth Avenue, where Moondog would frequently set up shop for the day– selling poetry, compositions, leather belts, and other items to help finance his life. He later used this piece as the third movement to his “Suite Pentatonic” and reserved the original title as a subtitle.

“Art of The Canon Book 1, No. 9” and “Art of The Canon Book 3, No. 9” are a dual selection of unrecorded piano canons. Along with some of my favored songs by Moondog, I wanted to be sure to include some new material.

“Logrundr in F Major” is composed in a song form called the logrundr, which was invented by Moondog. It is defined by a repeating bass line accompanying a two to four-part canon. In this case it's a two-part canon. “Logrundr in F Major” is subtitled “Unspoken Secret” which was a term my friend, Wolfgang Gnida, used to describe the song.

“Eastern Hemlock” is a vocal round from my collection The Trees in You and Me. It is the arboreal emblem for the state of Pennsylvania. Though hemlock trees aren’t poisonous they’re often mistaken for being so, because they get mixed up with the poison hemlock herb. This misconception comes from Greek history, which tells us how Socrates was assassinated using the hemlock herb.

“Non” is a percussion collage rooted in improvisation. You hear the big trum of the trimba on the downbeat of every measure, but as the tune continues you’ll be met with additional percussive layers. Polymeters are introduced by various hand drums, including a pair of dragons teeth– which is another instrument invented by Moondog. At the start you hear a heady maraca part decorating a 9/4 groove. In the later half of the tune you hear the darbuka drum played by Nabeel. If his drumming sounds familiar, you may have recognized it earlier on the album during “Zed.”