Machrijazz
something new in the old...
Welcome to the page dedicated to the new Machrijam recording, Machrijazz. It is a digital CD, available on all the usual outlets, like Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, you name it. It comprises of 12 compositions, all played on guitar only, and only by Machrijam. No drums, no bass, no special effects. Just guitar- sometimes acoustic, sometimes electric. All compositions are original. A few are reprises of tunes from the 2015 debut album, Machrijam. This new album is decidedly mellow and jazzy, and melodious. Melody is to the fore. It was recorded on a shoestring, but the sonic quality is fine. Below, you can read about the individual tracks.
Listen to it on Apple Music or Amazon or wherever you may. Enjoy.
Listen to it on Apple Music or Amazon or wherever you may. Enjoy.
on Amazon
on Apple Music
Take Five with Machrijam (interview) on All About Jazz, see here
Track list
Track list:
- Machrijammin’ 2.42
- Two’s Company 2.29
- Windmills, pt.1 1.19
- Strollin’ on 3.13
- Buster in the saddle 3.28
- Arcadia Lake 3.44
- Emergency! 1.58
- The Jimmy-Jack Cracker Blues 2.58
- Bit’s Blues 4.06
- Windmills, pt.2 2.32
- An underground thang 2.54
- WYSMN envoi 2.33
Guitars
Liner Notes
1. Machrijammin’
A vamp duel in three distinct parts, the last being the wildest. Thank you, Gibson Les Paul.
2. Two’s Company
So called because it references ‘Three’s Company’ from the debut Machrijam album in 2015. In what way? Well, if you listen carefully, it’s exactly the same chords, and in exactly the same sequence, and yet, the timing and beat is different, which, incredibly, is enough to create an entirely different song. (It also possesses a unique melody.) This particular chord sequence I have been playing around with for eons, and I could likely produce another ‘different’ song from these same elements. Indeed, I have produced a guitar-synth version, which is devilishly monsterish and dynamic… It just couldn’t be included here.
3. Windmills, pt.1
Something distinctly romantic here. This first part was initially a throwaway attempt to do something, which I realized only much later was definitely worth keeping. Part.2 is an expansion. The title? It might have about a beach, or a summer breeze, but windmills are romantic for us, too.
4. Strollin’ on
A makeover of a tune from the debut album. I added the ‘on’ because this version sounds like a very different song.
5. Buster in the saddle
This song references a sequence from the novel ‘The Conjuring Cowboy’, by Martin Connolly (who may or may not be related to Machrijam…. Ha!). The somewhat hapless hero, Buster, finds himself riding on top of an initially galloping horse in the vastness of some unknown 19th century American desert. Perhaps at this point in the narrative, Buster’s horse, which he (very imaginatively...) calls ‘Horsey’, has slowed to a trot. They carry on, unconcerned by direction or destination. The song captures the movements, the (lack of) thoughts, and the general atmosphere of the novel at this stage (Chapter Five). Hence the markedly C ‘n W thing.
6. Arcadia Lake
The song title commemorates the title of the band my brother Jim used to play in, a long time ago, back in and around Belfast. Arcadia Lake was like a homegrown Mahavishnu (they did a version of Dance of Maya), with their own great compositions to boot. Bill Campbell was a major force in the creation of the band, as was Jim, of Jim’s Garage (note: this site was created in part as a homage to him; Jim did teach me guitar, after all.) Anyway, the music of the band was often hard and heavy and at times avantgarde, but it could also be light and lyrical. This song rather borrows the idea of a faraway place inherent in the band’s name, redolent of dreams and intense possibilities. It is not an attempt to sound like that band. Such would require major heavy bass, distortion guitar, synth-guitar (what Jim often played, as though a keyboard) and massive drums to attempt to re-capture the sound of Arcadia Lake. Which is certainly a different kettle of fish from this! And yet, there is a hint of Mahavishnu in here somewhere, perhaps.
7. Emergency!
Working title ‘Vamp One’, it’s a kind of alternative blues, with a bridge to what sounds like a true emergency in the making. Is there a hint, at least in the title, toward the JMcL’s early work (with T Williams)? Mmmm.....
8. The Jimmy-Jack Cracker Blues
The title of this beauty also references ‘The Conjuring Cowboy’. One of the main characters, shopkeeper (and wizard) 'Poly' Rhumboldt often exclaims ‘Jimmy-Jack Cracker!’ with knee-slapping force. The interplay between Poly and Buster is reflected here in the interplay of the two acoustic guitars, which was recorded live, if overdubbed, and is at times almost (?) chaotic.
9. Bit’s Blues
The ‘Bits’ in the title derives from the title of the earlier song Buster (B) in (i) the (t) saddle (s). That song is transformed into a blues by the insertion of a blues bridge. This affair is immeasurably more refined than the earlier piece.
