Moe `Uhane - Dream Slack Key

Details

Description

The Dancing Cat website mentions that Sonny Chillingworth appeared on over 30 albums along with numerous singles by other artists. He was a composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader as well as a distinctive guitarist. He was also a teacher with players like Ozzie Kotani, Peter Medeiros, Makana and others giving credit to Sonny for his impact on their playing.

I've spent many hours trying to capture just a bit of his style and learning some of his less challenging compositions. One of the tunes that has absorbed plenty of attention is his "Moe `Uhane" or Dream Slack Key. Sonny has said that the melody came to him in a dream and he was able to capture the melody when he awakened. The song is a showcase for his "Spanish bass" style, a latin influenced rhythm that gives a distinctive texture to several of his pieces.

I recorded this song using the Wingert Model E in taropatch open G tuning (D G D G B D from low pitch to high). I used a pair of Schoeps CMBI mics with MK2 omnidirectional capsules in a spaced pair configuration. The Zoom F6 was used to capture the audio and I tweaked things a bit in REAPER before using Edius to compile the video clip. I shot the video using a pair of Panasonic Lumix GH4 cameras.