Tongue Drumming by Louie Simon

The basic tracks were recorded on a borrowed ADAT deck in 1997-98, using a somewhat noisy board, decent mics, and a couple of effects boxes. Mike Brosco let me record additional tracks and mix the songs in his home studio in Illinois. I let my two Michael Thiele tongue drums guide the compositions. For instance, one song consists of playing the keys in a clockwise motion with one hand and improvising with the other ("Circle Song"). A young woman I met only twice, Jill Benzing, played flute on this. I love her tone, very woody, deep, and serene. This was the first time she had ever recorded her playing (she loved hearing the reverb in the headphones) and everything you hear is a first take. One of the tongue drums was built in an afternoon by my friend and fellow Music Shop bandmate, Danny Philips. Steve Burton plays guitar on a couple of the tracks.

My late cat, Marcel, loved the sound of these drums and would come running from anywhere he was in the house when he heard me playing them. He would rub my legs and purr as I stood and played. This was recorded in the bedroom where I grew up, in rural North West Ohio. Thanks to Barry McMahon for getting me the ADAT! The last track, Anitra, is a later addition (2010) and features Max Simon on violin and Robin Zimmermann on piano. Recorded in my studio in Boise, Idaho.

Just happy to be making music and sharing it. Hope you enjoy!