SOUNDWAVE : 8 : ROBERT RICH

Here we are in week whatever of the safe at home lockdown in California. I’m in really good spirits because I got to see my wifee for the first time in over two months. She’s in the military and her unit has been tasked to pack boxes for food banks. Being apart from her for so long was taking a toll and seeing her, if only for week, did me a world of good.

She was on bereavement leave for her grandmother’s funeral. It was a sad day but due to the Corona Virus I think everyone took extra solace being with family members. It was a little surreal seeing everyone wearing masks at the ceremony.

I’ve continued to find comfort and enjoyment in the mixes guest deejays have shared on SOUNDWAVE. Today’s show is significant to me because our guest deejay is musician and producer, Robert Rich. I’ve been a fan of Robert since first hearing his music on the From Here To Tranquility Volume 2 compilation album way back in 1993. I was excited to interview him for solipsistic NATION and share his performance at Fort Mason and the Morrison Planetarium and I’m equally excited to share Robert’s mix with you today! You can read Robert’s show notes below.

Join us again next week when our guest deejay will be Kirk Markarian, who composes music for video games, film, animation, stock music, and other projects.

See you then!

Robert Rich

One thing that ties all of these together, is that I was involved in each of them. All but the first two are also unavailable to the public. I mixed and mastered Forrest’s Folklore album, and played a bit on it. I have also mastered almost all of his other albums, and I appear on his next one which I will also master soon.

Amoeba is a group I was in you that might know, then there’s the debut of my next album, and a live recordingof a Lou Harrison concert that I made in the dome of the observatory on top of Mt. Hamilton, as a favor to the gamelan group and to Lou. They debuted this composition at the concert, and it was the only time that piece was ever performed. This recording is the only one made. After Lou died I sent a spare copy to his archives in Joshua tree.

The last piece is one that I edited along with six others for the Mexican composer Arturo Salinas. I spent several weeks working with him in 1998, down in Tepoztlan, Mexico.He had a grant to complete the album, but then couldn’t find alabel to release it. It remains unreleased.

Forrest Fang “The Bridge of Chan​-​Chou III. Falling Stones (Kuan Yin)”

Amoeba “Origami”

Robert Rich “Cantus For Hospitality”

Lou Harrison with Gamelan Si Betty “Gending Max Beckman (Unreleased recording from Lick Observatory concert 17 July 1992)”

Arturo Salinas “Munamukami”

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