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thepolicequeen · 4 years ago

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TF Murder Mystery let's goooooo!

So first things first this story of mine is inspired by "Murder at Castle de Beauvoir" by coolpointsetta on ao3. Any details that are similar in my story compared to it is bound to happen cause yeet. But I swear I'm not straight up plagiarizing, just taking like character details and roles that I thought was cool. I'm not stealing their plot, my twists and story is gonna be different. I recommend checking out their fic it's really cool.

So with that out of the way time to explain how this story works. So my tfs are techno-organic. they still consume energon and have like visors and doorwings but they can also consume organic substances like food and drink. I'll have art of everyone one day but mostly I'm focusing on the story.

Alright next the setting is kinda like sherlock holmes but futuristic cause transformers, they have advanced tech and stuff but ye olden England is like the overall vibe I'm going for. also the bots are a mix of the G1, tfa, and prime incarnations. So yeah.

oh look its the story description

Atop the highest hill in the Prism Plains resides the Midnight Manor, home of the Prime and the Lord High Protector. The current Prime and Lord have decided to invite the most prolific members of the worlds elite to the manor for a week away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. World renowned detective Ultra Magnus and his assistant Smokescreen are invited to the gathering. With some pushing from the junior detective Magnus agrees to go. Though once they arrive the detectives sense something is wrong...extremely wrong.

Time for the fun part, CHARACTERS! Cause you cant have a murder mystery without peeps to get murdered. They gonna be under the cut cause I don't want to take up too much space.

Ultra Magnus - A world-renowned detective who's never left a case unsolved

Smokescreen - Detective Magnus’ assistant and a junior detective.

Optimus Prime - A benevolent ruler and conjunx to the Lord High Protector

Ratchet - Head Medic at the manor and long time friend to Optimus and Megatron.

Arcee - A retired war veteran and famous writer. Engaged to Cliffjumper.

Cliffjumper - War veteran turned police officer.

Wheeljack - A scientist that is known for his research on energy production and space bridge technology

Megatron - Lord High Protector of Cybertron

Starscream - Winglord of Vos and council mech

Thundercracker - Trinemate of Starscream and playwright

Skywarp - Trinemate of Starscream and Air commander of Cybertrons aerial forces

Soundwave - Communications expert and diplomatic envoy. Conjunx to Shockwave

Shockwave - Council mech and scientist.

Steve - Head butler at the Midnight Manor

Vehicons - Servants at the Midnight Manor

Breakdown - Professional nurse and conjunx to Knockout

Ironhide - War veteran turned police officer. Works with Magnus. Also only here cause I love him, he has nothing to do with the main plot.

Knockout - Famous cosmetic surgeon

Jazz - Famous magician. Conjunx to Gunmax

Gunmax- Assistant and conjunx to Jazz

Airachnid - A geneticists who is coworkers with Shockwave

Note: Jazz and Gunmax are here because of @kabuki-akuma their designs are amazing go check them out and also all of the other art they've done

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thesunlounge · 6 years ago

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Reviews 259: Robert ÆOLUS Myers

In 2017, Hawaiian archivists Aloha Got Soul released A Retrospective, introducing me and many others to ambient starmaster and spiritual healer Robert ÆOLUS Myers. Existing within the broader new age tradition though also standing apart from it, ÆOLUS’ music is borne of deep communion with nature and the exploratory possibilities of electronic synthesis, with fluttering arpeggiations, dreamwave sequences, and ethnological rhythms supporting cloudform symphonies and mystical flute improvisations. And though those descriptors could apply to any number of indistinct massage parlor soundtracks, ÆOLUS has always maintained that he makes “new age music to wake up to,” with an intense focus on helping the listener realize their inner sense of truth. Going beyond this, his music exudes a sense of magical adventure, and the sonic universes that unfold across A Retrospective work as well for soundtracking fantasy kingdom explorations, starscape space journeys, twilight jungle dances, underwater forest treks, and psychedelic vision quests as they do for therapeutic purposes. So even though new age is a fair description for the work of ÆOLUS, I sense a closer sonic kinship with the Hearts of Space sound centered around artists such Michael Stearns, Kevin Braheny, and Steve Roach as well as Klaus Schulze’s Innovative Communication, especially Software’s work with flautist Toni Schneider.

