Album Notes

The album concept started from a coffee shoppe gig I had in southside indy: the Bean Cup. I always start the show with an improv piece which allows me to check my system before i play some of my already prepared tracks. During that process i created a song which had steel drum playing a pattern, which breaks into solo between that pattern, alongside a simple jazz drum groove with a piano vamping in the background... From that instant creation came the rest of the album as well as my inspiration to draw my music from: the coffee shoppe. Having travelled to major cities around the country: Manhattan, Chicago, L.A., Portland (Oregon), Princeton, San Francisco, and my hometown of Indianapolis I began to recollect the energy from these various cities in their cafe settings and started to compose music from those experiences. Even the pieces that are very electronic/experimental were drawn from emotions had at the cafe, hence the title. I love mixing world traditions I have studied in percussion, Native American Flute and dropping a little didgeridoo into a electronic background, which in turn helps me paint the canvas for the music in my head and onto the album. The fun in my music is trying to take various cultures' traditions to create a new sound and to enjoy the fact how cultures separated by oceans create grooves that are very alike. Hope you enjoy this project of mine and that it inspires you or better yet relaxes you as it did me composing it. - Adam Riviere