FULL PARTIAL CUSTODY ALBUM AVAILABLE ---ONLY--- FROM PURCHASING A CHIP HERE OR ON
ORENDARECORDS.BANDCAMP.COM
FULL TRACKLIST:
1) Whatever Else The News Has Planned
2) Going
3) Exaggeration Holmes
4) The Bell Mimic
5) Bone Jump (Brian Eno)
6) Dancing to the Dead Beat
7) Jet Plane
Please forgive this candid but relatively brief missive regarding my experience writing, curating, discovering, performing and ultimately recording and mixing the music and group of three musicians I refer to as Partial Custody.
That phrase has been in my vocabulary since I was a small child experiencing the bitter divorce of my mom and dad. I always associated it with negativity and strife due to those unfortunate early realities. In a similar sense, this dissolution of various band projects that I both led or co-led over the past decade or more reminded me uncannily of my parents' splitting.
The breakup of one of those bands entitled Evil Genius hit me especially hard given the amount of spiritual investment I had in the project. That and a destroyed connection between myself and a supposed close friend as a part of that breakup made me not even want to consider forming another tuba, guitar and drum mini orchestra.
Fast forward to mid-2022 and I start to get more interested in the idea of doing this type of project again. This coincided with my meeting two of the greatest musical minds I've encountered since moving to NY in Ben Stapp and James Paul Nadien. The chemistry between us was immediate and I decided to open up my old book of compositions for these instruments as a means of getting the ball rolling.
Over a few performances around the city playing that music, I felt that I had learned enough about Ben and James' artistic personalities and particular vibes, I got to writing the music featured on this recording. My methods of realizing these pieces were different from any of my previous music. I'm notorious for composing slowly and obsessing over concepts endlessly before executing anything substantial. I've never been able to compose an album's worth of material over a short, focussed period of time. I also have regularly ignored the need to edit more glaring errors in recoded performances just for the sake of finishing the albums I've released.
I spent the five days before the bands' final rehearsals ahead of the tracking session writing this music. The form of "Dancing to the Dead Beat" wasn't even sketched or titled until the last night. Both "Whatever Else The News Has Planned" and "Going" were formed from attempted transcriptions of piano improvisations I made using phone recordings. "The Bell Mimic" was likewise based of an improvisation on a retuned nylon-stringed guitar. The only exception to these new means is "Exaggeration Holmes" which is an expanded version of my typically episodic, neurotic and dense forms. "Bone Jump" is based off and old arrangement I made of one of Brian Eno's lesser recognized newer music. Finally, "Jet Plane" is maybe the third, triadic and triumphant melody that wasn't so much conceived as it pried my jaws and escaped from my mouth. The only difference there being the adoption of a Terry Riley-inspired, cellular structure crossed with the ecstatic marathon aesthetic of Qawwali and Shaabi repertoire while observing honoring the manic groove of harmelodic funk.
There is nothing else like the balance of tuba, guitar and drums to me. It feels as close to a perfect balance of sound identities as I can imagine. Thus, "Partial Custody" was my choice of name. Although my prior trio was finished, I still had the idea to explore on my own in whatever way I wanted. What's more is that the term was ultimately implying a positive takeaway in learning to share the reality of pieces with the band rather than attempting to recreate the rigid, restrictive nature of dominating those older pieces. In other words, this music requires the influence and participation of the people who play it as much as I do.
Much of this music was conceived of in visions I meticulously entered as notes in my phone. I saw the pieces as faint glimmers just beyond my grasp and then they gradually became sharper and more specific. It is my most sincere attempt to relinquish the total and structural control over my own music and ideas and begin worshipping the impressions of my ears before any other source. I also allowed myself to realize virtually every single silly thought I had during the overdubbing process. The music looks and feels closer to the high resolution scenes in my head than ever before.
In conclusion, I urgently hope that you enjoy this collection of my music and one cover arrangement.
Cheers,
Max - Jan 4, 2024.
