Hb3 - Studies for Traps & Piccolo

The soundtrack to the craziest sci-fi cartoon you've never seen. Twelve months. Three albums. It's been a busy year for HB3, who, following May 09's 'The Veldt' and October 09's 'HB3 Plays the Piccolo Bass,' now presents 'Studies for Traps & Piccolo,' a new collection of instrumental music performed exclusively on drums and piccolo bass. 'SFTAP is really meant as a companion piece to HB3 Plays the Piccolo Bass,' says HB3. 'Like that album, it highlights the piccolo bass as a solo instrument. However, as the title suggests, we've got drums now, and a more aggressive, effects-driven approach. The sound is stripped down, primal, sophisticated, bombastic; and like The Veldt, there seems to be some sort of story going on here -- halfway through working on it, I began imagining it as the soundtrack to some crazy pulp sci-fi novel, a cartoon owing as much to Salvador Dali as Ray Bradbury. Musical influences include early KISS, BOC, Led Zep; but again in a somewhat surreal key, as though Karlheinz Stockhausen had somehow snuck into the original recording sessions of 'Detroit Rock City.'' The album follows a basic pattern of one song featuring piccolo bass and drums followed by one featuring solo piccolo: Rocket Science: Drums and piccolo. With it's Frehley-esque riff, Rocket Science opens SFTAP with a blast of silver sparks and 70s era opulence. The Machineries of Joy: Solo Performance. The echoing mysteries of deep space explored via a palette of Moog effects. Leroy of the Ancient World: Drums and piccolo. The tale of a ne'er-do-well caveman, Leroy, as he battles dinosaurs on an ancient, perhaps alien world. Fire Fisher: Another solo piccolo piece of dawning alien mystery and 70s crime-drama. Brutal Bed: A Stockhausen-like exploration through shimmering dimensions of electrodynamic resonance and throbbing multi-filters; performed exclusively on piccolo bass. Tyrannosaurus Rex: Drums and piccolo. Those dinosaurs get out of hand again; the battle ensues. The Abyss: Solo performance. A descent into mystery, longing, and terror. The One Who Waits: Drums and piccolo. The final transformation.

1) Rocket Science
2) The Machineries of Joy
3) Leroy of the Ancient World
4) Fire Fisher
5) Brutal Bed
6) Tyrannosaurus Rex
7) The Abyss
8) The One Who Waits