Tag: #newmusic

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Random Thoughts at the end of 2025

  • In spite of all the anger and fear that bombards us daily, I have hope. Not a naive hope which is more a desire. Rather, a hope that is anchored in the belief that light is always present and always prevails. True, the ugliness is real. Yes, fear and anger create the conditions in which great harm is done and is being done. Yes, there is more anger and fear than I realized a few short years ago. But I remain hopeful that love will prevail
  • That being said…racism, homophobia, sexism, xenophobia and any exclusionary and divisive stance are abhorrent to me. If you disagree, I shall still love you as best I can, but from a distance. In a word: boundaries.
  • And speaking of love, the best definition of love I have heard of is “the non-possessive delight in the well-being of another”. I heard it from Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis which she attributed the definition to Dr. James E. Loder
  • Some music artists that I have really enjoyed listening to this year (some new to my world, some are long time “companions”): Jako Jako, Anoushka Shankar, Sona Jobarteh, Ali Akbar Khan, and Majid Bekkas.
  • The older I get, the broader my spiritual “touchstones” become. I’m less and less likely to identify with a particular religious tradition and remain curious about people, traditions, and practices beyond my cultural “home” (whatever that means). I believe in “The Perennial Truth” and its manifestation throughout time, cultures, and traditions.
  • To paraphrase the late, great Tom Petty, music is the greatest magic I have ever encountered.

I wish you all a blessed 2026. May peace and every good be yours. Cheers,

Alan

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Update and Thoughts on Recent Music Listening

Hello:

I’m taking a brief break from tweaking a work-in-progress piece to let you know that….I’m working on a WIP piece and compiling music. Nothing firm but I’m thinking the next batch will be a Spotify/Pandora/Apple release in addition to Bandcamp. More to come…

Regarding some of the music I’ve been listening to, it’s been a combination of pleasant new (for me) discoveries mixed with nostalgic “rabbit holes”.

1st, the nostalgia. Two weeks ago, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath bid farewell to performance with an amazing celebration in their hometown of Birmingham, England. It was an all-star affair which was fantastic, but the emotional weight was, of course, seeing Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward take the stage one final time (and I do believe this is their farewell, especially Ozzy who is in failing health). I was reminded of all the great Sabbath and Ozzy albums that were so integral to my youth. I’ve been dialing up “Diary of a Madman”, “Bark at the Moon”, Volume 4, and other great albums that cause memories and emotions to rush into my mind. I’m grateful to have been of the generation to have experienced such greatness both live and recorded. God bless the Fathers of Heavy Metal.

As for the more recent discoveries:

JakoJako – Tết 41: A brilliant collection of music by a Berlin-based modular synthesist that I’ve really come to admire. She brings an emotional element to electronic music which is not common.

Caterina Barbieri – Patterns of Consciousness: An Italian electronic musician who also adds emotional elements to electronic music. There are some rhythmic elements to her music that don’t feel mechanically perfect or quantized to the nano-second, which I love.

In any case, thank you for your interest and check back for more updates. I wish you peace and every good.

Alan

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Behind the Titles of “I Wasn’t Ready”

As with all my music, titles are a little tricky in that I’m an instrumentalist. Without lyrics, there isn’t a point of reference for a title to come from. And unlike some instrumentalists that I admire, I don’t come up with a title before the composition. Quite the opposite actually. I will start a recording file by giving it a time stamp name (e.g. 240512). On occasion, a piece will lend itself to a name while I’m working on it but, more often, the title will come to me when the piece is near completion. It is almost always informed by an emotion or memory that was prevalent at the time of the piece’s creation.

The pieces that comprise the album “I Wasn’t Ready” were assembled over years. Some were recordings I left undone due to another idea taking precedence or I got stuck.