To better understand ÆOLUS’ sonic world, it helps to trace his artistic path, which began with playing clarinet as a teenager in Ohio and bassoon during his studies at San Diego State. Like many California-based surf rats of the time, Myers was lured to the sparkling waves and paradise beaches of Hawaii, where he also played drums and completed a degree in ethnomusicology. Following this, he abandoned the world of percussion to join the Honolulu Symphony as a bassoonist, a setting which proved important to a developing experimental, new age, and space music scene in Hawaii driven by Jai Ma Music and Global Pacific Records. Indeed, the Honolulu Symphony also provided work for violinist Steve Kindler and his brother Bob, a cellist and audio engineer who would go on to produce and collaborate on many of Jai Ma’s and Global Pacific’s early records, including ÆOLUS’ Aeolian Melodies and Rays. And for while, it must have seemed like Hawaii was on the verge of establishing a fertile creative community, one that also included avant-garde sound artist Nelson Hiu and guitarist Paul Greaver. But it was not to be, for when Global Pacific uprooted and moved to California, many of the musicians followed, and once Hiu departed for Hong Kong in 1985, ÆOLUS was left on the islands to chart his own artistic path through the cosmos.

The years since that dizzying period of collaborative creativity have seen Myers furthering his studies of devotional music and indigenous cultures while also continuing to release albums and perform live through a variety of contexts, including dance pieces and theater performances. And his talents in sonic healing have never stopped developing and now find broader expression through the practice of depth psychotherapy in the “alchemical tradition of Jung.” Which brings us to Talisman, a new and lovingly curated retrospective and re-interpretation project released by Origin Peoples. In keeping with the label’s tendency towards the left-hand path, this 2xLP set is unlike most archival compilations and augments its collection of previously released tracks from The Magician and High Priestess with an unreleased dreamscape, a breathtaking live performances from New York City in 1987, and most striking of all, contemporary interpretations of ÆOLUS’ music by K. Leimer, Pharaohs, Dreems, and Lieven Martens Moana. Thus Talisman both compliments A Retrospective and shows the ways in which Myers’ art has reverberated out through time, providing seeds for everything from fractal foam kosmische to jazz folk balearica to mutating deep house to fourth-world sonic collage.

Robert ÆOLUS Myers - Talisman (Origin Peoples, 2019) “Oracle,” coming from 1993’s High Priestess, sees universal bass currents pulsating with ominous intent while being swirled around by cosmic breaths. Kalimbas and bell-chimes decay across spacious expanses before blooming into mermaid choirs and a fourth world rhythm ritual fades into being, built around rimshot cascades, tom tom ceremonials, white noise shakers, and ethnological hand drums transformed into exo-planetary fluids. Overheard, alien pan-pipes slide in ways that defy logic and feedback vapors arc across the sky...all while synthesized orchestrations glow with ethereal shadow energy. “High Priestess” follows with wisps of spectral feedback swimming through the void as string synthesizers fade in, with Schulze-ian viol reveries flowing above swelling cellos and contrabass drones. As threads of cosmic melancholia wrap around the body, a simple and obscured drum rhythm emerges, generated by tribal tom tom pulsations and danced over by synthesized idiophones and exotic music box lullabies. Atmospheres of psychotropic minimalism and exotica are repurposes for space age exploration, with flashes of cold blue light moving within the miasma of galactic sound. At some point the mood changes drastically and the air grows humid and tropical as propulsive hand drums pan across the mix. Afro idiophonics are joined by pinging Berlin school arpeggiations and knocking percussive tones while electro-claps crack through reverb caverns and all throughout the mix, bending woodwinds weave rainforest incantations and majestic string hazes obscure the dances of mysterious jungle fauna.

As far as I can tell, Talisman is the first place “Dreamscape from the Night Kitchen” has appeared and the piece starts with crystalline strands of new age liquid floating within a haze of angel synthesis. Arpeggiations dance through exotic lullaby patterns and hand drums are heard through soft liquid layers while ominous currents of bass energy swell in and out of the mix. Hypnagogic hallucinations and moonlight forest rituals are evoked by ÆOLU’S flute performance as longform breaths of melodic mysticism evolve into sprightly elven dances. Colorful prism formations refract unseen light sources throughout the background, generating chiming decays that flutter through reverb oceans. And there’s a distinct sense of sitting within some spiritual sci-fi cavern where liquids made of glass drop into glowing pools of ether. As the track progresses, it sometimes floats in a relaxing state of hypnosis, while at other times, things move with a mysterious sense of purpose as subsonic pulsations hint at a dark ambient ceremony. Then in “Sunset,” taken from 1989’s The Magician, wisps of white light swim through cricket chirps while a zheng weaves dreamy rainbow incantations encompassing bending plucks and harp-like waterfalls. Spectral vapors move across the stereo field and sometimes blend seamlessly into the continuous insect orchestrations while up above, flutey synths lock into a sequential fantasy bounce. The vibe is transportive, otherworldly, and aligns with the recent work of Meitei in the sense that futuristic atmospheres are transformed into ancient sonic environments.

