Friday Goa

02009-06-26 | Music | 4 comments

Today I want to show how a piece of music changes through the years.

I will use Morning Arrival in Goa as the example. The first recording dates from the Spring of 1993, for the album The Hours Between Night + Day. I remember that I had the chord changes written out, but waited to create the melody until the rhythm guitars, the percussion, bass and keyboards were already done. After the melody was established I added the electric guitar Seagulls and the foghorn I had recorded, because the theme of the piece became the night ferry from Bombay to Goa, which I had the pleasure to take in the Fall of 1978. I traveled fourth class, which meant sleeping on deck, but also meant that I was awake and up to witness the sunrise, and the lighthouse…:

Next comes the version we recorded live for the album ¡Viva! I used the Midi-Flamenco guitar Keith Vizcarra made for me in 1993:

The next example is the version from Leaning into the Night. The arrangement was written by Oscar Castro-Neves, who also conducted the orchestra:


Here is a polaroid scan from August 1996:

This one was recorded for the album The Santa Fe Sessions. I changed the guitar arpeggio to Bossa Nova-style plucking. Davo played the udu:

This is the remix that appeared on nouveaumatic, with a new slap-bass by Jon Gagan:

Here is a live recording from late 2005 with Jon Gagan, Davo Bryant and the string quartet. (Diary entry):

All versions except for the last one are available on CDs and from the usual download outlets. You can download version 6 here.

4 Comments

  1. Carol

    I feel that I too am arriving there but high above like a bird slowly flying looking at the water and the lights below.
    They are all wonderful renditions.

    Reply
  2. JMS

    Thank you OL.

    Reply
  3. Luz

    Each version of Goa is unique but the last one is my fav. The strings add that special touch.

    Reply
  4. Victor Hornback

    What I found neat about listening to these in progression was the sense of that one journey continuing to echo throughout a lifetime… and realizing that each of us carry our own journeys that may have started long ago. There’s also this interesting timeless quality about allowing the music to be different over time.

    Reply

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