Over the past few weeks, I've come across a few random items I thought would be fun to share on my Below Zero residents corner. If you like watching YouTube videos, make sure to keep reading....er, watching. For my first residents corner post, I'll keep it simple with two videos and more to come in future posts.
First off, if you haven't heard yet, the time has arrived to unveil Below Zero's first official chilled compilation release. Below Zero Minus 1 is a cool compilation featuring 16 songs by 16 different artists. Instead of trying to describe something that is inexpressible by words, I spent some time producing a short video to compliment the radio ads currently running on the show. If you are like me, connecting an image with the people behind the music is important. I felt it was necessary to properly expose the talented artists behind the music on BZ Minus 1. If you enjoy the video, and want to hear more of the music on Minus 1, you can sample all of the songs HERE.
Hope you enjoy the video!
The following video pertains to an interesting instrument called a Hang Drum. Until a few weeks ago, I'd never heard or seen such an instrument before. Hopefully that means you haven't either. The Hang Drum looks like two cooking woks welded together (like a closed clam) to create a Roswell inspired UFO shaped musical instrument. This UFO shaped instrument sits in your lap and can be played much like a drum. The top shell has multiple indentations on it's surface. Each indentation produces a different note when struck. The lower shell has a hole at the bottom from which bass sounds resonate from. Since the hang drum's physical properties are steel, the sounds produced are similar to that of a steel drum. When I think of steel drums Jimmy Buffet comes to mind. However similar Hang Drums are to Steel Drums...fortunately the Hang Drum does NOT sound like Jimmy Buffet. I find the sounds of a hang drum are quite soothing and melodic. I think it would be interesting to hear this instrument in a down-tempo format. Here is a video of Manu Delago, playing the Hang Drum like a pro. Actually, Manu is a master of many instruments including the Marimba, Piano, Drums, and the Hang Drum. Here is the video that introduced me to Manu's interesting video on playing the hang drum with chill sensibilities.