Another track exclusive to Talisman is “Embrace,” presented as live version from 1987 in New York City that perfectly exemplifies what a powerful performer ÆOLUS was. Aqueous synth waves splash across the spectrum while a universal hum of drone modulation flows through the stereo field. Bleary piano chords decay over the watery ambiance and their freeform fantasias, atonal note clusters, and gentle jazz adventures drift eternally throughout the track. Heavenly atmosphere flow in, though distorted and threatening to spill over into white light feedback and bass textures grow increasingly present and unsettled…their fast motion vibrato wobbles disturbing the hallucinatory float. Feedback melodies scream across the sky as everything momentarily swells together while elsewhere, mermaid pan-pipes dance through future ocean kingdoms and childlike sea-spirits join the new age sound bath with wordless choral ecstasies that float upwards on unseen sea currents. Eventually, intimately blown flutes journey across the mix with overlapping dream enchantments and fragile melodies that hover in place before dispersing like a mirage. And for the rest of the track’s length, ÆOLUS executes a breathtaking trade off between mystical woodwind magic and shrieking blasts of feedback euphoria…all proceeding through an underwater paradise of pianos, choral arias, and subsuming synth fogs.

The first reinterpretation of ÆOLUS’ work comes from K. Leimer, who presents his “Temporary & Indefinite” edit of “Environment.” Sequential synth bubbles float through space foam fuzz and Cluster-leaning lullabies are smothered in a fourth world heatwave haze. Controlled clicks, static pops, and unidentifiable scrapes float through that air while industrial hums, factory drones, and machine breaths set the stage for blissed out tapestries of smeared brass and vocals…these wisps of symphonic magic emerging from nothingness and growing into shimmering baths of sonic transcendence, with melodic movements paying tribute to the sunrise. Everything is blurry and indistinct…as if seen through a polychrome fog...while bell tones decay and trace behind them harmonious trails of light. Scraping strings are beamed in from a faraway galaxy and layered cellos sweep the heart to lands of fantasy romance before pulling away into silence, leaving the body afloat in a void of burning ambiance and vibrating metal. Spare shaker rattles hit and percussive detritus floats while orchestral swells grow increasingly distorted, eventually giving over completely to bowed string tonalities. Deep in the ether, tamburas are manipulated into droning insect psychedelia and FM crystals melt into liquid lightforms before everything morphs into a methodical fade out of Indian drone mysticism…like Pandit Pran Nath playing from within a black hole.

It’s mostly been silence from the Pharaohs camp since the release of 2017’s In Oeland, but they make a welcome return here with their “Sadhana Environment (Mana Mix)”. Crashing cymbals introduce sun-soaked folk guitar energetics while tropical bass synths wiggle through water waves and acidic bubbles blow in a warm breeze. Electric guitars loop hypnotically high in the sky before giving way to solar synthesis and layers of hand percussion dance through sea-spray…all while sampled waves crash to shore. Synthetic tones of plucked crystal weave equatorial dream melodies, jazzy acoustic guitar solos move in counterpoint to the jaunty riffs, and heatwave swells cycle all around as feedback tracers drop globs of rainbow glass. At some point, otherworldly vocalisms enter…that characteristic and wholly unique way that Pharaohs uses the human voice…mystical, tribal, joyous…with wordless scats and LSD babbles floating within a cloud of balearic exotica. Electric guitar mantras slide towards the sky over prog fusion basslines and kick drums and crashing static cymbals enter at some point, giving the groove a more defined shape. It’s a swaying jam through aquamarine tide pools, wherein smoldering six-string blues solos are repurposed into island paradise magic while vibrant cymbal splashes and pulsating drum fills join together for a narcotizing ocean jazz groove out.

