Beloved

Beloved
Beloved

Beloved by Randall Dunn.
Bandcamp Link: Beloved

Dunn has a long resume as a producer, engineer, and musician for and in groups including SUNNO))), Tim Hecker, Six Organs of Admittance, and many, many more.

Beloved unfolds as a series of vision invoking vignettes which somehow fit perfectly into the Bay Area’s world this morning. Or perhaps it is the other way around

The fire in Butte County has scented our air with creosote and obscured the sun with meandering clouds of ash.

The reverb and dread laden atmospheres of Beloved shook the suspension of my car as I meandered past the beaches incongruously thronged with surfers and lit by a blood red sun.

Art and reality in confluence.

#RandallDunn #Beloved #TodaysCommuteSoundtrack #TimmMason #ShahzadIsmaily #UlfurHansson #JeremiahCymerman #JohnMcCowen #WillSmith #FrankFisher #EyvindKang #JustinMorris #ZolaJesus

Jing Gu Yang Ta Yunnan Bai Mu Dan White Tea

Jing Gu Yang Ta Yunnan Bai Mu Dan White Tea, Spring 2018 via Yunnan Sourcing.
Instead of the more common Camellia sinensis, this tea is made from a wild species of Camellia, Camellia taliensis.

After the last several bud only white teas, you can see this one is the ‘one bud, one leaf’ style of tea.

This is a subtle, sweet and grassy tea with an herbal/mint after taste and a zippy caffeine content.

The notes on the Yunnan Sourcing website suggest floral/fruity notes may be expressed in later steeps. Not sure if I get those, but will continue to steep.

#Cha #Tea #CamelliaTaliensis #YunnanTea #JingguYangTa #YunnanSourcing #WhiteTea #tasseography

White Tea (Reprise)

After challenging myself to tasting through several days of white teas from the Yunnan Sourcing Spring 2018 First Flush sampler, I have some observations.

First, temperature is super important with white teas. They really need to be brewed around 180F or you risk overexpressing cooked, vegetal flavors in the teas. The bud only teas are a little more forgiving, but the bud-leaf teas should be handled carefully. I am going back through a second time, paying more attention, and will update my notes on the blog.

The other thing that is hard to judge at first is amount. Since loose leaf white tea isn’t usually rolled or formed, by volume, you need to use more than compressed teas. Takes a bit to get the hang of how much to use, unless you are using a scale.

White teas are pretty subtle. This was my first time drinking fresh brewed white teas. Given the simplicity of the processing, I was very curious about this expression of tea flavors.

They probably will never be my favorite teas, but, brewed carefully, they are quite interesting and complex, while being understated and elegant at the same time. The opposite end of the spectrum from ripe Pu-Erh.

For the record, my favorites (in no particular order) were the Ai Lao Mountain Jade Needle, Silver Needles of Feng Qing, and Jingmai Three Aroma Bai Mu Dan.

Now I just have a bunch more white tea to drink. Anyone? Bueller? I hear it’s a nice day for a… white tea party. Come on!

#WhiteTea #YunnanSourcing #Cha #Tea #tasseography #StartAgain

Another Odyssey of Waiting

AnotherOdysseyOfWaiting
AnotherOdysseyOfWaiting

Another Odyssey of Waiting by Kevin Drumm
Bandcamp Link: Another Odyssey of Waiting

This album starts so quietly, and builds so slowly, that I wasn’t sure what was music and what was the sound of the road.

The first 30 minutes are what sounds like Tibetan bells, bowed vibraphones, and some feedback. There’s actually a lot going on, but it is going on very quietly and very slowly.

At around 29 minutes in everything fades down and then slowly builds again, but what sounds like someone pressing down on about half the keys of a pipe organ is added.

The whole thing shimmers and slowly undulates, like a sonic jellyfish, for about 10 minutes and then fades out again.

#KevinDrumm #AnotherOdysseyOfWaiting #TodaysCommuteSoundtrack

20181106

I’ve been listening to these two albums this week.

Broken Politics by Neneh Cherry
Bandcamp Link: Broken Politics

Broken Politics pointedly asks the question; how do we conduct ourselves in extraordinary times? In an era where the signal-to-noise ratio is more uneven than ever, what are the measures we must take to retain and remember our own personhood? It searches for answers, patiently and with great care, and with a fearlessness to acknowledge that sometimes the answers don’t even exist. It’s a record that’s equal parts angry, thoughtful, melancholy, and emboldening, as Cherry and her collaborators continue to expand her ever-widening sonic palette to craft truly singular and potent music.

Songs Of Resistance 1942 – 2018 by Marc Ribot with Sam Amidon, Justin Vivian Bond, Ohene Cornelius, Steve Earle, Meshell Ndegeocello, Fay Victor, and Tom Waits, plus Domenica Fossati, Tift Merritt, and Syd Straw.
Bandcamp Link: Songs Of Resistance 1942 – 2018

“Every movement which has ever won anything has had songs,” says accomplished New York City guitarist, Marc Ribot. “The songs in this collection are what I wish I’d been able to hear or sing at the demostrations and benefits I’ve attended since Donald Trump’s election. Through them, I’ve tried to channel some of the deep rivers of song from movements past into something that may be useful now. A few tunes are arrangements of US Civil Rights (We Are Soldiers In The Army, We’ll Never Turn Back) and WWII European resistance songs (Bella Ciao, Fischia Il Vento). One is a Mexican romantic pop ballad originally written as a political attack (Rata de dos Patas). Others are my own tunes based on or inspired by these.”

