Mellow Cello Podcast

This episode comes from the YouTube stream on August 13 2024. Things begin with a lighthearted feel to the beat and progression, and eventually turn into a nice thematic arco melody that has a running feel to it. The second piece has more of a dirge to it, albeit a lively one, which eventually bridges into an “Oni island” style of eery dissonance, that really drives things forward. This one may be keeper, especially with some selective editing to take out the meandering and pace things along more deliberately. The third piece is a more major back and forth sounding venture that has some nice swirling arco parts, with a nice bass line that develops and then some more dreamy elements towards the end. The next piece continues in a similar back and forth vein, but with a more minor and driving feel to it, with a trill pattern that makes the whole piece sound more inquisitive. The final piece is more upbeat and is more bass driven in its groove, and has nice jammy feel to it.

This episode comes from the Youtube livestream on July 30 2024, and as the name suggests was at a time I had just finished recovering from Covid. I can hear in the initial song a sense of relief in my recovery, and things open up like a dawn breaking, with some gradual brightness slowly being shed on things. The second piece eventually takes on a bit of a desert oasis characteristic to the sound, once the arco parts come in, and not without some strange encounters to boot. With the third piece I realize that I was trying out an idea I had of recording several pieces to the same drum loop, so that multiple pieces could be edited together into a single cohesive piece, either that or I was still suffering the effects of brain fog. The third piece has more chordal movement and more bounce, and if I do edit the pieces together this would serve well as a chorus if I do decide to try to combine things. The fourth and final piece (a shorter episode due to covid fatigue) is a nice darker exploration, that has some nice heroic travails and epic moments.

This episode comes from the YouTube livestream on July 23, 2024. Things start off in darker space and then gradually get lighter and more hopeful as the piece progresses, with somberness in the beginning that opens up into a lighter hearted feeling. The second piece is a bit of a sonic reset, the likes of which typically comes later in the stream, but I felt the need to do early on to get the feel for things right. These types of open ended melodic meanderings are nice because they don’t require too much thinking about form, and are more incidental and a collection of harmonies. Third piece reminds me of something I can’t quite place my finger on, but in any case has a lyrical quality to it, with its call and response structure and slightly melancholy vibe. The fourth piece has a jaunty progression, but almost seems like something more upbeat that’s happening in slight slow motion, like the dreamy action of a slowed down super 8 family film. The fifth piece is an underwater journey into some mysterious spaces, with lots of nice color and curiosity. The sixth piece unfolds nicely, and has a tinge of an older sound, slightly bluesy, slightly desert epic, with a couple of brief Nirvana quotes. The final piece has a bit of a nostalgic feeling to it, like the end credits of a 90’s family movie, but with a bit more of a psychedelic tinge to it at times.

This episode comes form the youtube livestream on June 26 2024. Things start off with a nice mellow flow, with a repeating arco figure that sets the mood off the bat with a bit of sass. The second piece takes a little while to develop, with some missteps along the way that give things a bit of an unsettled vibe, but it eventually lands somewhere, and achieves a bit of a watery flowy space. The third piece has a nice flow throughout and I really like the build at the end. The fourth piece has some interesting ‘self-sampling’ that I resorted to after some technical difficulties. I enjoy this effect, because without the attack of the initial part of the note, it becomes difficult to tell what instrument generated the sound. The final piece eventually gets some nice long legato arco layers as a bed for some pizzicato exploration.

This episode comes from June 18 2024. I’d just loaded some new drum loops and as a result there’s a freshness to this episode that’s pretty fun. I really like the contemplative nature of the opening track that develops into something a bit more confident and forward marching with a nice closing theme. The third piece, has a lot more immediate structure, and I’m happy about the way I split up the energy of the different parts, most of which is driven by the nice ethereal background set early on. The fourth piece takes a while to develop into what it eventually becomes, which as it happens turns out to be a take on a previous progression which I used in the upcoming album, although I don’t think I realized it at first. The fifth song takes on a bit of a darker tone, with some really nice darker arco lines that create some nice big ethereal spaces. The sixth piece is brief and has an almost reggae feel to it, if that’s possible with cello I search a bit for a ‘chorus’ progression to relieve the searching nature of the initial progression, but don’t pursue it very far. The final piece develops into an exploration of different driving arco figures and layers,

