Hua Hin’s Gary Hall has finished a whirlwind tour with Randolf Arriola. The pair’s innovative ‘live looping’ music was very warmly received.
“We accomplished two important goals.” says Hall. “We introduced audiences and musicians to Live Looping, an amazing way to perform and compose, and we promoted the idea of Mindfulness with Sound, or ‘Sōta-sati’ for mental self-training.”
The tour started at the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives (BiA) , where each of three performances was configured to highlight a different instrumentation and musical approach.
“The BiA is a startlingly beautiful place in one of Bangkok’s hidden garden spots.” says Singaporean Arriola. “Its mission is the promotion of human well-being. To be catalyst for each listener’s emotional, physical, and spiritual experience is my aim. Playing for dedicated meditators focusing on our sound moment-to-moment was a remarkable experience.”
Arriola and Hall finished their tour with a packed-room performance at Jazz Happens Bar in the Phra Arthit arts district. “Jazz Happens is currently the city’s top venue for creative and original music in all genres.” says Hall. ” We got an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response.”
Future projects include performance tours in the ASEAN (Southeast Asian) region. Says Hall “The practice of focused listening that we call Mindfulness with Sound or Sōta-Sati (Pali) is a method of mental training that anyone can apply to enhance daily life. In this case, we worked with a Buddhist institution, but the technique can benefit every person.”
Warm thanks are extended to the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archive, Jazz Happens Bar, and Dell Computer Southeast Asia for support that made this lightning tour possible.
Randolf Arriola is a composer, performer, and SE Asia’s leading exponent of live looping as a musical technique. His first CD/DVD will be released in October 2011, with a gala concert at Singapore’s state-of-the-art Esplanade performing arts center. Audio: http://soundcloud.com/randolf-arriola. Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/randolfarriola. Facebook: Randolf Arriola
Gary Hall is a musician and inventor from USA. At Lexicon, Inc in the early ’80s, he created some of the very first digital audio ‘looping’ hardware. His current focus is the use of sound and music in mental training, performing original music weekly in Bangkok and Hua Hin. Audio: http://soundcloud.com/hua-hin-sound-cloud. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD0hGLHqbbw. Facebook: Gary Hall
Live Looping is a musical technique in which a few bars of music are recorded and repeated, forming a bed for solo material or additional loops. The process is similar to multi-track recording, but performed in real-time. Musical material is generally not pre-recorded. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_looping Facebook: Loopers Delight, Live Looping. Web sites: http://www.loopers-delight.com/loop.html, http://livelooping.org/.
Mindfulness with Sound (Sōta-Sati) is a method of mental cultivation involving musical or non-musical sound. It is an ancient technique, practiced in various contemplative traditions. Modern exponents include Pauline Oliveros, Hazrat Inayat Khan, and Malcolm Huxter. Additional web links: http://ww.bangkokpost.com/arts-and-culture/music/252868/musical-aid-to-meditation http://deeplistening.org/, http://www.ethailand.com/news/musical-aid-to-meditation-201603.html,
The Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives (BiA) is a museum, performance venue, and repository for the teachings of Buddhadasa Bhikku, located at the north end of Suan Wachira Benchatat (Railway Park), adjoining Chatuchak Park and its famous weekend market, a short walk or taxi ride from the Mo Chit BTS Skytrain station. Thai: Facebook: Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, http://bia.or.th. English: http://www.tannetwork.tv/tan/ViewData.aspx?DataID=1033578, http://wanderingdhamma.wordpress.com/2010/12/19/buddhadasa-bhikkhu-archives/.
Jazz Happens Bar, located near Bangkok’s famous Khaosan Road backpackers district, specializes in jazz and original music. It was founded in 2008 as a venue for performance by students in Silpakorn University’s jazz program. It has since grown into an important center for original music and new artists. Facebook: Jazz Happens Bar
For information and bookings, contact Gary Hall at email garyhall771@gmail.com or tel. +66 (0)89 181 6328
The Hua Hin Arts Guide 
