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A new recording of an old song I wrote, with the “forgotten” middle section, hope you enjoy. Ben

Our most streamed song this year on Spotify and other platforms, the Song of The Ayahuasca Labrador comes to the free podcast here on substack.

If you love Aya Labra and want to read more about his adventures in the future, smash that like button and share this post to all and sundry!

Have a wonderful, restful Christmas and New Year from The Alfalfa Mail.

I posted this tune a while back in a note as “Untitled Song” and now it has a working title, which means “January”.

I’ve been playing it on the baritone and spanish guitar too, and so it’s evolved a bit since this recording.

Hope you enjoy it.

Ben

Recorded a guitar track this evening and it’s turned into something quite good, here is a first take before it gets mixed and posted to Spotify etc. hope you like it. Any comments, feedback welcome as usual 🐾✌🏼

Ben

This one’s for the Jazz Fans. So i’ve been meaning to re-record this short tune forever, and if you can believe, it’s 20 years since I recorded this in 2005. I didn’t ever really try to go back and re-learn it because I never had the kind of guitar around that could get this sound again. Now I have, I tried to play it again - failing miserably! I managed to stumble through the changes until 30 seconds in then for the life of me cannot find the chord that comes in after the short blues run.

It’s kind of funny to me, drawing complete blanks, as I’m going by ear and never wrote this down in any kind of notation. I’m quite pleased with the chord sequence and how it modulates about, this is how I hear things sometimes and there’s no real logic going on with this one.

Do I need to enlist the help of a professional? 🤭

❀

It’s fair to say, I was deeply affected by the playing of Bill Frisell on the 1997 album Angel Song with Kenny Wheeler’s band. It was haunting, spacious, full of light and dark, and it wasn’t til years later that it occurred to me that he was almost providing a piano-like accompaniment to the band, maybe even reminiscent of the British jazz pianist John Taylor, Wheeler’s long time collaborator.

John Abercrombie had been the first pick by Wheeler for the recording, but producer Manfred Eicher had suggested Frisell, and Wheeler agreed.

A few years later the band toured, and in a funny twist of fate, Frisell was unavailable so Abercrombie stood in.

My best friend, and partner at the time, took me on the train to see it for my birthday - it was Wednesday 27 January 1999 at the Leeds Irish Centre.

Words can’t convey… the beauty, light, pathos - every member of the band was outstanding, elevated by Wheeler’s haunting chamber-jazz.

Some things live on in memory, suffused with golden light This was one of those nights.

Notes from the The Independent, Phil Johnson, 1999

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-jazz-far-too-many-notes-1074899.html

“But the wild card in the Angel Song recording was the presence of the guitarist Bill Frisell. Manfred Eicher, the producer of the album, had originally suggested a trio date, but Wheeler wanted a harmony instrument and put forward the name of guitarist John Abercrombie, with whom he had played many times. Eicher countered with the suggestion of Frisell and Wheeler accepted. It was also the producer's idea that the recording should not feature a drummer.

In retrospect, both of Eicher's suggestions seem crucial. The absence of drums allows the silence at the heart of the music to shine through, and Frisell's ethereal atmospherics bring with them the feel of the pedal-steel guitar in country music, which suits the melancholy temper of the compositions perfectly.

Bill has that cowboy thing and I wondered whether it would suit my tunes, but it does," Wheeler says. "I do like that kind of uncluttered music. It's like he is the country, whereas John Abercrombie is the city. When Bill plays I see cowboys; with John, I think of taxis." Despite the replacement of the rural with the urban, you know that the music on the tour is still going to be, well, beautiful”

And it was.

𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢 link🌳 𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢𝄢

Brought to you live by Shelby Grant The Alfalfa Mail’s correspondent on-the-ground Down Under. Here is a sneak preview from her interview with local folk legend Barry from Wallaroo, giving his take on life in The Walla as it’s affectionately called, and recounting a few of his rib-tickling tales, some of which involve the odd frosty or two.

Look out for the full-length episode, set to drop soon. We hope you enjoy this little tidbit and that you all tune in for the full episode in a few days time.

As ever, thanks for being a listener and stay safe. Til the next time, cheers and no worries. 🦘

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Greetings fellow Baritonistas… and everyone else. This is the nascent rumblings of a new composition which I think will be a good one, I made a quick recording to get a gist of the thing and see where the different parts might fit together, I think the fact I reached for the arch top turned it into a jazzy thing, which actually it wasn’t - as I had been working this out so far on the wee steel string acoustic. No worries, we’ll see how it develops.

