About this Album

This album was recorded, mixed, and mastered all by a group of close friends, Doug Lee, Ruthie Dineen, Steve Weems (with Steve as the engineer!). It is a live studio recording, with no edits.  As a result it feels very organic, soulful and immediate to us.

The album was conceived, written, and recorded with the Pacific Ocean as our backdrop and muse, but also moving around the globe. It’s a homage to our home, but also to the beautiful and inspiring places that we have been lucky enough to visit – Assisi, Italy, Lumpiaque, Spain, Berlin, Germany, and more.

 Below are some more thoughts on the album.  

 Belén - Dineen

 A name, a city, a song, a touchstone.

 Tempelhof - Dineen

 A tune inspired by the Tempelhof Field and surrounding arts scene in Berlin.  While riding bikes in the field and throughout Berlin on a cold wintery day, with snow on the ground, transported to a new creative energy and space.

 Charanga de Lumpiaque - Lee

 This tune is about energy, exploring, and allowing for contrasts. The tune allows for the group to let loose and build and build.

 Assisi - Dineen

 The mystical and spiritual intensity of the town of Assisi, Italy (home of St. Francis of Assisi) has a strong draw for many.  A home to wandering and dedicated people of peace, the town and its inhabitants were the inspiration for this piece.

Pacific Voyage - Dineen

This tune is a homage to the Pacific Ocean and coastal Northern California.

Sunday High - Dineen

The feeling of release, on the weekend, after a long week. 

Hymn to Nik - Dineen

This piece was written in memory of a young man who was a lover of life and the countryside.  He was a master botanist, who worked with his hands, loved to laugh and loved his animals and family most of all.

Long Goodbye - Lee

This piece is reminiscent of Charles Mingus compositions. It has a languorous quality but also nostalgic and soulful.

Yeats and the Pelican - Dineen

While running through the Oakland hills, and reading the poetry of William Butler Yeats in the evening, this song emerged, in a place of quietude and reflection. The music follows those thoughts, meanderings.