Xotla's Microtonal Funk & Blues Vol. 1

by Xotla

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Stephen Weigel Lively, genuine, xenharmonic, and relaxed. Favorite track: Winnow.

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1.	Rive 04:32	buy track
2.	Moment 04:54	buy track
3.	Patina 06:14	buy track
4.	Interlude 04:11	buy track
5.	Fervour 05:18	buy track
6.	Winnow 06:52	buy track
7.	Jaunt 05:11	buy track
8.	Meridian 05:13	buy track

about

A microtonal fusion of electro-funk and space-blues, with elements of rock and electronic spice, this album marks an adventurous foray into new musical territory. I’m proud to call this my greatest musical accomplishment to date.

Utilising a custom-constructed microtonal electric guitar fretted to 17 equal divisions of the octave (17edo), and in places a retuned kalimba, this album is firmly grounded in quite a novel and unusual tonality. Blues is especially receptive to microtonal tunings as a genre. Since its inception, blues has made use of 'blue notes', notes bent away from the standard and familiar 12. Often these blue notes are microtonal intervals known as ‘neutrals’, sitting between major and minor tonalities. 17 equal temperament is brilliant for blues in this case, given that it has neutral intervals built into the system, while retaining many familiar qualities.

The blues inspiration for this album blended seamlessly with a funk style, with 17 equal also containing an incredibly smooth subminor pentatonic scale (known as ‘superpyth’) that oozes funkiness.

In some tracks, 34 equal tempered chords are employed, accessed by detuning one of the guitar strings by 35c, or half of a 17 edo-step. This provides access to almost perfectly pure major and minor chords, and very pleasing dominant chords approximating 4:5:6:7 in the harmonic series, close to the sonorities heard in barbershop quartets.

The liner notes of this album contain discussions of some of the interesting aspects of each track, including some microtonal music theory and explanations of important chord progressions and scales that appear in 17edo and are used in these tracks.

I sincerely hope this album is as enjoyable to listen to as it was to record. Thank you all for your support.

credits

released January 1, 2020

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about

Xotla Melbourne, Australia

My name is Declan Clark, better known as 'Xotla', a Nahuatl word meaning 'to ignite' or 'to blossom', the fusion of which is a beautiful concept I chose my alias in honor of. I spend my time amongst lush forests and diverse wildlife, which inspires the music I create.
I work with a mixture of unusual time signatures and esoteric tunings, and utilise instruments such as microtonal guitars. ... more

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