Dreems’ “Natürliche Liebe” remix of “Sadhana Environment” sees a four-four beat underlying glowing glass windchimes and robotic house basslines, all thick tubular tones jacking upwards. Strange sonic vapors and bodies of incandescent gas flow alongside jungle frog squelches, hand drums bounce off of neon palm fronds, marbles made of electricity oscillate out of control, and glowing hypo-sequences join together with skittering noise textures to generate a double-time pulse while a feverish theme plays out on drunken pad modulations. New age mermaid choirs are transmuted into deep house hypnosis as martial snare rolls portend some dark club explosion, but Dreems subverts this expectation by cutting away all rhythms, instead leaving the body to float amongst silvery chime strands, aqueous bass euphorias, galactic lasers, and deep space spirit communications. Eventually, we flash into a minimal expanse of drug dance magic, wherein kick drums and flubby basslines are accented by rolling hand percussion, pinging echo fx, and fractal smears. Claps and snares give the militant stomp a swinging sense of groove while post-modernist dub panoramas rattle around the mix…a sort of Chain Reaction-style weirdness abstracted even further into extra-terrestrial sorcery. Heatwave pads introduce another rhythmic drop, wherein cave liquids, disjointed snaps, universal bass pulsations, and industrial chants waver through dream mutations. And as a crazed starlight sequence fades in from nothingness, the kicks resume their march beneath post-house cymbal fire and mutant acid stabs.

The final version of “Sadhana Environment” comes in the form of Lieven Martens Moana’s “Oahu Suite,” which proceeds like a hallucinatory collage tied together by birdsong and insect chatter. Contrabass drones fade in from the center of existence and generate waves of La Monte Young-style minimalism, which fade into arcs of bowed metal and space sirens evoking the piercing communications of 2001’s monolith. Scraping textures and feedback noises swim through bodies of water while radiophonic explorations devolve into burning waves of laser light. Sickly waverings and mosquito buzzes flow through tremolo transformations as bulbous bass clouds waver into the void. Shadow visions of hand percussion develop into rainforest drum rituals and Shepard-Risset glissando fx scream across the sky, with everything fading out as soon as it begin. Back in the world of primitive electro-experimentation, caterwauling static blends into dark liquids lapping against an alien shore and vibratory metal abstractions are smothered in ringing reverb as they swell into a towering noise assault, which then gives way to a dreamwaltz through deep sea forests. Machine spirits laugh and sing, pianos are mimicked by ring modulators, and “High Priestess” is evoked through a cloud of smoke while elsewhere, timpani drums, horror string cascades, and marimba exotics are destroyed by blasts of searing noise. Towards the end, we return to the bowed string fantasias…the deep and methodical double bass energies now joined by melodious cellos weaving glorious dawn incantations. And as it all comes to a close, waves crash to shore and birds sing in the sky.

(images from my personal copy)

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ta-gad-2401 · 6 years ago

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These are my 3 all time favorite pictures!

The first picture is by Brandon Woelfel, one of the few photographers that got my love for photography rolling. I love bokeh photography!!! There’s something about it that gives me a fairy-tale/magical vibe. I’m also in love with the way Brandon edits his photos. His color schemes are on point.

I found the second picture on reddit and I couldn’t find a link to the model or the photographer. But this photo introduced to me the concept of combining graphic arts and photography in one image. In my opinion, this type of composition really brings the picture more to life compared to if the picture wasn’t edited.

The third picture is by Steve Roe. This was done with a light prism that refracts and reflects light. I’m really into using tools to enhance photos because each of them can affect a photo in distinct ways. I’m not the greatest at editing pictures in Photoshop so I find appreciation in using props to bring visions to life

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kathillards · 6 years ago

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misc morphicon stories

ok so i feel like i’ve talked FOREVER about all the wild shit that happened to us at morphicon (running into rangers at the car valet!! meeting chip lynn!! azim calling us his favorite ladies at the con!!) but i wanted to make a write up for all the stuff i haven’t talked about yet because i have to remember all this and i want you all to experience it too!! it was so fun oh my god if you haven’t been to morphicon... start making plans for 2020 guys it is legit INSANE best weekend of my entire LIFE

