Deep bass grooves, funky percussion, bluesy guitars and the primal sounds of didgeridoos and other ethnic instruments... Mike Starling blends his affinity for American roots and jazz with his love of travel and world beat rhythms and instrumentation to create an edgy, earthy series of instrumental music he calls Journeys in Sight & Sound.
Street musicians in Sydney, Australia, for instance, gave Starling his first exposure to the didgeridoo, and he immediately sought to incorporate this ancient Aboriginal wind instrument into his music. Tracks from the resulting album, DIDJERIBLUE, VOL. 1, have been featured on soundtracks on the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, the Travel Channel, A&E, Biography and many more. “Makes me wanna wear my moose pelvic headdress and power dance spring equinox mountain chants beside the Matanuska Glacier,” said Wild Bill Schimdtkunz of Sutton, Alaska.
GUITAR MOODS followed with a suite of 12 new cinematic six-string ensemble pieces inspired by Starling's travels in Ireland, Latin America, New Zealand and the Great River Road. "Quite a new world for instrumental guitar subtlety," wrote Martin Jack Rosenblum in his review for the Shepherd Express. "Standout moments (include) the spare rasp of 'Above The Clouds,' the sonic narrative 'Rememory,' the dance through dust of 'Amarilla' and, especially, the dirge that refuses sorrow of 'Sophie & Boscho.'"
INFLUENCES... AND WHAT'S DOWN THE ROAD
Mike lists Ry Cooder, Herbie Hancock, Bill Frisell, Martin Scorsese, Jackson Pollock and the Wild Kingdom TV theme as a few of his main influences. He got his musical start in the Mississippi River college town of La Crosse, Wisconsin, playing bass in groups like Buzz Butler, the Mall Weirdos and the Joe Price Blues Band. As he focused more on songwriting, he switched to guitar to front his own bands including Bean Hoy and the Sons of Distortion (both available on CD Baby).
He's also worked as a producer, session player and contributing songwriter on several other artist's projects. Photos from Mike's travels have been published in two books (Blue & White, Live Without Dead Time) and he's currently at work on LOOP LIFE, a multimedia project incorporating music, photography, text, video and social media. Follow the project as it unfolds at twitter.com/looplifechi.
You can also keep up with Mike's latest journeys in sight and sound at didjeriblue.com.
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