With all that said, here’s a brief explanation of the titles:

  • “I Wasn’t Ready” – This piece, upon completion, reminded me of the memory of both my late father and my late sister, both of whom died within 18 months of each other. While it’s been a few years now since their passing, there is still (and will always be) grief. I shall always miss them, but it dawned on me that I was not prepared for the pain of their absence and that struck me as odd, in a way. The one thing we all have in common is death. We will all die. We will all lose loved ones. And yet we are so woefully prepared.
  • “It Ends and Begins” – This is one of those pieces that sat for a while. I started it in 2021, put it down, and didn’t get back to it until 2024. When I did return to it, I felt like a different world. A reminder that things are not static.
  • “Melancholic” – This piece came together quickly and was reflective of the melancholic mood I was in at the time.
  • “A Budding” – Another piece that sat for a while. I was not in the best of moods when I started it. I was angry, sad, disgusted. But, having put it down for a while and coming back to it with clean ears and emotions, I saw the initial period as being a period of new beginning born out of a very unpleasant moment.
  • “Grace Amongst the Haze” – When this piece was done, it conjured up a memory of Northern California and the beauty that came with the summer fog.
  • “Where the Waters Meet” – This was inspired by a return trip to my Northern California home region in 2023 and, specifically, Jenner where the Russian River flows into the Pacific Ocean. I was there with my wife, daughters, grandson, and was reminded of the time, in 1988, when I was walking at the same spot with my father.
  • “An Ugly Truth Revealed” – This was recorded at the end of 2024 very quickly. I had just come back from overseas and it felt like the country I had hoped we would be was an overly optimistic illusion and some unpleasant truths were confirmed for all to see.

As always, I thank you for your support. Cheers.

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New Album is Out!

I’m most grateful to announce my latest batch of music, “I Wasn’t Ready” is now available via the link below. It is available for “Name Your Prices”, meaning if you want to download for free, have at it. If you want to pay $1000, have at it (though I question your sanity but appreciate the generosity). I just ask that you leave an e-mail address so I can thank you and update you on future releases.

I will be sharing some background behind the music, such as the meaning of the titles, some techy stuff, and other thoughts.

The cover art as seen below is by Ana Babil. Please visit Shutterbox and search her name.

As always, I’m most grateful for the privilege of having my music heard and appreciated. I thank you for the support. I wish you peace and blessings. Cheers.

https://alanimberg.bandcamp.com/album/i-wasnt-ready

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Upcoming Release Update – “I Wasn’t Ready”

I’m grateful to announce the release date of my latest collection of music, titled “I Wasn’t Ready”, is January 6th, 2025. It will be released on Bandcamp.com. For the 1st 60 days of release, it will be available for “Name Your Price” (i.e. free if you want…or as much as you feel so inclined).

The track list is as follows:

The album cover art is by Ana Babil.

More updates to come, including an explanation of the titles.

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Last Piece of Upcoming Release

Hello:

Having debated on releasing singles vs an album, I’ve opted for a “mini album” (EP is so 1977). It will be released on Bandcamp before the end of 2024. I have to master the last piece which I’m putting the final touches on. I have a trip planned for end of October so I’m going to target a December release date. More to come.

Cheers,

Alan

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Travel, Travel, and…..Travel

Since my last update, I’ve been traveling extensively for my day job. For context, from 2005 until 2017, I was on the road approximately 80% of the year for my work and accruing over 1 million miles of air travel.

In 2017, I took a position that, thankfully, got me off the road for 5 years. However, I’m now back to traveling, having been to Green Bay, Tijuana, Virginia, and Istanbul in the last two months.

I’m not a big fan of work travel, particularly as it takes me away from my loved ones. But I do what I must and without complaint.

All this is to say that my musical activity has been interrupted by this travel and I’m adjusting to the new “normal” that now includes extended periods away.

I’ve been delayed in releasing music via Bandcamp as I stated in an earlier post but I hope to have at least one new piece up before I leave again. I’m also completing a new piece that was done fairly quickly and inspired but some ethereal elements of sound and light that I experienced (I’ll explain later…perhaps).

I hope you are well and am grateful for any interest in my music and creative output.

May God bless you.

Alan

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April 2, 2023: New Music from Alan via Bandcamp

“Is That You?” is my latest instrumental release. Its available exclusively through Bandcamp.com. You can listen via this widget or download the Bandcamp app to your phone, tablet, or computer to stream music from myself and thousands of other artist (big and small).

As always, I thank you for your support.

Alan