- ann marie crouch is AN ACTUAL PRINCESS SENT FROM HEAVEN we ran into her on our way back to the hotel one of the days and we were like omg it’s princess shayla we love you!! and she was so sweet and stopped and talked to us even though she was on her way out for a nap and she was in full shayla gear she looked so pretty! and we saw her on the way back too she had changed into casual clothes but still rocking it WE LOVE ONE MENTOR ONLY

- jessica rey is so funny and adorable omg we stopped by her booth to buy wild force pins (kat and abbey) bc the wf rangers come PREPARED w/ merch and nobody was there so we all just started talking to her and told her how we loved wild force and alyssa and abbey said she loved the ep where alyssa beat up the boys and she’s so cute and fun to talk to!! she told us about the shades of pink panel and i was like “is alyssa a pink or a white ranger” and she was like “lol i dont even know” also she had her handler take a staged candid of us talking to her because she loved us lmao. and then we were talking about white rangers and all of us were like “fuck tommy lives we stan alyssa only” and she laughed and immediately started telling us about what a dick jdf had been to fans the day before lmao (also for real...he’s a dick) and i was like YOU ARE THE SUPERIOR WHITE TIGER RANGER god shes so cool she loved us and didnt wanna stop talking but we had to move away cuz ppl were lining up for her behind us rip

- RICHARD AND ANGIE oh my god ok so i’d stopped and talked to angie on the first day and also the second day and i told her i’d come back later bc i wanted a photo w/ BOTH OF THEM and i did tell her how much i loved madison and vida like we are ROCCA SISTER STANS FIRST PEOPLE SECOND and shes so cute and she remembered us every time!! and then on the third day i finally got to talk to richard and he’s so sweet we talked about mystic force just at his booth for like ten minutes waiting for angie for the photo op, he asked us our fave episodes and i said dark wish and he actually remembered it so i think he might be the only actor at the con who watched his season. and we told him we loved the mystic force theme song AND HE STARTED SINGING IT. and someone had left him a green zeo figurine for...some reason and he told us “i dont even fucking know who that is” (but nicer lol he is very charming and polite) and we told him it was adam/johnny and he was like ohhhh lmao i love disney era actors not knowing SHIT about saban era. like he literally worked with johnny. i love him. AND THEN HE ASKED US ALL TO BE IN THE PHOTO and since kat paid for half of it we were like aight its a group thing and its the cutest photo i love disney era actors only

- i think i talked about meeting dwayne cameron already but god hes so sweet and i felt bad for him bc caitlin next to him had ppl she was talking to but he was all alone so me and abbey just went up and started talking to him and i told him i loved overdrive and i told him i recognized him as ethan’s bully and we talked about tyzonn and vella and just overdrive in general and hes so SWEET and he HUGGED ME SO TIGHT GOD i think he really enjoyed us like. actually loving overdrive and being able to talk about it. AND HE RAN INTO ABBEY IN CARS LAND AT DISNEY ON MONDAY AND GAVE HER ANOTHER HUG hes so cute (angie was also there with him I LOVE DISNEY ERA SOLIDARITY)

- met monica may and cerina vincent on saturday, not a lot to say bc i only talked to them a bit and took my photos but they are both so beautiful and elegant and classy and i told cerina i loved her in stuck in the middle :’) ranger ladies are so intimidatingly pretty god. also picked up this huge LEGIT spd poster and im gonna put it up in my room as soon as i can because oh my god its professional quality it looks so cool. we also talked to greg aronowitz bc kat wanted her poster signed and hes so cool we told him how much we appreciated everything he did for spd AND THAT WE WERE ON HIS SIDE ABOUT FEMALE RED FUCK DISNEY.

- god what else uhh we wandered around the toys section a lot on saturday/sunday bc we’d kinda. seen everyone. and there were a lot of panels on sunday so nobody was at the booths. i picked up those amazing rider/sentai prints from ceevee SUPER TALENTED SO WORTH IT. also got me a meteor storm figuart B) which i havent taken out of the box yet but i will

- HECTOR AT THE CAR VALET he literally announced he would be at morphicon the day before and then we saw him while waiting for our car and SCREAMED and he was so chill and cool and he came over and hugged us all hes so hot. AND THEN LATER WE RAN INTO SELWYN WARD AT THE CAR VALET and he also laughed when we squealed and came over and hugged us all and guys he smelled soooo nice i was like right up against him i could have died hes so handsome and perfect.

