Like the Ocean Needs the Moon, part 2

Yesterday, in part 1, I gave a little bit of the background story on “Like the Ocean Needs the Moon” the third track on my new Jamendo album, handmade. Today I’ll talk a bit about the composition itself, starting with the percussion section.

This was about the time I’d really learned to burn on the congas. I am playing two at once at a tempo of about 183 beats per minute: the larger drum (the tumba) tuned to Ab and the middle drum (the conga) tuned to Db. The cowbell pattern changes at about 1:30, which changes the entire feel of the song.

However, what most people notice is the shakers. Yes, this is a bit of audiovisual art: in the first part, I shake the maracas like the waves crashing on the beach. Listen through headphones and you’ll hear the waves actually traveling across the ocean of sound.

The first part of the song (which, I mentioned yesterday, is actually a separate groove called “Gravity Waves”) is only a four chord pattern: C#m7, Emaj7#11, C#m7, and Bmaj7. When the second part comes (”Tidebound”), the rhythm shifts to a tight two bar riff between Dbm7 and Abm7.