Album Notes

THE SOUNDS OF GONDWANALAND:

Clay Green’s unorthodox approach to musical genres and structure is on full display in Voyage to Gondwanaland. Indeed, the tracks in this collection contain a wide range of formats--from Indian improvisations to Mediterranean guitar pieces; from rock jams to classical passages.

INSTRUMENTATION:

Green showcases an assortment of acoustic guitars for this album: steel-string, 12-string, nylon classical, and what sounds like guitar-sitar. For auxiliary instrumentation, he utilizes such standbys as virtual World Drums, electric bass, and misc. accompaniments. There are some hard rock passages, complete with electric guitar and organ—courtesy of his PM Band. There’s even a quasi-symphonic endeavor, “Lost at Sea Part I.”

TECNICA TAGLIO E COLLA:

Some have described Green’s arrangement techniques as “Taglio e Colla.” Many of these tracks demonstrate his fondness for concatenating concise sections into one long musical piece. “Episode Xanadu,” “Ujbak Ućhalnā,” and “Lost at Sea Part II” all have combined sequences. That is, they’re comprised of several separate sequences with distinct instrumentation, but are connected by a common melodic thread.

With “Ujbak Ućhalnā,” Green weaves a tapestry of relaxing melodies and improvisations comprised of guitar-sitar, flute, and World Drums. But halfway through the piece, the mood mutates abruptly into a dissonant whole-note rock jam (as performed by a pernicious electric guitar, fuzz bass, and highly-compressed drums.)

“Lost at Sea Part II” is the most “themed” piece in the collection and contains several sections, each having different instrumentation. The first is with orchestra and establishes the main melodic theme. The middle section introduces an acoustic guitar duet performing an arpeggio passage, mostly in 7/8 time. The finale features the PM Band combining portions of the main theme with a progressive rock rendition of the middle section.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

“Gondwanaland is a nostalgic link to our ancient past. Years ago, the world was more 'together' then it is now…Many of the challenges we face today can be traced to ancient rifts…and from the world drifting apart from one another. Through my music, I try to keep an ear to the past, but it’s the future that we should all be concerned about.”--Clay Green