- we also ran into steve cardenas at the car valet like right when we were all leaving the hotel for the last time and we told him that we loved him and i said i was so excited that it was rocky coming back for the anniversary instead of fucking jason and abbey was like “justice for forever red!” and he was like hah i know right anyway every single actor in this franchise hates jdf lmao that was just the vibe of morphicon and it was valid

- fun fact we did not see jdf ONCE. not going to the con, not at the hotel, not ANYWHERE. just his crazy lines. he was like the douchebag cryptid. im glad tho he can stay that way.

- i talked about meeting andre on saturday night right??? hes so SWEET I LOVE HIM he was so happy when ben gave him his fanart of eddie and took a selfie w/ ben right then and there and also took a pic w/ me and abbey ugh i love him i told him he was so valid for being a power rangers youtuber and liking megaforce AND THAT HE’S THE BEST INTERVIEWER THEY’VE EVER HAD (i also told azim this, i’m very passionate about this subject, every other ranger interviewer sucks ASS)

- jason faunt at the elevators!! hes so sweet i told him how excited i was for the anniversary and he said yeah theres a lot more plot going on and told me to take a selfie bc they couldnt stop him here fhjggd i love that pic i love him AND THEN ALSO later we ran into NAKIA IN AN ELEVATOR AND SHES SO SWEET I SAID “WE LOVE YOU WE WATCHED ALL OF ZEO FOR YOU” and she was like aww thank you so much!! a literal goddess AND THEN LATER AS WE WERE CHECKING OUT karan walked by us to go to nakia and i was so excited i waved and said hi to her and she said “hi baby how are you” SHES SO WONDERFUL I LOVE MY MOTHERS

- i think i told the chris reid story already but like. hes so charming and was so nice even tho i interrupted his express checkout but like. i Had to tell him how valid ninja steel was i was literally like fuck the dudebros they’re so annoying you guys fighting w/ that one guy on twitter over the kcas was the FUNNIEST thing to EVER happen to this fandom and he laughed.

- we also went up to kelson’s booth later and told him how much we loved mick and all his roles!! and talked to him forever about all of them, told him we were kalish/disney era supremacists, told him HOW GOOD HE IS AT VOICE ACTING WE LOVE FLIT AND NORG IN THIS HOUSE he looked so happy :’) i feel like everyone just compliments him on boom which, no offense, but appreciate your voice actors guys. i told him we grew up on disney era and it was like new zealand only had twelve actors and he was five of them and he laughed and was like yeah. i also told him how we loved mick and brody’s father/son relationship and he was like yeah they ended up liking that a lot too which is why they sort of pushed brody’s real dad to the side so mick could shine more and i was like that’s LEGIT. i also told him the prism was brody’s mother and he agreed so that’s canon now. AND I TOLD HIM how fucking dark ninja steel went w/ his storyline literally being about slavery and human trafficking and he was like I KNOW RIGHT and we just talked about how dumb everyone is for being mean to ninja steel and chris showed up at this point too and we all laughed about it together

- ok and then tbh we just spent all of sunday loitering around the megaforce cast but it was worth it because they LOVE US oh my god we talked to them like all sunday about just. everything. azim’s gf jordan was there and she kept telling us to just stick around we talked to her a lot, we asked her about alex heartman and like where tf was he and she said he was working :( BUT AZIM AND ALEX ARE STILL CLOSE so victory. azim also told us a bunch of little stories like how he and the megaforce cast searched for a house to stay in together and ended up finding one at the base of a volcano and he and drew would race around the volcano in the mornings like the crazy people they are, we told him how much we loved andrew’s ACTING SKILLS and “do you see any tears” and he cracked up and said “they used to call me ‘freaky tiki man’ all the time because of that one line” and he told us about other fan encounters and things, we told him on saturday how we all met and became friends because we were the only ppl who loved and defended megaforce and he was SO TOUCHED HES SO SWEET GOD i would die for him.