It will be recorded properly with several guitar parts, probably acoustic, then published to Spotify, Apple Music and the rest. Please check it out when it does. As ever, your continued support and comments are most welcome.

That’s how things go when you are flying by the seat of your pants.

Now, more coffee. Don’t forget to hydrate Alfa Limarati.

Ben 🐾✌🏼

you’ve found your tribe, now subscribe - it doesn't cost you a bean 🫘 unless you decide to becoming a paying subscriber at some point, with all the auspicious blessings that entails, and even then, it’s small beer🍺

Andiamo!

***Now updated with First Ever Audio Podcast Commentary*** [Contains Explicit Language]

(Song begins at 03:40 if you want to skip the audio intro)

Saturday night, the evenings are drawing in and the air is cool. Soon the leaves will turn golden and fall.

Remembering Du Fu 杜甫, my favourite poet and maybe the greatest of all, in any language. Recorded this in the studio this evening, it’s almost ready so I’m posting up here for free, and when I do the final mix in a few days will publish on Spotify etc. Hope you enjoy!

as soon as you subscribe, you’ll remember you don’t believe any of this mumbo-jumbo, and before you know it you’ll feel right as rain

Here’s a short improv on the Steinberger baritone guitar, it’s tuned B to B (I think - the sender may have deliberately detuned it for shipping 🌝 as you should) so a whole step lower than a standard guitar with a secret weapon - a piezo pickup in the bridge, I just plugged this in twirled a few knobs and found a good sound - this has a little bit of the piezo dialled in and I think it’s pretty sweeet. Let me know what you think in the comments. There’s a few new songs in the pipeline, ones i’ve been wanting to record properly but needed a guitar like this to do it. There may be a bit of a Bill Frisell vibe in there somewhere, I doubt I’ll have any complaints. Take care Friend-O’s and don’t lose your head.

Tickety Boo!

It’s Friday night people and I’m returning to my Gaelic roots, cocobolo from Downpatrick in hand, workshopping a new old song called ‘Anniesland’. It’s been a long time since I played Irish music, and I’ve thoroughly embarrassed myself trying to keep time and play two parts together, but I’ll look back one day and see how much I have improved, is what I’ve told myself. Hence why some say the Irish musicians are the best in the world.

Proper recording fresh from the studio in a week or so.

Slàinte Mhath

Ben 🐾

Here’s a new flow-of-consciousness improv on the Spanish guitar recorded with iPhone this morning. It’s been an intense few weeks and i’ve been feeling like i’m coming out of some kind of ‘flu. Well, here it is, mistakes and all. Not mixed, just served as it comes, ‘sin azucar’. Well, maybe a little reverb.

As ever, if you enjoy this piece or have any observation (like, it’s too f*** long, bruv haha) hit me up in the comments section. It is what it is, yeah.

PS checked out my new (somewhat ahistoric) piece on George Orwell yet?

Do that next.

Bosh.

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Recorded on my MacBook years ago, I always meant to re-record this properly, with parts 2 & 3. Hoping to do that this year.

NB you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify podcasts is not working and I’m still looking into this.

Alternatively, you can copy the RSS Feed address to listen and subscribe on your preferred podcast application. Thanks ☺️

a song I wrote after visiting the town of Cefalù in Sicily

Here is an improvisation today using the Mesa Express amplifier which I haven’t played with for a while. It’s really a versatile all rounder tube amp switchable between 5 and 25 watts power output. As ever, if you like it or have any thoughts let me know in the comments, Enjoy! Ben

Listen to more of my music on all your favourite platforms here

Playing through an amp today, the Schertler David Wood 80W. Hope you enjoy it, it’s improvised so naturally has a lot of mistakes! :¬)

Listen to more of my music on all your favourite platforms here

Playing through an amp today for a change, the Schertler David Wood 80W which is excellent I have to say. It’s not just for acoustic pickups.

Listen to more of my music on all your favourite platforms here

Here is a free-form improvisation on a theme from a tune I wrote called Summer Song, which I recorded this evening direct to iPhone from the Eastman (acoustic) archtop guitar. Hope you enjoy it.

To hear more of my music, go listen on your favorite streaming platform, links here: https://linktr.ee/thealfalfamail

Here is a live recording of an old tune I wrote a long time ago, recorded acoustically just now on the archtop guitar direct to a new iPhone. Hope you enjoy it.

Rough edit of new song I’ve been working on, played on acoustic archtop guitar, this is the first part.

Hope you enjoy.