Story Behind The Song

I had just finished the world premiere of "Stardust Once Again", the first song ever created for RAV Vast and mixed choir, and I was feeling the handpan vibe and wanted to keep playing with that sound and energy. I had recently rediscovered "Rhythm Song", a composition for Marimba that I played in college, and I loved the minimalist vibe of that piece--the melody was pulled from the ostinato pattern of the groove...it sort of emerged from the rhythm. It dawned on me that the RAV Vast would be perfect for that same sort of process. I write on the handpans in sort of the same way I write at the piano for my pop stuff--I mess around and find out where the song goes. That is completely the way "Perpetual Motion of Water" started out! Once I had the over-all feeling down, I began seeing where the melody took me. I came up with the idea of "verses" (sections where pieces of the over-all melody are revealed, then back to the starting ostinato pattern). The song has 5 "verses"--4 where parts of the full melody are revealed and the 5th where the whole thing comes together--all out of a relaxing, rhythmic ostinato pattern.

Song Description

Imagine the churning motion of a river as it tumbles over rocks and boulders on it's way to a waterfall. Then the water seems to calm for a minute, only to be propelled forward towards the ocean where it joins in the all and becomes the rhythm of the waves. This track is percolating, yet relaxing. It's rhythm, yet harmony. Inspired by a minimalist piece I played in college on the Marimba, I wanted to capture the resonant sound of the RAV Vast handpan in both it's percussive nature and the lush overtones you hear while playing it. Feel yourself sink under the water at :59 as you find yourself in the middle of the RAV Vast! I added acoustic percussion to digital sounds to give color and depth to the groove. The cool thing about this sound is the melody is pulled from the ostinato pattern. There are only 10 tongues on the drum to produce pitches, yet the sound feels like more. The instrument used here is a RAV Vast tongue drum, shaker, rain stick, hand made sacred drum, and udu with electronic samples.