- cameron gave us (me and kat) all his money to buy him lunch from the food trucks and i guess just trusted that we loved megaforce so much we wouldn’t just run away with all his money????? and he was absolutely correct we got him teriyaki chicken with garlic noodles and he loved us. his handler also asked us to buy him food and gave us his CREDIT CARD dfhdgfjgdf like power rangers people are wild man. who just gives their credit card to random 20yo girls and just. trusts that they love this children’s show so much they won’t steal it??? i mean they were right and we didn’t but still. AND HE MADE ME AIRDROP one of my megaforce reaction pics to his phone because he loved it so much (it’s the one of jake and emma and orion looking super done, that i had ben redraw for me, so we showed them both pics and all three of them LOVED IT) and cameron even looked ben up on deviantart to see it fdgjkdfdg he loves usss. christina was telling us how they were talking about us at dinner and cameron told her that we were his favorite part of the con :’)) azim also mentioned that they talked about us at dinner because he said to kat “we were discussing that you look like that girl from 10 things i hate about you who was julia stiles’ best friend” LIKE IMAGINE. HAVING THE MEGAFORCE CAST. DISCUSS WHO YOU LOOK LIKE FDJGKDHFJGD they’re so cute ugh and azim and cameron hugged us all goodbye and john mark and christina said goodbye too and i just. love them. so much.

- at one point cameron asked me and kat how old we were and she was like “twenties...as a group we are in our early twenties” and he was like “.... so old enough to know how a hangover feels right?” and we lost it dfgjfdkdgjh and i said “if i were an actor i would just be stoned the whole con” AND CAMERON JUST NODDED AGGRESSIVELY god the entire cast was definitely hungover and they’re so valid. except christina, we asked her and she said she only had a milkshake so maybe she was their designated driver.

- andrew is so chill too (i mean i do think he is perpetually high but its fine) i think he just loves talking??? like he’s there for the babies (so many babies!! and they love troy so much!!! hes so adorable with them) and then he just wants to chill like we went up to him on sunday and he was like oh hey did you guys see this picture and he pulled out his phone and showed a pic of the megaforce cast doing a goofy zombie pose at their photo ops and he told us his backstory on each of their zombie poses like. who does this??? he’s so adorable.

- and ofc we stopped by christina again on sunday bc she’s THE FAVE and shes just so cuuute ugh and i told her i loved all asian rangers bc i am asian!! and she was like omg are you?? and i was like yeah i’m south asian and she was like omg so that’s all part of asia too OH I GET IT SO WE’RE BOTH ASIAN and i was like YES AND YOU’RE ALL MY RANGERS and she smiled at me it was like staring at the sun tbh. i love and would die for her.

- when we went to say goodbye to the megaforce cast cameron just looked at all of us standing around his booth and was like, so genuinely, “you guys are the best” and it still makes me cry thinking about it. AND AZIM’S FACE when we all said “megaforce’s defenders never surrender!” to him he had the sweetest smile god i really would take a bullet for the entire megaforce cast in a heartbeat. they are the sweetest angels & deserve the world. if any of you breathe a word wrong about jake holling in my general vicinity ever again i will fry your intestines and eat them for breakfast thank you GOODBYE.

#cameron: hey do you guys wanna go to the cockpit #us: what the fuck is that #cameron: its a gay bar #AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION THAT HAPPENED fghdfgjdfg he was like 'damn y'all were ready to go to a gay bar huh' yeah dude!!#id follow you into battle with only mild complaining!!#earth's defenders never shut up #hell clique takes morphicon #whew that was a lot i may have forgotten things idk but yeah. what a WEEKEND.#might try to post some more pics later...maybe

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jazzviewswithcjshearn · 7 years ago

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A deeper look at: Chick Corea/Steve Gadd Band: Chinese Butterfly (Stretch/Concord, 2018)

Chick Corea: piano & keyboards; Steve Gadd: drums; Lionel Loueke: guitar, voice; Steve Wilson: saxophone & flute; Luisito Quintero: percussion; Philip Bailey: guest vocal on “Return to Forever”.

Chick Corea plays: Yamaha CFX grand piano, Montage electric keyboard, Moog Voyager, Original Fender Rhodes, Vintage Vibe electric piano, Mainstage with Spectrasonics Omnisphere and Keyscape Kontact 10

To say that Chick Corea, at age 77 is producing some of the best music of his career in the past decade is not hyperbole. The veteran innovative keyboardist has produced gems like Five Peace Band Live (Concord, 2009) The Continents: Concerto For Jazz Quintet and Chamber Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon, 2012) Further Explorations (Concord, 2012) and most recently the all new program of electric music The Vigil (Concord, 2013) and Two (Concord, 2016) with Bela Fleck. Additionally Corea kept busy in the last decade reuniting with the classic Al Dimeola/Stanley Clarke/Lenny White lineup of Return To Forever as part of a historic 2008 tour, a revamped RTF group in 2011, and is currently touring with the Akoustic Band with all new music with an album to expected follow shortly. Chinese Butterfly, Corea's new album puts him back in the company of drummer Steve Gadd, who he first worked with more than fifty years ago in a longstanding musical and personal friendship.

