Release Week: A Song A Day, Part 2
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To celebrate the official release of Zubatto Syndicate, we’ll be sharing one song from the record each day with some behind-the-scenes thoughts about the music. We’re also offering the download of Zubatto Syndicate as “pay what you want” from now until the release party on June 11th! Pay nothing or pay $20 – you decide.
Saturn 9 (Z9)
Saturn 9 began life as my attempt at a Partido Alto, a certain type of samba rhythm. I’m sure it is unrecognizable to any actual samba players or aficionados but I’m very happy with the flavor of the groove and the bass line. The woodwind melody is intended as an homage to the sound of the Brazilian cuica.
To add to the texture of the rhythm section, we brought in Ernesto Pediangco on percussion, which I think gives the performance a nice forward momentum. Greg Sinibaldi’s tenor solo is cool and breezy, Jesse Canterbury’s clarinet solo is spooky and atmospheric, and Mack Grout brings it home on the Fender Rhodes.
The title could be a reference to the rockets that were launched by the US Space Program, maybe a never-realized launch after Saturn V, or it could be a reference to one of Saturn’s moons (but is it the 9th moon Mimas or the moon designated as Saturn IX, Phoebe) or maybe to a futuristic heist film where a team of astronauts try to rob a space casino under the leadership of the charismatic Billy Saturn. Mack calls it “Plan 9” which would probably have been a better title, in hindsight.
1 Comment
Comment by Lucius (Greg) Meredith
Fantastico! The woodwind melody is so delicious against this bassline! Zubatto Syndicate is rapidly becoming one of my favorite bands!