This episode comes from the livestream on May 16 2024, the last one before a brief hiatus from streaming. Things start off with the throwback sound of the earlier days of streaming, with a percussive loop created on the cello fingerboard, and the piece develops into a nice acoustic exploration with some nice vernal arco layers. The next piece uses the preloaded percussion sounds I have, and expands on some of the ideas from the first piece, with more effects, and takes things to a more developed place. Things take on a slightly darker tone for the third piece, but with some nice bluesy forward movement in the bass line, which then propels the arco. The fourth piece is a bit jauntier and more upbeat, but not without a sense of wonder, and this piece has some nice development. The fifth piece has a bit of an explorative vibe, with a bit of an eery alien world sound to it, like the theme for some funky otherworldly space exploration. The 6th and 7th pieces are related, and I think at the time I had a concept of being able to edit these two together somehow, which I may eventually do, as the 6th has a brighter sound and the 7th explores a bit more somberness, but both pieces have the same beat and could be intertwined with some production magic. The eighth piece has a bit of a western showdown vibe to it. The final piece has a bit more cosmic brightness, with some fun pizzicato and arco parts popping out of the background radiation.

This episode comes from the livestream on May 7 2024. The first piece gets off to a nice vibey start, with some nice development, especially in the rhythmic arco sections. The second piece explores some slightly darker sounds, but warms up a bit and becomes a more driving piece. The third pieces is a bit more laid back and jazzy, delving into some slightly more avant gard with a more stabbing bowing style at times. The fourth piece develops some nice arco themes once things get going, and feels a bit like a mystery being unraveled. Keeping with the mystery theme the next piece reminds me a bit of some sort of heist movie bass line, with some jazzier elements with the chords. The 6th piece is a bit more halting in it’s progression, but then has some nice running arco elements. The final piece has some nice lilting elements and ends things on a slightly dreamy and pleasant sounding note.

This episode comes from the Youtube stream on May 2, 2025. The opening piece is one that I really like, and will adapt into a piece with Japanese lyrics. The swinging bass line really provides some nice forward movement that at the same time evokes some kind of nostalgia. The second piece grows out of a small repetitive pizzicato loop, and takes a while to develop, but gets going with the arco section, which uses the quick repetition as a bit of a trampoline for some bouncier melodies. The third piece is a familiar progression, and the arco explorations sound more lyrical as a result. The fourth piece is on the darker side, exploring the realms offered by a back and forth plucked pattern. The fifth piece stays a bit resolutely in a sort of limbo state of more incidental random sounds, without ever quite needing to coalesce around a specific melody or chord pattern, as I was experimenting with a different way of using my loop pedal with perhaps mixed results. The final piece has more of a desert feel to it, with more of an orange and sepia hue to the tone and character of the progression.

This comes from 2 combined livestreams, each of which was abbreviated due in part to user error on my part for failing to record parts, and because I sang in some of the songs and have decided to exclude those pieces. The pieces are from Youtube live streams on April 12, 2024 and April 23, 2024. In the first half I was still in the midst of total thrall from my experience with totality, which I’d driven roundtrip to Bloomington Indiana to see, camping in a cow field, in the second my mind was on Earth day and all the climactic consequences surrounding the very big idea of the Earth. Things develop gradually and rhythmically, as I build up a driving rhythm primarily with arco parts at first. I think this makes the entrance of the pizzicato arpeggio a lot more satisfying when it does come in. I really like the very jolly sounding place that the lead arco figure takes after the pizzicato loops have been set, there’s something very happy-traveleresque about the sound of the theme. The next piece is one that I’ve been working on and developing into a Japanese lyric song about my experience viewing the eclipse and how the whole world seemed to disappear. This piece has some really nice figures throughout, and I just really enjoy the sort of optimistic vibe it has. The third piece is a familiar progression, but it eventually takes on a wistful tone, with a wandering not quite lost sensibility. In the second half the fourth song is from the second livestream. Things are a bit more somber and serious, with a heavier melancholy feeling, quoting some earlier themes I’ve used. I think the heaviness of the 5th piece is my favorite, with its dark drive, I really feel that this piece travels somewhere in time or space. There is a moment where I drop my bow, or knock over some of my streaming decor which you may notice. The final piece continues in the dark and heavy vein, but with a bit more sway to it, giving it more of a heavy dream like dance feeling to it.