Sun Dried Buds

Yunnan Sourcing Early Spring 2018 “Sun Dried Buds” Wild Pu-Erh Tea Varietal.

Seriously, how can you NOT want to brew a tea from these fuzzy little buds?

Heh, I don’t think I’ve drunk a tea before which made the physical connection between the tea tree leaves/buds and the beverage so apparent.

The FlavorScent is described on the Yunnan Sourcing web site as evocative of Pine forest, but it reminds me more of scents I associate with spicy green chile. Good body, a slight sweet taste, and some floral/perfume notes that linger on the palate after you are done sipping. Tea liquid is nearly perfectly clear.

Overall, a very subtle tea drinking experience.

#Tea #Cha #WhiteTea #YunnanSourcing #tasseography #Gaiwan #gongfucha #gongfu

Aviary

Aviary

Aviary by Julia Holter.
Bandcamp Link: Aviary

Julia Holter is an artist whose name I knew, but who I hadn’t really listened to.

My impression was she was someone who combined voice and electronics, but I hadn’t gotten much further than that.

Her new album, “Aviary,” completely blind sided me.

It’s like being dropped, suddenly, into a whole new world.

I haven’t been able to write about any other music this week, I’ve been so entranced by this album, listening to it on repeat whenever I am in the car or have some time at home.

Listening to it is like being lost in a dream. Like something out of Shakespeare, The Tempest.

She synthesizes so much of modern and 20th Century music into this one album that it is mind boggling.

Listen and be amazed.

#JuliaHolter #Aviary #TodaysCommuteSoundtrack

Lazy Tea for One

I drink tea every morning.

And, by morning, I mean pretty early, before sunrise, early.

Obviously, I am not going to be performing “gong fu” tea ceremonies at zero dark thirty, as the military folks say.

Over the years I have experimented with various brewing vessels and strainers, almost all of which have left me disappointed for one reason or another.

The one that I have recently settled on as the least sucky way to make a large single cup of tea comes from a company called “For Life”. They call it their, “FORLIFE Tea for One with Infuser 14 ounces”. (Well, technically, this is the mug from the “FORLIFE Curve Tall Tea Mug with Infuser and Lid 15 ounces”. I broke the original mug and this one fits.)

For Life Kettle
For Life Kettle

It’s a 3 part kettle/mug combo…

Pot and Cup.
Pot and Cup.

…with a fitted stainless steel strainer.

For Life Strainer.
For Life Strainer.

Obviously, I’ve been using this for a while. (Mrs Flannestad gives me a hard time about not putting the teapot and strainer into the dish washer, too. But it goes against my philosophy.)

Anyway, measure your tea into the top, pour in water, steep for a couple minutes, pour out tea into a cup that has been pre-heated as part of the brewing process.

Genius!

If you have appropriately flavorful tea, you can even re-steep. Not quite gong fu, but almost.

When you’re done, pull the basket out and tap the exhausted and mostly dry tea into the compost.

Easy-peasy.

Paraphernalia for Gong Fu Brewing

Tea Paraphernalia

If you want to brew tea in “gong fu” style, you really only need a few things.

First you need something to boil water. I tried using the water from our office hot water dispenser, but it’s just not consistently hot enough for black tea.

Then you need something to keep your heated water hot over the course of your sessions. A thermos that holds 3 or 4 cups will do.

Then, of course, a gaiwan. These can be gotten online or at specialty tea stores. The people at Yunnan Sourcing are super nice and have a good selection. (They also have a second location based in the US, Bend, OR, to be exact: YunnanSourcing.us with faster turnaround and cheaper shipping.) I’d suggest a glazed porcelain or glass gaiwan, medium-sized sized (around 150ml). Don’t spend too much to get started. Save your money for tea. 😃

Finally, you need a teacup or mug. Not all coffee mugs present tea in a flattering way. Experiment with what you have at home.

Bonus materials:

If you want to share tea with others, a small pitcher to pour your brewed tea out of is nice. I use an old bodum tea pot.

If you’re picky about pieces of tea leaf in your tea, a tea strainer or small fine sieve.

A small electronic scale that will measure grams can come in handy to get the hang of dosage amounts for various teas.

If you want to get into brick teas like Pu-Erh, you’ll need something to break them up, a tea pick or tea knife is traditional. Sort of a cross between an ice pick and an oyster knife. (The pointy blade of a scissors works OK, just be careful not to stab yourself.)

It doesn’t hurt to have a watch with a second hand to time your steeps, but you can always use your smart phone.

Finally, if you don’t have one of them fancy water boilers that allows you to set a temperature, you should think about a getting an instant read thermometer so you don’t overcook your more delicate teas (especially, white and green).

#tea #cha #gongfucha