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| Social distancing on Abbey Road |
I'm sure many people are having trouble adjusting to the reality of social distancing and working from home. This lockdown has made us all think much more about how we structure our lives and what's important to us. Ironically, as it unfolds, we are discovering new ways to communicate; being forced to isolate has actually brought us together.
Working from home certainly has its advantages - it can actually make you more productive, as long as you keep the distractions to a minimum. Easier said than done, but I'm living proof that it's possible.
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| Distractions |
My working life in the last 20 years has involved extended periods of travel, mostly around Asia, followed by several weeks of relative isolation in my workroom in Auckland, New Zealand.
One key component in balancing work and home life is music, so I've put together some suggestions for how music can make the home/work situation more enjoyable.
At home, I've got plenty to distract me - guitars, big TV and hi-fi all within easy reach. So it's important for me to have structure and to build the distractions formally into the day. So, for example, a 15 minute break, morning and afternoon, for some reading or guitar practice.
In a home/work environment, some music sits better than others. If what I'm doing doesn't require too much creative concentration, I'll go
for something tuneful and engaging. In most cases, where I'm writing, it's music without a beat. As a
drummer in another life, I find it hard not to zero in on the beat if I've got rock or funk music playing.
Ambience - early days
If you want to have music going on, but nothing too distracting, ambient is ideal.
I started out, post-millennium, compiling music playlists, including the likes of Kruder & Dorfmeister's K&D Sessions and albums from the 1970s and 80s like Mark Isham's Vapor Drawings, adding in classic synthesiser music by Tangerine Dream (the Phaedra, Zeit and Rubicon albums), plus film music such as Lalo Schifrin's Bullitt soundtrack and Brian Eno's Apollo Atmosphere & Soundtracks.
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| Andreas Vollenweider in concert |
I still love harpist Andreas Vollenweider's first album from 1982, called Behind the Gardens - Behind the Wall - Under the Tree... One artist I would love to see play live.
I bought all the Buddha-Bar boxes as they came out, after a memorably exotic night drinking whisky at the original Paris club, hosted by a French client. It was a particularly auspicious occasion because we had earlier that day seen England beat France at rugby.
I kept coming back to one consistent source of ambient quality - the San Francisco radio station Hearts of Space. Their soundscapes are designed mainly for those seeking transcendence - and stoners I imagine, but they are also suitable for the home worker. Highly recommended. Here's a link that shows their various ambient music sub-genres: https://v4.hos.com/channels
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| The Hearts Of Space website - slow music for fast times |
Their slogan is Slow Music For Fast Times. The shows are all themed and typically last around 40 minutes to an hour. There are free programs once a week and a subscription streaming service.
The quality of the music, to these ears, is always high.
This was the very first Hearts of Space show that I heard back in 1990s - Drifter, which gives you a good idea of what to expect:
https://v4.hos.com/programs/details/445
ECM Records
Acoustic, analogue ambient music. ECM has been described as 'the most beautiful sound next to silence'. What separates it from new age doodling is the quality of the composition, the playing and the recording.
My collection of ECM records is mostly on vinyl and is largely from the label's classic period in the 1970s, when it still had people like Chick Corea and Pat Metheny on its roster. My favourite ECM artist is Ralph Towner - such a beautiful and uplifting guitarist, whatever mood you're in.
The constant factor in the 'ECM sound' is Talent Studios in Oslo, Norway, where most of the classic albums were recorded by sound engineers Jan Erik Kongshaug and Martin Wieland. The catalogue is huge, but here are some recommendations based on my own collection:
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| ECM - the most beautiful sound next to silence |
Anouar Brahem - Thimar
Gary Burton/Steve Swallow - Hotel Hello
Gary Burton Quintet - Ring
Chick Corea/Gary Burton - Crystal Silence
Chick Corea - Return To Forever
Egberto Gismonti - Sol Do Meio Dia
Charlie Haden/Jan Garbarek - Magico
Zakir Hussain - Making Music
Keith Jarrett - My Song / Belonging
Keith Jarrett - Nude Ants
Pat Metheny Group / Offramp / First Circle
Enrico Rava - The Plot
Ralph Towner - Anthem
Ralph Towner - Diary / Solstice
Ralph Towner - Solo Concert
Ralph Towner/Gary Burton -Matchbook
Eberhard Weber - Fluid Rustle
Kenny Wheeler - Gnu High
One of my all-time favourite atmospheric jazz records is the Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays album 'As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls'. It is a wonderfully sequenced LP that evokes various moods, largely uplifting. But it can also be contemplative, if listened to away from your desk.
Acoustic guitar musicI can get enjoyment from guitar, letting it float around behind me while I work.
There's a lot of really good acoustic guitar music around, but I'm definitely old school. I tend to listen to the folk players from the past, such as Davy Graham, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, John Fahey, Stefan Grossman and Leo Kottke, with more modern exceptions like James Elkington and kiwi (via Long Island) guitar genius Nigel Gavin.
Recommended while you work:
Bruce Cockburn - Circles In The Stream
James Elkington - Wintres Woma
John Fahey - Of Rivers & Religion
Nigel Gavin - Visitation
Gitbox Rebellion - Curveball
Stefan Grossman - Guitar Instrumentals (Memphis Jellyroll)
Michael Gulezian - Unspoken Intentions
Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries
The Bert Jansch Sampler
Pat Metheny - One Quiet Night
Pentangle - Sweet Child
The John Renbourn Sampler
Alan Stivell - Reflections
Guitar legend John McLaughlin is making his latest album with Indian musicians Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain available free on bandcamp. Could be just the thing as background music while you work. Here's the link:
http://bandcamp.com/download?from=freealt&id=2761759527&ts=1586774597.1617045811&tsig=0c3772192f4f87882e6b8499e5346fda&type=album
Jazz
Some people take inspiration or motivation from their background music. The Japanese author Huraki Murakami says he almost always works listening to music. Murakami used to own a jazz bar in Tokyo and has at least 10,000 vinyl records. He has a nice work life situation too, as you can see below.
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| Murakami's study room |
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| Jazz - all great albums regardless of the situation |
Here's a list of jazz recordings I'll play while I work:
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else
Ron Carter - All Blues
John Coltrane- Blue Train
Chick Corea - Piano Improvisations Vol 2
Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
Miles Davis - My Funny Valentine
Miles Davis - In A Silent Way
Miles Davis - Jack Johnson
Kevin Eubanks - Spirit Talk 1 & 2
Bill Evans Trio - Portrait in Jazz
Stan Getz - Reflections
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage / Empyrean Isles
Charles Mingus - Tijuana Moods
Modern Jazz Quartet - Blues at Carnegie Hall
Wes Montgomery - So Much Guitar
Steps Ahead
I hope you get something out of these working from home tips. It looks like we are all going to have plenty of opportunity to experiment with the concept as this whole lockdown plays out.
Here's an interesting take on what working home might mean after Covid-19
https://www.theedgesingapore.com/news/covid-19/world-economy-working-home-gets-glimpse-virtual-future
Keep calm and stay safe, wherever you are. Enjoy the music.
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| At the end of the day. On the stereo, Fripp & Eno. On the TV, Joni Mitchell's Shadows & Light. The guitars are by Sigma, Taylor (12-string) and Seagull (open-tuned) |
See also on this blog: Pat Metheny - live in 2020 and back in time
https://bangnzdrum.blogspot.com/2020/03/pat-metheny-live-in-2020-and-way-back.html
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