We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Maitri

by Ben Crane

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

     

1.
Intention 03:43
You're wearing the same old robe and you've been walking the same long winding road for the longest time you've been meaning to give it a try for the longest time You sleep in a river bed and the braids you've been growing from your head for the longest time they've been giving you a place to lie for the longest time The pain you feel it's not real only lives inside your mind so come with me and you will see that time's been spinning endlessly for the longest time for the longest time for the longest time for the longest time
2.
My body is a line in a crosshatch sketch simplified and multiplied one thousand times eraser evader with arms outstretched I'm the one who's impossible to catch My mind is melting like a Dali clock hands are dipping by the degrees and light it breaks in patterns on the floor as the tile rises up past my knees Water's coming in through the door slipping in through the empty cracks and as it floods over the floor we'll float up lying on our backs
3.
Petal Point 04:42
Magnesium fireflies float through darkness to my eyes once were dead now switched on fuel my fire at the dawn Suddenly it's perfect weather my three eyes all see together triple vision at long last let's me see into my past Bodhicitta now forever world and I now breathe together my feet blossom into flowers pulsing with an ancient power

about

This batch of recordings comes as a result of three and a half months of study in India this past spring. I had the opportunity to take sitar and tabla lessons in conjunction with my own independent study of classical Hindustani theory and compositional techniques.

The actual recording of "Maitri" took place in the early parts of May. I would have started earlier but finding a decent condenser mic in New Delhi takes hassling multitudes of people on the phone and many fruitless trips around the city in rickshaws. One man told me he had a "condenser microphone of good professional quality" and when I arrived at his shop, showed me a lapel mic most people use for board meetings.

Despite issues like this, I did finally manage to find a mic I could work with and produced these three songs. I didn't write any of these songs before hitting the record button. My hope was that it would force the song to "write itself". Whatever that means.
Stupid? There were certainly a lot of bad takes but, taking this unrehearsed approach to composition, while making the recording process lengthy with endless takes, brought the sound closer to Hindustani classical roots, a style steeped in improvisation.

The traffic noises you hear are sounds I captured from the backseat of a rickshaw ride through New Delhi traffic.

That's it.

Love,
Ben


PS: Check out more tracks, news, shows etc. on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/BenCraneMusic

PPS: If you're interested in reading more about my experience in India, I kept a blog during my travels. Check it out here: bensaysnamaste.blogspot.com

Articles I wrote about India for the music blog "The Wild Honey Pie" : www.thewildhoneypie.com/recording-an-ep-in-india/

credits

released September 24, 2010

All songs written, performed, and recorded by Ben Crane.

Cover art by Alex Berdoff

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Ben Crane New York, New York

Ben Crane is a singer/songwriter based in Brooklyn by way of Southern California. The Deli Magazine called him "a more light- hearted Lou Reed" and his latest album Spun Honey explores everything from anti-folk to country and Americana roots. A fervent performer, Crane can be seen in venues across NYC and beyond both solo and with his other band, funk/disco army Every Flavor Weather Machine. ... more

contact / help

Contact Ben Crane

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Ben Crane, you may also like: