Nick Edelstein

Posts Tagged ‘year of the ox’

Ophiuchus, Zodiac 13?

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

: Antares and Rho, of the Ophiuchus zodiac constellation

Since my last album was named after a Chinese Zodiac sign (Year Of The Ox), I found today’s trending topic of new zodiac signs worthy. This photo is Rho Ophiuchus cloud, a star-forming region. The “new 13th sign,” Ophiuchus seems to be a region where new things are born – stars, to be exact. Named after a Greek demigod, this constellation briefly had me convinced that I’d morphed from Capricorn to Sagittarius. New stars born, new signs, new year (2011 – and new decade!) … the timing of this story is strangely coincidental with my current situation: new band name, new logo, first show under the new name less than two weeks away … and even though I’ve been playing with these musicians for a while (some over 3.5 years) the current combination is relatively new. It feels new, anyway. It’s exciting, like a new chapter in your favorite book. And we are excited to have you along for the ride.

If you don’t know already, it’s a false alarm. Americans have two sets of “Zodiac signs,” tropical and sidereal. Most follow tropical, and they haven’t changed. The following is from CNN’s blog:

“tropical zodiac – which is fixed to seasons, and which Western astrology adheres to – differs from the sidereal zodiac – which is fixed to constellations and is followed more in the East, and is the type of zodiac to which the Star Tribune article ultimately refers.” -Jason Hanna

And in case anyone’s still confused, I am [still] a tropic Capricorn.

To read more about Ophiuchus, check this out: ianridpath.com/startales/ophiuchus.htm

Tags: Astrological sign, Astrology, calendar, chinese, CNN, Earth, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, sidereal, Star Tribune, tropic, year of the ox, YOTO, zodiac
Posted in Tangents | No Comments »

Two Songs Charting on Ourstage.com

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

Two songs from Year Of The Ox art currently charting at Ourstage.com, a popular music community.

“Collusion Collision” broke into the Top 20 on the Jazz chart at #19, and has now climbed up to #18. We are very excited at the prospect of a Top 10 slot by the end of November!

Meanwhile on the Funk chart, “Foolin’ Yourself” remains stagnant at #67. We need your help! Please go to Ourstage.com and give these songs three thumbs up!!! If you don’t already have a profile it is incredibly easy to set up (and free, naturally).

Here’s to charting ~Nick

Tags: arts, Charts, collusion, fooling, music, OurStage, Popular music, Record chart, Top 40, United States, year of the ox, YOTO
Posted in Press | No Comments »

YOTO on iTunes

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

cover art by David Sherer Excited to announce that my new record, Year Of The Ox is now on iTunes. Click here to purchase!

It can also be had on Bandcamp, CD Baby and via most other retailers. If you subscribe and/or use a service that does not carry my music (and you wish it did) please notify me using the Contact page of this website. Thank you!

Tags: Bandcamp, cd baby, itunes, ox, year of the ox, YOTO
Posted in Studio NEws | No Comments »

New Release: Year Of The Ox

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Today marks the release of my third studio effort, Year Of The Ox. It’s my fifth record and arguably the first good one I’m extremely proud of the lyrics and urge you to read them either before or during your listening. A lot of folks have asked me where I got the name, and it’s a valid question which I’ll gladly answer in a minute. First, a little about “the making of …”

Contrast is very important in many facets of Life, but especially in Music. Contrast in stage dynamics during and in-between songs, lighting, song tempos, etc. So when I begin a creative task – like recording an album – I am constantly looking for ways to contrast … anything and everything. I begin by identifying all aspects of the process that are unique, and then decide how to magnify them. The result is a product that could not have been created by any other process; a product that *hopefully* contrasts those created by other processes. For example, some bands will record in the studio with a “live feel” setup to emulate a concert experience. I understand the many reasons for doing that, but in some respects it’s better to record an actual concert. There are SO many things you can achieve in the studio which can’t be done on stage, to me it would seem like a wasted opportunity not to employ them.

First of all, you can click “save,” go to bed and then return a week later with a fresh mind. I began chipping away at this project in 2009, with the first drum tracks happening in March 2010 (and you can see today’s date of release). Perhaps the best example of studio advantages is “Steal Me,” which has numerous effects including hundreds of camera shutter “clicks.” They were recorded live in the studio, sure – along with all the layered guitar effects – but it would take a much larger ensemble than our current sextet to achieve the same result on stage. If you read the credits you’ll notice that we also tracked in more than one location. Another uniqueness of studio recording is the ability to overdub, best exemplified by “500 Mountains” on which I sang all the vocals and played all the instruments. This allowed me a ton of freedom to employ certain performance techniques such as rubato, and to freely arrange on-the-spot. Very organic, plug-n-play. The result is a dark, powerful song (especially the ending) with some haunting vocal harmonies that quite frankly happened by accident.

Now for a glimpse behind the title: Named after the Chinese lunar calendar year, “Year Of The Earth Ox” which began on January 26, 2009. Earth Ox’s Western zodiac counterpart is Capricorn, which is “my sign.” Many parts of the Earth Ox zodiac proved true in 2009, including associations with materialism and long-term progress. For example, it predicts that we should focus on long-term financial strategem; serious romantic commitments (weddings and births increased steadily all year); and “keeping your nose to the grindstone” (we all struggled to find or keep a job).

Credits:

All songs written by Nick Edelstein (BMI). Produced by Nick Edelstein with Wizkid Sound (2-4). Recorded at NESS Records and Wizkid Sound in Atlanta, GA and Richenroll Studios in Alpharetta, GA. Mixed by Rich Grillo (1, 5-7) and Wizkid Sound (2-4). Mastered by Rodney Mills (www.rodneymills.com). Cover art by David Sherer (baconmcshig.deviantart.com).

Nick Edelstein (vocals, 6-str acoustic guitar, 6- and 12-str electric guitar, e-bow, Hammond organ, piano, percussion, MIDI strings, snare drum, trombone, trumpet and horn arrangements)

Will Scruggs (tenor and bari sax)

Tim Fash (alto and tenor sax)

Darren Stanley (drums)

Jon Morrison (bass)

Aaron Hevenstone (drums)

Andy Margolis (bass)

Rich Grillo (bass)

Sara Speert (camera flash and shutter FX – www.saraphotography.com)

Gray Sartin (slide guitar, vocal on 7)

Tags: arts, atlanta, blues rock, chinese, Chinese calendar, funky blues, guitar, hammond b3, Hammond organ, jazz funk, Jon Morrison, music, ox, Rodney Mills, year of the ox, YOTO, zodiac
Posted in Press, Studio NEws | No Comments »

New Release: Steal Me

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

“Steal Me” is the first single from Year Of The Ox, released earlier this week. You can stream the entire song free at YearOfTheOx.info and download “Steal Me” from CDBaby.

Tags: atlanta, guitarist, new music, nick edelstein, Pop, rock, single, steal me, year of the ox
Posted in Studio NEws | No Comments »

Rough Mix

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

cover art by David Sherer

Happy to report that recording for “Year Of The Ox” has gone really well. Rough mixes sound great. Heading back to the lab on Sunday for another mix session and some vocal tracks. Here’s a list of the songs on Disc 1:

Foolin’ Yourself, Collusion Collision, Daphne, Say You Will, Steal Me, Eric Jam, Flow, 500 Mountains, Queen Of The Nile, and a suprise bonus track!