Episode 23 of At-The-Helm is an easy listen and…

..by far and away one of the most ambient of the programs in this series.Show #23 is an all Bindlestiff affair featuring two tracks from the 1998 CD “Distant”. Both of these pieces began as live to tape solo loop works that I did in Colorado and then sent to Dave in California where he added his live loop tracks in much the same fashion we had always worked but with a distance and a delay to it. This music reflects a great deal of open space and was sparked (for me) by the new western landscapes that I was getting to experience and the sense of geographic distance from my musical partner that now existed. This is very slow and careful music which has grown on me over the years. Tracks and start times are as follows:

1- No Other Ocean (00:00)
2- Into Violet (15:10)

For a more detailed equipment listing for these recordings please visit at-the-helm.us and click on the thumbnail image for the “Distant” CD.  All music copyright 1998 Bryan Helm/Dave Stafford. All rights reserved by the artists. Engineered by Dave Stafford. Photo of leaves on snow circa 1998.

 

Episode 20 of At-The-Helm (My Life in Sound)………

..is now uploaded for your listening pleasure. This is an all solo show starting with one last track from California then moving on to six selections from 1996 recorded in Colorado in my basement studio.

1- Silver Lining (3-2-95)

2- An Evening Breeze- 3:02

3- Boot With Love- 8:39

4- How Was I To Know- 13:15

5- Bob’s Your Uncle- 18:30

6- While Rome Burns- 22:33

7- Autumn Light- 26:20

All tracks performed and recorded by Bryan Helm live to tape except #4 which has a live keyboard over a taped 11 string guitar track (free range tuning). All rights reserved by the artist. Please note starting times for tracks now listed for episodes #17 and up. Photo from near the Nevada/Utah state line August 1995. Today is my 50th birthday so sicerest thanks and best wishes to all those who’ve taken the time to enjoy this series so far,  I look forward to completing this musical tour of my past as this year winds on. Please have a great weekend and look for more here soon.

 

At-The-Helm Episode 19 is available…..

now for your listening pleasure. This show is a live Bindlestiff concert recorded April 30th 1995 in San Diego CA  direct from the mixing board. It features the following tracks:

1- Short Circuit Circus

2- Fantasia

3- The Night Sky

4- Sleep It Off

5- Orbital Noon

6- The Night Sky 2

Thanks to Dave Stafford ( e-bow guitar, loops,effects, original recording engineer). Thanks also to Mr. John Goddard and family for hosting Dave and I for some of our performances during the years 1989-1995.  Copyright 2008 Helm/Stafford all rights reserved. This is the last show in this series from the California period and also the last live Bindlestiff concert to date. My thanks again to Dave for his work and to all the folks who came out to see us play live. Next episode it’s off to Colorado so please stay tuned. Featured photo is from the farm equipment show last summer. Thanks again for reading and listening and have a good week

 

Episode 17 of At-The-Helm is now here……

an episode that marks a change in format . From now on all episodes will be all music and no talk, I’ll hopefully cover any relevant info here in my blog. My thanks to Glenn for his talents in editing the first 16 shows. This change will allow me to include another 8-10 minutes of music in each podcast, which may prove necessary in the shows to come to try and cover all the materials I’d like to in this series.  The seventeenth show in this series features the following tracks:

1-  32 Seconds

2- A Man I Know

3- The Sunday River

4- A Distant Embrace

5- Mister Nelson’s Radio

6- My Old Man 

It’s an all solo deal with me on drum machine,synthesizer, vocals and loops . This is a rare (no-guitar) episode in the series. The first 2 tracks are from October’94, the last 4 were recorded between 6-19 and 7-4 in 1994. Track #6 is dedicated to my father. Performed and recorded live to tape by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist. Photo of tree downed by lightening in RMNP Colorado (probably did make a sound).

 

Episodes 15 and 16 of At-The-Helm now up..

and available for listening. Sorry for the delay but hopefully a double dose will help, and a matched pair at that.

