Diamonds by Mammals of Zod
DIAMONDS continues Gary Heidt’s scheme to render all 100 of Guan Yin’s 500-year old divinitory poems into American Buddhist Gospel music than began on 2015’s HEARTS. This set of 100 quatrains (4-line poems) are used in Buddhist temples for fortune-telling (and fundraising— typically devotees make a small donation to obtain a scroll with one of the poems.) Guan Yin, accordingly credited as a lyricist on the albums, is a Mahabodhisattva, or a Great Enlightened Being, one who chooses to remain in the world of delusions in order to help suffering people. She is also known as Avalokitesvara in Sanskrit, and Kwannon or Canon in Japan (the optics company is named after her.)
The songs on DIAMONDS are all in the Guajira Deer Park (GDP) style, which is a rhythm which originated in Deer Park, Texas in the 1980’s. Very few drummers have been able to master the style, but Winston-Salem’s John Adamian, formerly of Sugar Smack, who has learned West African rhythms, was able to master it easily. Tom Woods of Greensboro has also mastered and extended the style.
Tracklist
| 1. | Diamonds | 3:34 |
| 2. | Radio Free Crete | 5:50 |
| 3. | Thanks | 4:17 |
| 4. | Wet Hen | 6:31 |
| 5. | Beans and Potatoes | 3:06 |
| 6. | Moon on a Country Night | 5:55 |
| 7. | Stop It! | 2:20 |
| 8. | Gasoline | 2:16 |
| 9. | Riches | 5:15 |
| 10. | On my Mind | 2:58 |
Credits
cover painting by Nathalie Vogel
Mastered by Mark Tulk at www.MarkTulkDigital.Media
John Adamian: drums
Agymah Busch: Trumpet
Cassandra Victoria Chopourian: vocals, trumpet
Aurora Echo: piano
Laurent Estoppey: saxophone
Gary Miles: guitar, keyboards
Rich Gross: electronics, guitar
Lipbone Redding: vocals on "Radio Free Crete"
Emmallyea Swon-Young: vocals on "Wet Hen"
Scott Wilcox: bass, guitar, vocals
Tom Woods: drums
Music composed by those listed above plus extra composing by Gary Heidt on top of that
Lyrics by Guan Yin, Gary Heidt, Ray Porter, Cassandra Victoria Chopourian