This episode comes from the youtube stream on April 11th 2024, just a couple of days after I drove 10 hours to experience the totality of the eclipse, which was an amazing experience. I have skipped forward a number of months because of the experimental singing that I was doing. It’s my feeling that while this was a worthwhile experiment, as it exists I’d prefer to spend more time editing the songs with vocals to make them more concise. There’s a lack of vocal clarity and a lot more empty space in these streams as I try to tackle a new form of live composition, which in the end never quite materialized in the way I’d envisioned. With some editing I may be able to make some of the pieces from this period work, but I’d prefer to keep this podcast solidly instrumental and use the vocal pieces as a separate project. Starting with this episode there will be many more pieces with pre-recorded percussion loops, which I think give a nice texture to things and make for a more modern sound. The first piece is very driving and resolute, with a bit more edge in the arco parts, since I’m able to achieve more exacting rhythmic loops thanks to the well defined percussion. I really like the more expansive and laid back second piece, and like the juxtaposition of the swaying/sweeping arco and more bouncy pizzicato. The third piece is a real slow burn that builds gradually and really feels like it hits home with the entry of the low end. Something about the percussion keeping things driving forward makes me a lot more comfortable with letting things develop gradually, and to be more experimental with textures. The fourth piece adds a ‘chopped’ arco sound on top of the percussion, and then takes a little while to come together chord progression-wise, and ventures into some more dissonant textures. The fifth piece is built solely around a ‘chop’ rhythm, and ventures into some much more spacey textures, with a very relaxed overall beat. The sixth song stays similarly relaxed, with some nice arco figures, but with the introduction of a more driving bass. The final piece develops into something much more triumphant and rapid paced, with quick bowing that’s provides more excitement to things and is a more epic way to end things.

This episode comes form the youtube stream on December 12 2023, the last one of the year. The title comes from the closing song Toki Doki, and is the english meaning of the Japanese phrase. Things start off with a nice expansive mid tempo piece that has a thoughtful repeated pizzicato figure that keeps things contemplative throughout. The piece has a second half to it built around big arco layers that introduce a dreamier feeling to things. The second piece grows gradually, but becomes more and more shimmering as pizzicato layers are added, with a dance-y-ness to it that I really like. The third piece delves into a ring-y ethereal realm, with nice sweeping figures that swirl in and out into some really nice ambient spaces. Things take a slightly darker turn with the fourth piece, sounding more like the quest for clues in some sort of spiritual detective story, which eventually opens up into the sounds of some kind of important discovery. The fifth piece is a further iteration of the fourth, with a tempo increase and building off the same bass line, with more layered experimentation. I close things out with an instrumental rendition of Toki Doki.

This episode comes from the Youtube livestream on November 28th, right after the Thanksgiving holiday. It takes me a little while to find the groove, but I eventually get there, with some washy bowing rhythms making things sleepy and sweeping. The next piece has a spacey contemplativeness to it that gradually grows into something warmer and more grounded. The third piece also has some nice big warm moments, and a laid back sleepy quality to it. The fourth piece begins with a bit of a mystical quality to the chord sounds that continues to expand with new layers into something more driving and somber. The fifth piece is livelier, with a more upbeat strummed chord progression and bouncy bass. The final piece develops into something nice and epic once all the layers get established, with a cool pizzicato thematic element that almost sounds like a Western movie, or some sort of showdown.

This episode comes from the youtube livestream on November 16 2023. Things get off to a very nice mellow start, growing into an expansive descending river of bowed lines. The next piece grows out of a quicker paced back and forth arpeggio, evolving slowly out of an atmospheric ether, and then changing directions halfway through into something more upbeat. The third piece takes a little while to settle into itself, but once I find the bass line it has a nice groove to it. The fourth and final song is slower paced, built around another more atmospheric and stranger sound, but eventually developing into some nice crunchy arco lines.

