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The Last Drive-In   Waking The Dark ~ Masque of the Red Death ~ A Cast of Exciting Unknowns ~ There's a Crack in the Wall ~ Dreaded Sundown ~ The House on the Hill ~ Aren't You His Mother, Rosemary? ~ Sweet Charlotte ~ Fade to Black   Click here for samples.   Buy The Last Drive In for $5.99 (+ $1.50 shipping):
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THE HISS COMES COURTESY OF AN ANALOGUE WORLD

by Jo Gabriel

I believe that both The Amber Sessions and The Last Drive In were manifested from my feeling of isolation. Having moved to a very different environment it seemed that my one true source of inspiration was the connectedness that I had felt to Starkweather Creek which stirs literally at my back door. Starkweather became like a conduit to my sense of belonging again. In a very small period of time I sat with my keyboard, my recording gear and my analogue 4 track deck that i've dubbed "The Traveling Mothlight Theatre" and stared out at my beloved creek while the stark Midwest sky cracked the trees with it's soft amber light, like little jewels poking through til the sun set. I allowed the music to stream through me as if I were conjuring a primal elemental force. The entire process was very ceremonial for me. I will always be grateful to the solace and sustenance that Starkweather has given me over the years.

The hiss comes courtesy of an analogue world, and I am hoping that anyone who likes my piano work will forgive the grainy particles of static and organic mud that at times bogs down the sound. What I am relying on is that the sentiment and emotion will transcend all that and allow my heartfelt vision to reach out and move who ever may listen. I couldn't let these works sit idle just because of the primitive sound quality. I felt that I had been handed this music to share and I really don't think that i could ever recapture those movements or duplicate what serendipitously emerged during that very sacred moment in time.

A little note about The Last Drive In. While The Amber Session for me is my little pagan serenade, the Last Drive In is a tribute to my childhood and thus the nickname I incurred " Monster Girl". Growing up in the 1960's and '70's I was very receptive to the images and atmospheres of the moody dreamy often nightmarish landscapes of the classical and gothic horror films of that time period. Over the years those impressions have filtered through much of my work and the Last Drive In has a sensibility that perhaps captures that feeling that's been instilled in me. Anyone who can remember staying up very late to watch Chiller Theater or Creature Features will know what I mean. The music is less a literal tribute and aims to create more of the atmosphere of an authentically haunting and creepy experience.

All piano, strings, orchestrations, soundscapes, grooves and arrangements are by Jo Gabriel with special acknowledgement to:

The Amber Sessions -
"The Mistress Of Time" - Kiri Te Kanawa, "Amber" - Huelgas Ensamble, Helas Avril by Matteo da Perugia (d. 1418), "Mothlight" - Huelgas Ensemble, Spem in alium by Thomas Tallis (d. 1585)

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