10. Windmills, pt.2
As previously commented upon. It was my intention that this would be the definitive version of this song, and that the earlier piece would simply be abandoned. It didn’t work out like that, however. I liked the earlier piece too much. It’s a fact that one, or maybe just I, cannot re-create a song in precisely the way I, or one, had done before. I found this on many occasions. Each piece may be entirely unique, or will be, in my case. If that uniqueness is also captivating, then keep it close to you and never let it go. There are two moments of great melodiousness in this track, and, get this, I don't know how I created them.
11. An underground thang
Working title was ‘Nebraska’. That was suggested by my youngest son, as his father was well and truly stumped in how to name it. I tried to think of other titles, but they all failed to capture the reach of this title. But I ain’t never been to Nebraska… Together we came up with this as a better attempt to capture the feeling of the song, which, in the best traditions of Machrijam, appears from the flux nameless, but, hopefully, with character. There is light and there is some dark, too.
12. WYSMN envoi
The uppercase letters can be easily deciphered if one looks at the debut album, to a song in the same position. The song had been driving me up the wall, with its multitude of chords and chord changes, but it goes back a long, long way, so I knew I had to try and keep it. Revive it. I ended up cutting it in two and re-arranging the opening chords, from which emerge a triplet which threatens to undermine whatever romantic aspect the song ever possessed. I decided a total re-vamp of the song was needed. But I hadn’t lost the passion required for its execution. That survived, renewed.
Something new in the old…
A vamp duel in three distinct parts, the last being the wildest. Thank you, Gibson Les Paul.
2. Two’s Company
So called because it references ‘Three’s Company’ from the debut Machrijam album in 2015. In what way? Well, if you listen carefully, it’s exactly the same chords, and in exactly the same sequence, and yet, the timing and beat is different, which, incredibly, is enough to create an entirely different song. (It also possesses a unique melody.) This particular chord sequence I have been playing around with for eons, and I could likely produce another ‘different’ song from these same elements. Indeed, I have produced a guitar-synth version, which is devilishly monsterish and dynamic… It just couldn’t be included here.
3. Windmills, pt.1
Something distinctly romantic here. This first part was initially a throwaway attempt to do something, which I realized only much later was definitely worth keeping. Part.2 is an expansion. The title? It might have about a beach, or a summer breeze, but windmills are romantic for us, too.
4. Strollin’ on
A makeover of a tune from the debut album. I added the ‘on’ because this version sounds like a very different song.
5. Buster in the saddle
This song references a sequence from the novel ‘The Conjuring Cowboy’, by Martin Connolly (who may or may not be related to Machrijam…. Ha!). The somewhat hapless hero, Buster, finds himself riding on top of an initially galloping horse in the vastness of some unknown 19th century American desert. Perhaps at this point in the narrative, Buster’s horse, which he (very imaginatively...) calls ‘Horsey’, has slowed to a trot. They carry on, unconcerned by direction or destination. The song captures the movements, the (lack of) thoughts, and the general atmosphere of the novel at this stage (Chapter Five). Hence the markedly C ‘n W thing.
6. Arcadia Lake
The song title commemorates the title of the band my brother Jim used to play in, a long time ago, back in and around Belfast. Arcadia Lake was like a homegrown Mahavishnu (they did a version of Dance of Maya), with their own great compositions to boot. Bill Campbell was a major force in the creation of the band, as was Jim, of Jim’s Garage (note: this site was created in part as a homage to him; Jim did teach me guitar, after all.) Anyway, the music of the band was often hard and heavy and at times avantgarde, but it could also be light and lyrical. This song rather borrows the idea of a faraway place inherent in the band’s name, redolent of dreams and intense possibilities. It is not an attempt to sound like that band. Such would require major heavy bass, distortion guitar, synth-guitar (what Jim often played, as though a keyboard) and massive drums to attempt to re-capture the sound of Arcadia Lake. Which is certainly a different kettle of fish from this! And yet, there is a hint of Mahavishnu in here somewhere, perhaps.
7. Emergency!
Working title ‘Vamp One’, it’s a kind of alternative blues, with a bridge to what sounds like a true emergency in the making. Is there a hint, at least in the title, toward the JMcL’s early work (with T Williams)? Mmmm.....
8. The Jimmy-Jack Cracker Blues
The title of this beauty also references ‘The Conjuring Cowboy’. One of the main characters, shopkeeper (and wizard) 'Poly' Rhumboldt often exclaims ‘Jimmy-Jack Cracker!’ with knee-slapping force. The interplay between Poly and Buster is reflected here in the interplay of the two acoustic guitars, which was recorded live, if overdubbed, and is at times almost (?) chaotic.
9. Bit’s Blues
The ‘Bits’ in the title derives from the title of the earlier song Buster (B) in (i) the (t) saddle (s). That song is transformed into a blues by the insertion of a blues bridge. This affair is immeasurably more refined than the earlier piece.
