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KIN (←→) Podcast Series, Part Seven: “We Go On” Commentary
10.29.2014
Introducing a new podcast series about the recording of the new Pat Metheny Unity Group album, KIN (←→). In this series you can hear the inside story on the inspiration for and creation of the new album, directly from Pat himself. Pat discusses how the concept for this record evolved, what the writing process was like, as well as where the title came from and what the KIN (←→) symbol means to him.
“I feel like one of the best parts of my life as a band leader has been putting together combinations of musicians that, to me, would seem like good playing partners or would have something to talk about with each other and with me. But I’m very concerned and always have been about finding the right musicians to deliver on whatever the concept is that I’ve got going on at a particular time, and I think I’ve had pretty good luck at that actually.”
The first part of the series will be posted on Monday, March 31. Be sure to check it out!
Part One: The Project
Get the back story on the inspiration for the Pat Metheny Unity Group’s new album, KIN (←→). In part one of the KIN (←→) Podcast Series, Pat discusses how KIN (←→) came to be, and the evolution from the 2012 Unity Band album to this latest release.
“My instinct with this next part of this was, OK, we’ve got this incredible thing going, this amazing way of playing together, and we’ve got this great book of tunes that already is in existence. What else could we do? Why would the part two of this have to be more or less a continuation of that exact thing? What else could I do to take this to some other zone?”
Part Two: The Writing
Get the inside story on how the addition of a band member and the inclusion of the Orchestrion affected the writing for the new album. In part two of the KIN (←→) Podcast Series, Pat discusses the composing process and the various aspects taken into consideration when writing for KIN (←→).
“It is a five-piece group, but it’s a five-piece group that’s got all these robots and a whole bunch of electronic components, too, that adds up to, for me, something that I've never really experienced before, not just as a band leader and as a member of the thing, but as a listener. We’re into some new territory here in a really great way.”
Part Three: Title & Symbol
In part three of the KIN (←→) Podcast Series, Pat discusses the origins of the title and symbol for KIN (←→).
“The same way unity is a really good word for me in that it implies connection and juxtaposition and it implies the whole idea of people coexisting and many elements living together sort of under the same roof somehow, the same is true with the word kin. They seem to complement each other in a good way. The word kin also suggests ancestry, family and those kinds of connections.”
Part Four: “On Day One” Commentary
In part four of the KIN (←→) Podcast Series, Pat discusses the first track of KIN (←→), On Day One.
“That On Day One title seemed to – when I finally got it, it’s like yeah. It’s that. It’s building something. It’s about making something, and watching it grow, and watching it sort of unfold. That seemed to be what the tune says.”
Part Five: “Rise Up” Commentary
In part five of the KIN (←→) Podcast Series, Pat discusses the second track of KIN (←→), Rise Up.
“I’m going to have each soloist do something that sort of advances the composition. That’s a strategy that I’ve used a lot over the years, particularly in my band thing, but in other things too where you don’t necessarily have to improvise on the exact form of the tune. It can be a part of it or you can write something that’s sort of derived from the material, but it’s not exactly of the material.”
Part Six: “Kin (←→)” Commentary
In part six of the KIN (←→) Podcast Series, Pat discusses the title track of KIN (←→).
“Why couldn’t you have that hypnotic thing going on and have some hip chords and also set it up in such a way that the band could be free to play the way they play. … This is the kind of writing drama that I’ve always enjoyed sort of getting to that this band is really capable of. It’s in range the same way that playing free is in range, and that’s just really exciting to me to have that platform here. This track may express it better to me than any single track on the record, the title tune Kin (←→).”
Part Seven: “We Go On” Commentary
In part seven of the KIN (←→) Podcast Series, Pat discusses the eighth track of KIN (←→), We Go On.
“I look forward to the day that that world gets back to harmony and that whole thing that’s possible in that rhythm section playing. There’s a lot of other things that – almost every record there’s something that I’ve brought to it that’s coming from an R&B thing. This is about as overt as I’ve ever gotten in that zone. And there’s this great high synth sound, that sort of portamento sound that is – of course people won’t know that’s the guitar…”