The double album, with 5 new compositions from Corea is the first studio effort since The Vigil and flanks him with a fantastic new band featuring guitarist Lionel Loueke, frequent collaborator Steve Wilson on soprano saxophone and flute, Carlitos Del Puerto on acoustic and electric bass, percussionist Luisito Quintero and special guest vocalist Philip Bailey. Corea and Gadd first played together in trumpeter Chuck Mangione's band in 1965, and ten years later most famously recorded Corea's The Leprechaun, followed by Friends (Polydor, 1978) , and the classic Three Quartets (Stretch/Concord) in 1981. Gadd also appeared on The Ultimate Adventure (Stretch/Concord) in 2006, but this is the first time the keyboardist and drummer have reconnected for a full album since Three Quartets. Gadd was also slated to be the original drummer of the electric incarnation of Return To Forever, but due to his role of session drummer extraordinaire in NYC was replaced by Lenny White. Corea has been fortunate to play with a lions share of incredible drummers, including Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, the aforementioned White, and Dave Weckl, all drummers he's had a great rapport with, but the synergy between he and Gadd is something special. Additionally the majority of this music was captured live in the studio mostly in first takes adding to the inspired level of the performances.

The drummer's signature ratamacue kicks off “Chick's Chums” written by John McLaughlin, and the bouncy feel good tune serves a good introduction to the entire band, Corea, Wilson and Loueke have standout solos. Loueke in particular with his wholly individual approach to guitar and idiosyncratic approach to vocals informed by his native Benin brings something very fresh to these new tunes. His vocals, trademark octave pedal doubled guitar lines, and synth like effects really enhance the texture of this music in a great way. “Serenity” a beautiful new ballad allows his vocals to soar along side carefully blooming dynamics, and also showcases a thoughtful Corea acoustic piano solo. “Like I Was Sayin” features Corea's 80's spiced Rhodes, in a trio with Del Puerto's electric bass and Gadd's forward momentum, swinging drums. The drummer gets a chance to work out over Corea's fat vamp and the tune is a highlight of the two discs. “A Spanish Song” is a different prism for the keyboardist to work his magic over Spanish sonorities, in a seductive tango, and the title track's percolating rhythm section with Luisito Quintero's percussion and Gadd's drums working in tandem is a treat. The Quintero/Gadd hookup throughout is dynamite, and their pulsing polyrhythms adds a distinct African hue to the album.

The group's magical take on “Return To Forever” on the second disc renders it as exuberant as the original first recorded in 1971 on the ECM album of the same name. This is in no small part to Philip Bailey's tremendous vocal range that can reach both male an female registers, that will not be a surprise to those who have heard his work in Earth& Wind & Fire, but will be for those who only know “Easy Lover” with Phil Collins. Bailey's energetic riffing, and exchanges with Corea set up a round of gorgeous solos and interplay for all. Corea's use of a classic Rhodes sound almost circa Light As A Feather (Polydor, 1971) brings warmth and nostalgia, but not at the expense of in the moment creativity. “Gadd Zooks” begins as an almost soundtrack for a NASA film with atmospheric synth pads, before turning into a classic Corea long form composition, a Moog line literally spelling out the song title. Sequenced synth drums blend imperceptibly with Quintero's percussion and Gadd's drums for an intoxicating stew. Corea takes a few Moog solos, and Gadd gets another chance to flex over sinewy, snaky vamps.

Chinese Butterfly updates a sound from the late 70's and early 80's for a new generation. The music doesn't rest on it's laurels, instead seeking to expand, with subtle hints of new frontiers for the keyboardist like electronica (“Gadd-zooks”). The album contains some of the strongest playing and compositions of the keyboardist in a long time and an incredibly sympathetic group that uses their strengths to imbue so much color.

Rating: 10/10

#chick corea #steve gadd #steve wilson #lionel loueke #luisito quintero #carlitos del puerto #philip bailey #jazz-rock #fender rhodes

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