10. Windmills, pt.2
As previously commented upon. It was my intention that this would be the definitive version of this song, and that the earlier piece would simply be abandoned. It didn’t work out like that, however. I liked the earlier piece too much. It’s a fact that one, or maybe just I, cannot re-create a song in precisely the way I, or one, had done before. I found this on many occasions. Each piece may be entirely unique, or will be, in my case. If that uniqueness is also captivating, then keep it close to you and never let it go. There are two moments of great melodiousness in this track, and, get this, I don't know how I created them.
11. An underground thang
Working title was ‘Nebraska’. That was suggested by my youngest son, as his father was well and truly stumped in how to name it. I tried to think of other titles, but they all failed to capture the reach of this title. But I ain’t never been to Nebraska… Together we came up with this as a better attempt to capture the feeling of the song, which, in the best traditions of Machrijam, appears from the flux nameless, but, hopefully, with character. There is light and there is some dark, too.
12. WYSMN envoi
The uppercase letters can be easily deciphered if one looks at the debut album, to a song in the same position. The song had been driving me up the wall, with its multitude of chords and chord changes, but it goes back a long, long way, so I knew I had to try and keep it. Revive it. I ended up cutting it in two and re-arranging the opening chords, from which emerge a triplet which threatens to undermine whatever romantic aspect the song ever possessed. I decided a total re-vamp of the song was needed. But I hadn’t lost the passion required for its execution. That survived, renewed.
Something new in the old…
What is Machrijazz?
Machrijazz is what happens when you spend your whole life listening to fantastic music created by magical musicians and you have a guitar nearby to play with, and you can never stop.
Short story: I create my own songs. It is not because I cannot or will not bother to learn established songs. It's just that I prefer to make stuff up. The guitar is intrinsically beautiful and the playing of it brings great happiness. It's that simple. I play by myself because I have never found that I can fruitfully play with others. That may sound sad, but it's not. My essential lack of (knowledge?) a sense of musical constraint has instilled in me a facility to play with almost no idea of what might be coming next. That's problematic on many levels, of course, and for playing with others, a recipe for disaster. Oh, I can fall into line if I have to, but...
However, songs, if they are actually 'songs', with something approaching a structure and a melody, have no truck with such amby-pamby sensibilities. Whether you're playing with others or by yourself, the song tells you to shape up, or ship out. This experience is quite amazing. The song, when it had manifested itself as a 'song', dictated to me what was good and what was not good. It said to me: 'That so-called solo is meandering and useless. Cut it out this minute.' I complied, somewhat taken aback by the tone my 'creation' had assumed. I started wondering if I might have landed in Dr Frankenstein's shoes... Repeatedly, the song told me what to do, and repeatedly I complied, even if I sometimes took me a long time to see why I had to.
So what Machrijazz is is this element in the music which stood up and stared me right in the eye and said: 'You gonna do what I say or I'm walking.' It wasn't just me. In fact, I don't even know precisely how some of these songs came about, or where they came from. It's a very weird situation to be in, I can tell you that. I allowed this process to take over. If asked to play one of the songs at the drop of a hat, I probably couldn't. I don't know how.
That's Machrijazz!
Short story: I create my own songs. It is not because I cannot or will not bother to learn established songs. It's just that I prefer to make stuff up. The guitar is intrinsically beautiful and the playing of it brings great happiness. It's that simple. I play by myself because I have never found that I can fruitfully play with others. That may sound sad, but it's not. My essential lack of (knowledge?) a sense of musical constraint has instilled in me a facility to play with almost no idea of what might be coming next. That's problematic on many levels, of course, and for playing with others, a recipe for disaster. Oh, I can fall into line if I have to, but...
However, songs, if they are actually 'songs', with something approaching a structure and a melody, have no truck with such amby-pamby sensibilities. Whether you're playing with others or by yourself, the song tells you to shape up, or ship out. This experience is quite amazing. The song, when it had manifested itself as a 'song', dictated to me what was good and what was not good. It said to me: 'That so-called solo is meandering and useless. Cut it out this minute.' I complied, somewhat taken aback by the tone my 'creation' had assumed. I started wondering if I might have landed in Dr Frankenstein's shoes... Repeatedly, the song told me what to do, and repeatedly I complied, even if I sometimes took me a long time to see why I had to.
So what Machrijazz is is this element in the music which stood up and stared me right in the eye and said: 'You gonna do what I say or I'm walking.' It wasn't just me. In fact, I don't even know precisely how some of these songs came about, or where they came from. It's a very weird situation to be in, I can tell you that. I allowed this process to take over. If asked to play one of the songs at the drop of a hat, I probably couldn't. I don't know how.
That's Machrijazz!
See Machrijam on All About Jazz:
here
here