This episode comes from the youtube stream on November 9 2023. Things get off to a flow-ey and somewhat dreaming start, with a shimmery loop that develops some nice bowed layers. The second piece develops with more drive, and continues in a dreamy vein, but in a perhaps more determined way. The third song starts off fairly weird and atonal but then develops into a very nice glassy exploration of wintery landscapes and shimmering sounds. The fourth song is probably my favorite of the stream, and develops with more weight, and with the bowed parts has some nice gravitas. The fifth piece is a bit of a weird soundtracky sounding piece, exploring some strange alien flora. The final piece is a more familiar arpeggiated pattern that grows, but with a nice/strange airy ambient loop in the background that whispers throughout. Please consider adding your name here in support of the Living Wage for Musicians act, which would mandate a one cent per stream royalty for artists from streaming companies.

Things get off to a vibey start in this episode from the youtube livestream on October 26 2023, incorporating the whistling effect quite early, which I enjoy using because the treble register it provides pops out so much. The second piece develops from a persistent trickle into a big warm wave that ebbs and flows. The third song has a nice walking pace, with some swirly dreamy elements that drift in and out. The fourth piece takes a darker turn built around a weirder percussive effect, with some distinctly amphibian characteristics, which gradually metamorphosizes into something brighter. There’s something inspirational feeling about the final piece, thematically speaking, and with the quicker tempo and brighter sound of things.

This episode comes from the youtube livestream on October 24 2023. Things get off to a nice airy start, built around a repeating arpeggio that has an 80’s movie interlude feel to it. The next piece develops into a broader sweeping journey that has some nice galloping tremolos. The third piece builds harmonies off a dancey kind of bass groove, and then has a nice alternative arpeggiated bridge progression. The fourth piece has some nice thematic elements to it, with a call and response feel to things. The 5th piece builds off of an almost electronic beat into a nice running arpeggio, and the final piece ends on a more contemplative note.

This episode from October 3 2023 starts off with a nice melancholy driving rhythm. The second piece has a similarly melancholy drive to it. It’s hard to describe what feeling this evokes exactly, something between determination and acceptance, with hope but sadness at the same time. The third piece has a bit of a talking heads start to things, with a driving bass line that develops into something more spacey and comes back to the drive again and again. The fourth piece gets nice and heavy really quickly, with some big arco bass to make things sound epic and forward flowing, which continues to grow into a nice swirling sparkling piece. The fifth piece has a rendition of New Groove from the first volume of the Sushi Tapes. The final piece is a jazzy little number I’ve done renditions of before on previous episodes.

This episode comes from the youtube stream on September 26, 2023. I love the liveliness of how things start out here, with an upbeat fast paced pizzicato ramble through some autumnal colored chords. The second piece gets groovier, keeping up the upbeat pace, but with a slightly darker tone, with some cool recurring motifs. The third songs builds into a much bigger and more aggressive driving song, that really pushes things forward with a big bass line that does a lot of heavy lifting and really develops into nice big thematic piece when the bowed layers build towards the end. The fourth piece builds out of a slightly weird detuned delay effect that creates a sense of anticipation, but then lands with some nice big bass again, keeping up the crisp driving pace of the piece before, with some more weird forays into different new digital effects, that are reminiscent of some of the cool things that Mark Mothersbaugh does with his collection of unusual instruments. The fifth piece doesn’t quite match the fullness and drive of the previous two, and is a simpler piece by comparison. Things become ambient for the sixth piece, with a self-sampled loop endeavor that flows into a nice dark river of a piece. The final piece is a return to the upbeat, with some nice full moments.

This episode comes from the Youtube stream on September 18 2023. Things get off to a nice medium pace with a bit of a jazzy chord sound, that quickly takes on some nice autumnal colors with the bowed layers. Growing up in Vermont the foliage season has a great deal of nostalgia for me, and I think that this piece captures some of those windswept orange and red fall tones. The next 2 pieces are explorations of the same progression, with a second attempt being made to explore things a bit more, with some nice effects. Things get punched up a bit for a livelier piece with some bounce and a wiggly hook. This is followed by a much darker piece, that has some interesting darker brooding emotional overtones to it. The final piece is a bit of a watery jaunt.