Astray

“Astray” is the second release in 2022 from Topanga Side Eye.
Most of the scenery was shot in Sedona and Casa Grande, Arizona, along with some musically historical footage from the archive of drummer, vocalist, and songmaker, Don Anderson. Mike Horton, who plays Guitars and Bass Guitar on this track, also appears here, along with Jason Pond; both of whom played with Don in their post-rock, instrumental power trio, E.N.I: The Experimental Noise Incinerator. Oh, and I almost forgot... and starring, Topanga, The Dog!!! She had the best view of all.

Coast Is Clear (Curve Cover)

Topanga Side Eye recorded this cover of Curve's "Coast Is Clear" in 2021 with Mike Horton on guitars and bass guitar. Don Anderson mixed and edited the song and video, and played drums, mellotron, and is on vocals. Originally written and performed by Dean Garcia and Toni Halliday, this is an homage to their brilliant work.

Bali (Love Letter To My Wife)

It is what it says. My wife took a trip to Bali with a good friend of ours because she had the opportunity. Of course, I'm happy for her ability to have this experience while I keep the home fires burning, but she was kind enough to share these things through videos and photos. I'm grateful for the access to technology we have, not only to get us to such places fairly quickly, but also for enabling us with the ability to communicate in real time to share such wonders. We support each other and often miss each other. Without further ado, here is some music I created recently, scored to those images which she shared with me. Margaret, you are amazing and beautiful.

Angels Aren’t Born…
Until Universes Die

I started working on this track in about June of 2021, which is an instrumental, called “Angels Aren’t Born…Until Universe Die”. I’ll let you decide what that means. There are actually multiple iterations in existence since I’d sat down with my MIDI keyboard and fired up the ol’ Logic during a very rare, but ominously wet Sunday morning in the deserts of Southern Arizona. I turned the record button on and let her rip with no real game plan. Fair Warning: I’ve gotta say that this one is for the yoga mat or for the some-something enhanced chill session after a hard day’s work. I tell you that in advance just in case you like to vacuum or operate heavy machinery while you listen to music. What you’ll hear in this version is me just taking sounds and adding subtle drums, played with brushes, along with some barely-audible vocal panning experiments during the editing process. The inspiration came when I offered to create a backing track for my wife’s video streams. She conducts meditations, sound journeys, and other healing rights live on multiple platforms (YouTube, Facebook). Kindly visit Maggie Anderson’s website and tell her Don sent you: http://maggiesbliss.com. (Promo Code: Topanga237).

After having stepped away from it for a few months, I went for an evening walk with Topanga. The demo I’d made for myself popped up on my phone’s random listening playlist folder. I’d forgotten that I stored it there for future listening to make sure levels were ok and such. But after having taken the entire thirty-five minute plus piece, listened incessantly to identify where sections and movements might go, dividing and sequencing it with in-and-out track fades (into eight sections, then later 7), then finally playing around with lyrics and vocals to maybe get one true song out of it. Finally, I decided that this edit was just pleasant to listen to the way I had left it. I don’t say things like that very often with regard to music produced by yours, truly. Despite it’s ethereal and intuitively-produced nature, it still seems fit for human consumption… With fair warning. I also vaguely see it as a tribute to some of the art rock which my dad would play on his connoisseur-level hi-fi systems. During the early-70’s, I remember some beautiful, but frightening music playing while I stared upward in my crib as a toddler. Simultaneously, I could hear the lions roaring about a quarter mile away in their cages at Capron Park Zoo. Terrifying, if you were in a waking dream state as a child. On a better morning, the word was, “Wow!” I hope you enjoy. There are still some other treats brewing. We’ll see what bubbles to the surface soon. As for the video... Please don't read too much into the lack of plot. It's really just me horsing around with iMovie and using all footage and images that Maggie and I have captured recently between various parts of Arizona and Utah.

Om Gum

“Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha” is a Hindu mantra, which essentially means, “remover of obstacles”, and is intended to bring success. Now, before I get into trouble with the holy rollers, I am not attempting to adopt, promote, nor deny any particular religious narrative here. Nor am I conjuring the devil. I’ve learned that one can gain valuable insight through sheer curiosity and a fascination for various cultures around the world, past and present. You may also find it interesting to know that the Hindus often chant this mantra 108 times (the same number you’ll hear in this performance), and that this is often done so with each recitation to be coincided with the touching of one bead. Each bead is strung, along with the other 107, around a thread or wire, which is tied together (in eternal, cyclical fashion), like a necklace.

For anyone who was brought up Catholic like I was, does this sound familiar? I wonder what influence was brought from the Far East into Catholic traditions as this ritual is very similar to that of the Rosary. Both include a cycle with a total number of recitations equal to a divine number. I’ve read much of The Bible and I’ve read the Bhagavad Gita (a component of a much larger Hindu collection of sacred texts, in poem form). Each come with their own politics, but the parallels in their ideas are astounding, as I’m sure Joseph Campbell would agree. I’d also ask DaVinci or Plato what they would have to say about the Divine Ratio and Sacred Geometry associated with these very similar meditations. I’ll even go down the rabbit hole of what musical notes and frequency vibrations should be learned and implemented into the vocal part to resonate with the desired vibrations used in attracting such success… Or we could just chill out and enjoy the little musical trip ; )

Onward

"Onward" is an instrumental track from Rhode Island's own, Topanga Side Eye. The song centers around drum rhythms played by Don Anderson, who also plays keyboards and synthesizers. Additionally, the loop you hear is comprised of Don's vocal harmonies, along with his wife, Maggie Anderson. The chant is taken from the Hindu-inspired piece, "Om Gum" from Don's "Warts And All" series of rhythmic conversations. The piece here is a reinterpretation taken from those works, inclusive of additional improvisations. The photos are by Brenna Magnan, Maggie Anderson, and Don Anderson, as well as images made available to the public by NASA.