The Adventures of Charlie Chan, 1993
The Adventures of Charlie Chan
‘An amazingly mature debut from a young Australian musician that defies all boundries, shatters musical categories and constantly takes the listener by surprise’
Lynden Barber - Sydney Morning Herald
The Grave of a Dolphin
Home
Afrika
Swimming
Old Lands
I was asked to compose a music submission for a film which is how it happened. The film's producer gave me the story and I gave him back my musical ideas...a bit like a sketch.
Home : Tradition, marriage, church.Italian Catholic,therefore.... Monteverdi..pipe organ, latin...; Deus in meum intende and heavenly voices.
The life of an Italian naval officer who travels to Africa to survey harbour sites.
Afrika : Rhythm, tribal, nomadic, restless and passionate.
He falls in love with a local girl who is rumoured to have been a mermaid.
Swimming : ...dolphins & people; Water of course; emotion...maybe?
She dies,disease destroys her village,her dolphin lovers beach themselves at her grave...
...did I get the story right?
Old Lands : Sadness & goodbyes.
Completed and content, still not sure whether I got the job.
Thanks to Jim for motivation and the story."
Charlie Chan : keyboards, percussion & piano
Heather Lee : operatic vocals
Wild dolphins recorded by Micheal Gissing at Monkeymia Western Australia
Produced by Charlie Chan & Rob Rowlands
Engineered by Rob Rowlands
Recorded at Home, Paradise & Sony Studios
Mermaids
Adelaide Festival 1988. Wynton Marslais was rehearsing in one room, I was in another. I could hear him trumpet - echoing. I started writing a piece of music based around a vibraphone sound I heard the night before at a jazz performance. I played a repeating riff...over and over and over...like swimming in water...waves crashing...all that stuff. I don't know how I ended up with all those heavy drum sounds in the middle.....Mermaids having a dance party? ... stormy weather in the seaworld? ..nature's extreme dissapointment with our lack of morailty and respect, dumping waste, stealling the creatures whose voices who could share our inevitable fortune?
Wynton Marsalis. I opened my door - his door was open. He was jamming along with me? What do you say to Wynton Marsalis? His door closed. Several hours later we did acknowledge each other. He to tell me he enjoyed my music and me to enquire how his show went... "just fine".
A few days later a friend listned to the piece, pulled out his trumpet and blew....I was sure he had heard Wynton and I jamming that day.
My new friend was Eddie Quansah, the Osibisa Legend.
Charlie Chan : keyboards, percussion & piano
Eddie Quansah : trumpet
Produced by Charlie Chan & Rob Rowlands
Engineered by Rob Rowlands
Recorded at The Adelaide Festival Centre, Home & Sony Studios
Transformation
Infinity
Ommm
Dancing & Dreaming
Started 1990 completed Christmas 1992. The music came before the words. The original words are all about sad and lonely things. I changed a lot between then and there ...so did the words.
My friend Peggy the vocalist such a great person, she helped me get here. Producing her music got me doing my own.
.........here are the words..
Secret ways of belonging,
A life of searching and longing.
You really can do what you want,
And what you believe.
I close my eyes to see,
What I can see.
With new sight I looked,
But I had already seen.
And I hope that these dreams go on for Infinity.
Hearts had words left unspoken,
Can keep my mind from being open.
We really can do what we want,
And what we believe.
With new sight I looked but I had already seen.
And I hope that these dreams go on for Infinity
And I know that these dreams can live on for Infinity.....
The Ommm bit : quality time out for myself, the spiritual bit. Sitting alone writing music I like.The whole piece is about fuzzy edges, merging music and life together. Oh, and life never lets up - merging. I like it like that.
Lastly : Dancing and Dreaming. Spirits dance across the sky... the aboriginal story of the Emu. The Emu's head looking and looking at the sounds and where they come from......the bush, Kakadu water-hole exactly. It's not my culture but I love it."
Charlie Chan : keyboards, percussion & piano
Peggy Van Zalm : vocals
Eddie Quansah : trumpet
Stewart Gillies: hi Hats & cymbals
Produced by Charlie Chan & Rob Rowlands
Engineered by Rob Rowlands
Additional Engineering by Simon Tonx
Recorded at Home & Sony Studios
Spring - Time
Cross Fade between the two bits Transformation and Spring - Time, it is the start of a new piece.
Charlie McMahon and I made this one together. The two Charlies...in the same room. You'd call out and we'd both answer. He gave me an excuse to put the clocks in but I'll explain in a minute. The Didge riff is called Spring/Time. Really this was just us working out whether it would work.....I played piano because it was simple and acoustic, Charlie played didge, then didge in the piano...you'll hear it, he moves the didge from left to right. The breathing is his breathing it is also part of the music. Then I played double bass you can hardly tell, there IS SO MUCH BASS. Kirk Godfrey did the most unguitar parts you'll ever hear...the jangly stuff in the background and the harmonics.If you listen hard you'll hear lots of humming, that's the choir.
Its weird but it is about time and springs, which is why the clocks are there. Everybody tells me about a certain Pink Floyd record, which I admit I haven't heard.
TIME. My best friend owns The Clock Shop. I have spent many afternoons drinking coffee, listening and waiting for them to go off. We also talk about Rover motor cars and listen to the radio. It's a sonic gift listening to multiple clocks tick. The sound but also time going by. The funniest thing, you'd never know what time it was in there.
Charlie Chan : piano & double bass
Charlie McMahon : didgeridoo
Kirk Godfrey : guitar & H3000
Greg Alexander : clocks and car maintenance
Anita, Kylie, Ram, Chifley, Jane, Amanda, Melanie, Steven : humming choir
Produced by Charlie Chan & Rob Rowlands
Engineered by Rob Rowlands
Recorded at The Clock Shop Glebe & Sony Studios
Birthday
"I couldn't think of a name.
A present for a friend(s)...Birthday"
Charlie Chan : piano
Engineered by Rob Rowlands
Recorded at Sony Studios