Loud Sounds 20
Cover photo: Damian Dalla Torre
"Loud Sounds" are some of the best new tracks we've found. We are coming back with the twentieth installment of the series.
Quinn Sternberg – Cicada Song
Quinn Sternberg is a bassist and composer from Bloomington, Indiana. His upcoming third release was inspired by the sounds of nature, hence the name – "Cicada Songs". Its lead single "Cicada Song" is driven by a highly melodic bass line that came to Quinn as he was listening to those insects chirping on a rural night. The resulting track is a magical trip to an imaginary version of moonlit Louisiana where you can talk to cicadas soul to soul using the universal language of music.
Quinn Sternberg is a bassist and composer from Bloomington, Indiana. His upcoming third release was inspired by the sounds of nature, hence the name – "Cicada Songs". Its lead single "Cicada Song" is driven by a highly melodic bass line that came to Quinn as he was listening to those insects chirping on a rural night. The resulting track is a magical trip to an imaginary version of moonlit Louisiana where you can talk to cicadas soul to soul using the universal language of music.
Quinn Sternberg
The first idea that led to my writing Cicada Song came when I heard a group of real cicadas chirping an interesting rhythm in rural Louisiana. As the rhythm persisted I noticed that the insects were singing in a 7/4 time signature and I ended up turning their sounds into the bass line that the song is built on. After adding melody and a bridge section to the insect theme I started working on the song with my band and it took on a whole new life.
Oscar noticed the Cuban influence in certain parts of the groove and brought that concept to the forefront with montuno-like piano rhythms in the solo section. Charlie and Peter added more of a progressive rock/fusion influence, contributing a gnarly guitar tone and an epic drum solo. Sam executed the saxophone melodies with energy that made me envision cicadas dancing in the moonlight. I love to incorporate many genres into my music and to write compositions that reference nature. It was a joy to bring the vision of the cicadas of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana to life on this track with an incredible band.
Oscar noticed the Cuban influence in certain parts of the groove and brought that concept to the forefront with montuno-like piano rhythms in the solo section. Charlie and Peter added more of a progressive rock/fusion influence, contributing a gnarly guitar tone and an epic drum solo. Sam executed the saxophone melodies with energy that made me envision cicadas dancing in the moonlight. I love to incorporate many genres into my music and to write compositions that reference nature. It was a joy to bring the vision of the cicadas of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana to life on this track with an incredible band.
Damian Dalla Torre – Alles Neu
Alles Neu is a standout track from Happy Floating, the upcoming debut album by Leipzig-based tenor saxophonist, composer and producer Damian Dalla Torre on Munich imprint Squama Recordings. The album was born from a deep process of Damian's self-reflection and search for identity during the pandemic. Alles Neu, the track that the artist himself describes as a "a melancholic yet encouraging gaze into the future", feels like a painting – a perculiar sort of one, a calm seascape showing the ocean right before the storm, but with beautiful and almost cartoonish visuals (think Kenny Scharf or Kandinsky) painted on top. The composition is so rich with details, textures and sounds that it feels new no matter how many times you've heard it.
Alles Neu is a standout track from Happy Floating, the upcoming debut album by Leipzig-based tenor saxophonist, composer and producer Damian Dalla Torre on Munich imprint Squama Recordings. The album was born from a deep process of Damian's self-reflection and search for identity during the pandemic. Alles Neu, the track that the artist himself describes as a "a melancholic yet encouraging gaze into the future", feels like a painting – a perculiar sort of one, a calm seascape showing the ocean right before the storm, but with beautiful and almost cartoonish visuals (think Kenny Scharf or Kandinsky) painted on top. The composition is so rich with details, textures and sounds that it feels new no matter how many times you've heard it.
Also check out the meditative hymn Inhale by Random Orchestra out on TELESKOP, a Leiptzig-based label run by Damian Dalla Torre's friends.