Recording: The Sympathetic String Band

Artist: The Sympathetic String Band

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ayal Senior & Friends), December 8, 2024.

The Sympathetic String Band - [excerpt]

This ensemble(?)/collective(?) was once more expanded from the previous times I've seen 'em, having gone from duo to quartet to quintet. The addition of sitar into the mix of strings was an entirely sympathetic one, adding more drones and repeated patterns to weave among the guitars and dulcimers on stage. This section was about as frisky as the group got, which is to say this was a mellow meadow drift of a time.

[Ayal Senior & Friends is back in the Southern Cross a week tomorrow (Sunday, January 12th) with sets from Ayal Senior & Kurt Newman, Michelle Breslin, David Sait, and Nick Flanagan.]

Recording: The Sympathetic String Band

Artist: The Sympathetic String Band

Song: [second piece]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ayal Senior & Friends), August 11, 2024.

The Sympathetic String Band - [second piece]

Previously seen performing as a duo, this drifting enterprise from Harrison Forman and Patrick Lefler was expended to a quartet this time around, adding small-scale percussion (and additional sympathetic strings) for some peaceful meditations.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

[Ayal Senior & Friends returns to the Southern Cross with performances by Senior & Newman, Greydini, Nick Flanagan and an unnamed "special guest" next Sunday (September 8th).]

Recording: Senior/Forman/Lefler

Artist: Ayal Senior/Harrison Forman/Patrick Lefler

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ayal Senior & Friends), August 11, 2024.

Ayal Senior/Harrison Forman/Patrick Lefler - [excerpt]

This afternoon of musical exploration lead off with this impromptu improvisation, centred around Senior's percussion work, and specifically centred around his tongue drum. That gave a gentle impetus to Forman's guitar explorations, and the vibe was completed when Patrick Lefler joined in on piano. Some rumours say that the trio's true name is Alpaca Spice Traders.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

[Ayal Senior & Friends returns to the Southern Cross with performances by Senior & Newman, Greydini, Nick Flanagan and an unnamed "special guest" next Sunday (September 8th).]

Recording: Marilyn Yogarajah

Artist: Marilyn Yogarajah

Songs: [solo excerpt] + [group excerpt]

Recorded at Annette Studios, August 4, 2024.

Marilyn Yogarajah - [solo excerpt]

Marilyn Yogarajah - [group excerpt]

This was nominally a solo set for Marilyn Yogarajah (who has recently added saxophone to their musical arsenal), but this community-minded icon tends to draw in collaborators at every possible turn, so it was no surprise that the night's other musicians — Harrison Forman and Patrick Lefler plus Joseph Allred — ended up on stage, and no surprise that the audience was encouraged to add such sounds as they saw fit.

Recording: Hieronymous Harry

Artist: Hieronymous Harry

Songs: two unknown songs^*

Recorded at Annette Studios, August 4, 2024.

Hieronymous Harry - unknown #1

Hieronymous Harry - unknown #2

Harrison Forman's work as Hieronymus Harry is more "ye olde" than "old-timey", drawing from the deep bogs of British Isles folk laced with pagan psychedelia. The Incredible String Band is an easy point of reference, and a cover tune of note in this set was from John Dowling. Forman was mostly tackling new songs here, some solo on 6- and 12-strings, but several also with regular collaborator Patrick Lefler in tow. The second piece here also includes some trumpet from Marilyn Yogarajah, who was next up in the evening's programme.

^* Does anyone know the titles to these? Please leave a comment!

Recoreding: Stonegrass

Artist: Stonegrass

Song: [track 1]

Recorded at Monarch Tavern, July 25, 2024.

Stonegrass - [track 1]

A real joy to see Matt "Doc" Dunn back on a local stage. This set was nominally a rather belated celebration of the Stonegrass record, although that was more of a starting point. On wax a duo between Dunn and drummer Jay Anderson (who have a long history of playing together), this was transformed into a quartet with "Hieronymous" Harry Forman on bass and Asher Gould-Murtagh on tape echo unit. (The latter did a great job on keeping those very particular wobbulations floating just below the mix.)

Recording: The Sympathetic String Band

Artist: The Sympathetic String Band

Song: unknown^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ayal Senior presents), September 11, 2022.

The Sympathetic String Band - unknown

This pair of spiritual psych explorers — a sort of pastoral adjunct to some more rockin' sounds you might hear from Roy as well as one Hieronymus Harry (also of Mr. Joy) — fit in quite perfectly next to Ayal Senior's music (and, in fact, the three would close out the show playing a quick set together as Flotation Device). Bearing some sitar-y, lute-y, and dulcimer-y things as well as their guitars, their pieces were somewhere on the pathway from "jams" to "songs" — here situated in some middle ground of "agreed upon zones".

[I will be guest-hosting Ayal Senior's Tranzac monthly once more next Sunday (October 9th, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.), which'll feature regulars Nick Flanagan and Kurt Newman along with a special appearance by the Electroacoustic Autumn Ensemble (Kieran Miraj, Fuzzy Nibesh, William Davison + special guests!).]

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!