New Art and New Music From Duo'Xplore! on the Radio and at Dolphin Gallery
Mendonoma musicians Harrison Goldberg and Tim Mueller of duo’Xplore are releasing their pioneer album titled "dream smuggler" in May and the public is invited to hear and see more. To celebrate this creative accomplishment, KTDE 100.5FM/The Tide Community Radio’s Erin and John will premiere the band’s recording Saturday, May 29, at 5:00pm on their popular “Celtic Coasting” radio program. (There will be an encore presentation of the album on the following Wednesday at 6:00pm on KTDE’s "Mendonoma Music" program.) Then on Sunday, May 30, the Dolphin Gallery and Gift Shop in Cypress Village, Gualala will host a live duo’Xplore 'Meet the Artists' and autograph signing event from 12:00noon to 2:00pm.
The beautiful six-panel audio CD package is paired with a unique and equally beautiful 8 x 8 inch hardcover Artbook featuring sixteen prints of Goldberg’s small abstract works in color. Each painting is a natural companion piece to one of the 16 tracks of music on the CD (The image and the music track share the same title.) Together the music and art create an immersive music experience for the viewer/listener. The CD and Artbook come packaged together as a set, which can be purchased at the Dolphin Gallery or online from the band’s webpage DuoXplore.Art.
There is an obvious and natural synergy of the musicians, the music and the art. Goldberg describes the creative process for this new artistic venture: “the inspiration behind the mixed media aspect of the project came after Tim had viewed samples of my visual art and showed me a copy of a CD titled the fawn, by the group, The Sea and Cake. The album’s understated bone-white cover features several horizontal rows of small vertical white and earth-toned, book-shaped panels. Not only did I feel that my work could showcase well in this format, but the idea of including visual art to accompany our music was appealing, particularly as a way of engaging the listener in a parallel artistic experience. Hence the innovative concept of dream smuggler came to life.”
Reflecting the daring improvisational spirit conveyed in the band’s name, duo’Xplore has typically offered Mendonoma coast audiences a “guitar and saxophone adventure” focusing primarily on the spontaneous, imaginative and unpredictable reworking of popular jazz tunes and classics from the Great American Songbook. With dream smuggler, Mueller and Goldberg embarked on a new, equally satisfying sonic journey that features their original music, without sacrificing any of the unmistakable energy and groove of the duo’s years-long creative collaboration.
Recorded live in Tim’s rustic Studio Oisette in a remote corner of Mendocino County worked. Goldberg added, “the relaxed and laid back atmosphere encouraged our creativity and engendered a dialogue of soft but energetic restraint that informed our musical conversations. We would begin each session with a brief discussion of the proposed groove, including a key signature to be considered. Once this was established, Tim would begin building his parts of the composition. Combining organic drums with electronic rhythm tracks and then looping them, he would add live electric bass, guitar, some keyboard, sometimes wind chimes or perhaps more synthesized sounds, all subject to additional looping. The clever arrangements that developed along the way were further augmented during subsequent mixing, while carefully preserving the sense of freshness which is only heightened by the brevity of each musical “sketch”. This interesting roux that Tim had concocted thus created a tantalizing opportunity for me to introduce a sax melody line or motif that would enhance and add spice to the emerging recipe. Besides the familiar musical flavors of tenor, soprano and alto saxophone, I introduced a selection of novel and exotic voices using my recently acquired Roland AE-10 G Aerophone wind synthesizer.
“Tim’s incomparable guitar artistry then drew on his diverse musical influences and performance experience to further enrich the music, adding extra textures and energy to the already exciting compositions. An inspired interplay throughout, and reflecting our signature duo’Xplore sound, the music successfully conveys the high energy and immediacy of our live performances.”
Join these two talented musicians for the radio premier on May 29, and at the Dolphin Gallery on Sunday, May 30. The Dolphin Gallery is ay 39114 Ocean Drive, Cypress Village, Gualala’s Uptown gallery District.
Pictured: Left, Harrison Goldberg; Right, Tim Mueller.