Both shows feature the work of Bindlestiff. First we’ll hear selections from the CD “Quiet”

 in show #15 and then selections from “Loud” in #16.

Show#16

1- Continental Division

2- Spiral Ginger/Descent

3- Signs of Spring

4- Who is Number One?

5- Into Blue

and then #16

 1- Suspend Your Disbelief

2- Passage by Day

3- Suddenly Nothong Happens

4- Fantasia

5- Thunderous Voice

 Selections from both discs recorded in 1994-95 in Escondido CA, at Studio Seventeen. Engineered by Dave Stafford. All titles copyright 2000 (the universe) Helm/Stafford.For more info please visit At-The-Helm.US and click on the specific CD cover icon or go to the Pure Ambient lisiting in the links section for more info still. Thanks for your patience in listening and I hope you enjoy these new selections. The photo is from last summer in RMNP in Colorado, a double bill of it’s own sort. More music soon, have a good day!

 

At-The-Helm Episode 14 is available now….

Just in time for the holidays it’s show#14 up and running. This program contains five tracks from the CD “Early” by Bindlestiff, some of the earliest works by Dave and I including:

1- Ariel Adrift

2- Parade Rest

3- Dos Vedanya, Tanya

4- Cartesian Dualism

5- More Earth than Sea

It’s all live in the studio with loops, guitars, and synthesizers by Bindlestiff. Engineered by Dave Stafford. For more specific gear info go to at-the-helm.us. The weather has been up and down this week (72 degrees with 75 mph wind gusts on tuesday this week, snow today (fri)) so as a nod to the promise of the future here is a pic from last spring of natures determination to loop itself. Thanks for stopping by, please give a listen and have a good day. 

 

Some Rainy Day Music…

… in the form of a little piece called “This Side of Blue” is what I just put up for listening. It’s a live studio recording with me on synthesizer, loop, and 11 string acoustic guitar that dates from April 26, 1996. I hope you’ll give it a listen, there’s lot’s more on the way. Please also note that I have not been spelling my co-producer’s  name correctly, it is supposed to read Glenn Stebelton, my apologies . Have a good day.

 

At-The-Helm Episode 08 now available……..

Yes at last the fabled Show#8 is up for your listening pleasure. It is another all solo outing from me in the third show of the California period featuring the following tracks:

New Conversations 1

New Conversations 2

Marshland

Blue Laws

The Spoken Word

Slight Confusion

Wrong Number

Cooloola

As noted in the podcast this is a transitional episode for recording techniques in that 4 track recording will be replaced by stereo recordings of live and constructed loops with instrumental accompaniment. Both techniques are featured during this show.

 Production note: There is an extended period of silence after the track “Slight Confusion” that has presented itself in this show. Although unintended in nature this quiet has occurred during a week that has brought the news of the sudden passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends. In that spirit I offer those moments of silence in the memory of Charles R. James and extend my condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed by all those who knew him.    

 

A New Listening selection………..

A short ambient track titled “Last Day of School” is now available for listening. Recorded live to tape in the studio June 2nd 1998, it features me on synthesizer and loops. something slow on a hot afternoon. Meanwhile the search continues for Show#8 of At-The-Helm, an earlier sighting (see above photo) proved to be a false alarm, I remain hopeful. More soon, have a good day folks. 

 

Show #7 of At-The-Helm now available.

Howdy folks.

A quick note on a hot day to say that Episode 7 of At-the-Helm is now up for your listening pleasure.

This is the second show from the California period (1986-87) and features the following tracks:

• 3 Squares
• Sunshower
• They Learn To Talk
• Canyon Shadows
• Winky….
• A Word From Our Sponsor

This show’s an all solo outing. A production note: The host of the program says there will be 5 pieces featured in the show, there are actually 6 tracks, he’s been spoken with about this and promises no more such nonsense in the future. Hope you can enjoy a listen and  thanks for stopping in.