In case you’re unaware (though since you probably got here via my main website, I doubt it’s the case), I’m featured on a new work by close friend/collaborator Matt Borghi which was released Monday on VagueTerrain.net.  Because of Matt’s consistent, quality, selfless work in the ambient realm, he was chosen as the debut feature artist for VagueTerrain’s new music series.

I bring this up for two reasons:
1. Shameless plug 🙂
2. The collaborative portion of this release actually took place after my recent move from East Lansing, MI to Houston, TX.

Matt had the piece about wrapped up and wanted to incorporate my playing, but we had largely shrugged it off because of deadlines and my move.  However, amidst the chaos that was my apartment (I’d only been moved in one week), I managed to set up a quiet space for my iMac and saxophones.  He then uploaded an hour’s worth of material to a cloud, then commenced to download and noodle around.  Within a matter of three to four days I had recorded a bunch of material to send back to him.  Days later, voila!  He and I went from living just a couple miles down the road from one another to 1200+, yet we were still able to make music together.  It’s amazing what modern, easily accessible technology allows!

Of course, it’s crucial to remember that prior to this, Matt and I already had two years of close collaboration – both with The Elevator Conspiracy, and in a number of duo endeavors – which really helped the process.  Even though I was alone in my apartment, my familiarity with Matt’s sensibilities and direction guided helped to guide my way.  We definitely wouldn’t have been able to do our separate parts (in the “collaborative” sense) without that prior knowledge and experience.

We have a number of other, older recordings (including another ambient one, that a live performance) on his website – I’ll also get them to mine soon, hopefully.   However, if you have a chance, do check out our (his, really) new release.  We’ve received quite a bit of positive feedback already, and are looking forward to doing more of this in the future!