DISCOGRAPHY
: DETAILS
THE CLOUD BOX (box set)
10 CD box set, catalog number n/a
November 2004, Time Stereo
• Collects the following albums:
01. Brown Rice
02. USA vs Gamelan
03. Dreem Up
04. The Pinecone
05. Mystery Spot
06. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The
000Most
07. Wake Up Jin
08. Everglades National Park
09. Free Concert His Name Is Alive
10. Detrola
Limited edition of 50 wood "cloud boxes" gathering ten CDs of
new music from His Name Is Alive. Made available direct from Time Stereo
via mail order. Despite sharing an identical title, the "Spring
Can Really Hang You Up The Most" album is entirely different
from the album of the same name released in 2001.
Chris Handyside from Detroit's Metro Times magazine had THIS
to say about The Cloud Box!!!
disc one: BROWN RICE
Recordings from a non-stop marathon weekend session celebrating Elliot's
21st birthday + tenor saxophone and harp duets + field recordings from
Bhaktapur, Nepal on new years 1999-2000 + recordings made in Ann Arbor,
Michigan with Jake's high school orchestra. Previously available at shows,
BROWN RICE has now been re-edited and remastered.
disc two: USA vs. GAMELAN
Elliot called, "Warn, i got the keys to the Gamelan." Warn and Hitoko
jumped in the car and they recorded several hours of Americanized His
Name Is Alive music on a full set of instruments of the Indonesian Gamelan
orchestra kept at the University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Bonang, saron,
gong, slentem and suling played by Warn, Hitoko and Elliot.
disc three: DREEM UP
Recorded circa 1994-95 back when HNIA was starting a lot of projects and
not finishing all of them (the Mexican 1/2 speed ambient masters was another
"lost" album). It began as a covers album but since warn didn't get around
to learning the songs, Karin had to sing them acappella, but an acappella
covers album didn't seem like such a hot idea so the project got shelved.
Later on Warn added some "music" and now here it is ten years later, a
long lost old school His Name Is Alive album.
disc four: THE PINECONE
"Part of my therapy when things were going bad with the music industry
was collecting pinecones and trying to turn them into musical instruments.
i eventually found a number of them that had desirable tonalities and
a certain consistency. i didn't want to make a gimmicky 'hey look at this
funny man playing an electric pinecone' type of album, so Iwrote serious
songs or improvised duets with 'real instruments' like African thumb piano,
nylon string guitar, violin, upright bass, treated music box, electric
bear, percussion, and harmonium." - Warn Defever. Highlights include one
track where the violinist plays with a pinecone replacing the traditional
violin bow, and another track where the keys of the pinecone, instead
of being gently stroked by thumbs, are bowed like a violin.
disc five: MYSTERY SPOT
"I don't wanna talk about it, but once you listen you can figure it out,
if you're smart." - Warn Defever
disc six: SPRING CAN REALLY HANG YOU UP THE MOST
Recorded for an installation in an art gallery in Detroit after a particularly
harsh winter, this long piece was designed not for the traditional left
and right stereo speaker orientation but top and bottom separation. the
installation was in a stairwell with one large PA speaker placed at the
top of the stairs on the third floor and the other in the basement. The
music tries to recreate the experience of being trapped in a house for
several months and then as the ice and snow gradually melt, the windows
are eventually opened, the sound of birds are heard once again, and finally
there's a party at the lake!
disc seven: WAKE UP JIN
"The band Slumber Party played an all night show in Detroit (Slumber Party-
Slumber Party) and at nine in the morning we played a slow quiet set to
gently awaken the still-drunk/hung-over guests." - Warn Defever
disc eight: EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK
Field recordings include warn throwing rocks at birds, and an alligator
attacking and eating a bird. Several birds were probably hurt and at least
one bird was eaten during this recording. Warn fails to engage an owl
in a flute duet, but does get a good jam going with some fish and a bell.
"I was tired of being inside a studio and wanted to record new sounds
in special places. A year earlier, I recorded at a beautiful 500 year
old temple in Japan, but now I wanted to find somewhere closer to home.
Also in this series was a field trip to Death Valley!" - Warn Defever
disc nine: FREE CONCERT HIS NAME IS ALIVE
Played a special concert in Detroit on July 10, 2004. Lovetta sings, Warn
plays guitar and piano, Elliot plays piano and saxophone, Jamie plays
upright bass, and Nicole plays congas, a CD of birds plays quietly through
one amplifier, and many bells were handed out to the audience members.
disc ten: DETROLA
"On Tuesday, June 15, 2004, I was trying to work in my studio (located
in downtown Detroit on Woodward Ave), but I was interrupted in the evening
by loud sounds from the street below. The Detroit Pistons had just won
Game 5 of the NBA championships finals, beating the LA Lakers 100 to 87,
and the people of the city had decided to celebrate with an unofficial
late night drunken parade. The steady stream of car honking, screaming,
and gun shots were too loud for me to work so I decided that maybe this
would escalate into a cool riot and that maybe i should tape it. I set
up some microphones out the window and waited for hours thinking it would
soon pass. Eventually I decided to join in. I tried to accompany the orchestra
of blaring car horns and the roaring choir of excited sports fans, on
the piano. After several hours of not-quite-riot behavior, the police
closed of the street, but the party continued in the distance...." - Warn
Defever