Nowhere to Be Found: The ‘Book of Changes’ Sessions
“It is not down on any map; true places never are.”
- Herman Melville
The real life ‘Cold Mountain’ where I walked, meditated, and pondered the direction of the album ‘Book of Changes’.
The Beginning:
In the middle of a pandemic my collaboration with Noveliss started with an email. If you follow this blog, you know that I don’t just hit people up without a plan. I sent a batch of beats with an outline for an album concept, and before long, we got to work.
Things were changing in my life. I was packing up my apartment in Vegas when Nov sent me the verse for what would become ‘Loss for Words’. I knew we were on to something. My original concept for the album soon began to change form, though its future shape would not reveal itself, yet.
After my lease was up, I was on the road again, slowly disconnecting from the world. On occasion a family member would check in on me, I would reply for proof of life, and steadily Nov would send verses. Through brief, but fruitful, dialogue me and Nov began to form a bond over our common interest in Taoism, and Eastern Philosophy. It became apparent that I would need to change the focus of the album in order to bring the best work out of both us.
Around this time, I began reading the I Ching again. I had a well worn pocket copy of Thomas Cleary’s translation. I carried with me everywhere, pulling it out to read at laundromats, libraries, campsites, Wal-Mart parking lots, and other exotic van life locales. I began to see the lines connecting between Nov’s verses, the ancient text, and my music. I wanted to craft a true concept album, but the space between desire for a thing and reaching for it can be vast. This album would require thought and focus.
Working on this album in Cracker Barrels and Coffee Shops was not going to cut it. I found a secluded cabin on Airbnb out in the middle of nowhere (that was cheaper than my apartment) and set up shop for 6 weeks. This would be the location where 10 demos would become ‘Book of Changes’
This was the kitchen area of the cabin. I did ALL my arranging work in this kitchen, usually standing, with my laptop on this barrel.
Cold Mountain:
There was no internet, no tv, no distractions. Meditation, exercise, hiking, and reading became daily necessities. I often tell people that when I am in “album mode” you’ll find me with more books than records. Aside from the I Ching, I kept the Tao Te Ching, a text on the poet Han-Shin, and various texts related to Hua-Yen Buddhism.
I had to drive into a nearby town with internet to send demos out to Nov and check for new verses. The isolation afforded me a clear mind with which to work, focused fully on the album, and left me open to new inspiration. Immersion in ancient Eastern thought also helped tune and calm my mind. This led to the first breakthrough moment on an especially windy day.
While hiking up a nearby mountain pass, the weather turned against me. The wind, fog, and freezing rain started to kill all visibility. The summit was close, so I kept on. I was not dressed well for the fowl weather and was freezing my proverbial ass off when I made it to the top, looking down at the valley below. The image hit me like a ton of bricks; the music, the I Ching, the landscape, all became one and the same for me. I ran back to the car, partially to write the flood of ideas down, and partially to get the hell out of the cold.
Back in the cabin, energized by epiphany and sufficiently connected to nature, I started arranging what would become ‘Feng Shui’. Nov was rapping about the 5 Elements, reminding me of constant cycles of change, balance in nature, and seasonality. The wind, still howling, kept showing me what to do.
These windchimes ended up bridging the transition between ‘Feng Shui’ and ‘Loss For Words’.
Good Morning World:
Recording windchimes can be tricky, but I heard them through my headphones while I was working on ‘Loss for Words’ and capturing their sound became my mission for the next hour. One of the tubes of the windchime was tuned almost perfectly to the key stab in the ‘Loss for Words’ beat and the synth at the end of ‘Feng Shui’ sounded like rushing wind, this was the first transition I created for ‘Book of Changes’. It set the creative tone and structure for the rest of the album.
It was at that point that I decided to organize that album’s track list based on the meaning of each track and what section of the I Ching captured that meaning. I grouped them by elements (I Ching trigrams) and structured my transitions and track order around this framework. If you want to dive deeper into the structure of the I Ching, you can google it.
My path became clear. Everyday going forward I would make a pot of coffee, meditate, then listen and read until I discovered a hexagram to embody each track and a corresponding element for each grouping. I would record the necessary sounds for each transition/element on the album and arrange as needed, all the while, leaving the door open to any and all new ideas that might float my way.
Nov’s job was done at this point. I had all his verses, and they were excellent. He takes his craft seriously and his subject matter is thoughtful, sincere, and unique. This album never would have happened without his lyricism and the window it opened for me to explore and craft this concept, but with that being said, turning 10 demos into a unified concept album like ‘Book of Changes’ was a huge undertaking and the onus fell on my shoulders alone.
My annotated copy of the I Ching. Pocket-sized with sticky notes added so I could map out the tracklist.
The Key:
This was the framework behind the meaning of the album. In lieu of track numbers on the back cover, each track has its corresponding hexagram displayed. If you listen to the record on Spotify and enable canvases you will see a custom animation featuring the corresponding hexagram for each track.
I have my own interpretation of the meaning of each sound, each word, and their relation to the text. However, the goal of this post is to share outline the structure of the album without offering a strict interpretation. I want ‘Book of Changes’ to act as a gateway for listeners to offer their own inquiry to the ancient texts that inspired it. I hope this framework serves to enhance the listener’s enjoyment and spark their curiosity.
The final track list and corresponding Hexagram/Element structure ended up breaking down as follows:
Track: Empty | Hexagram: Tranquility | Element: Earth
Track: Feng Shui | Hexagram: Already Accomplished | Element: Earth
Track: Loss for Words | Hexagram: Rising | Element: Wind
Track: Sincerity and Reverence | Hexagram: Observing | Element: Wind
Track: Scheminonameanin’ | Hexagram: The Creative | Element: Fire
Track: Truthsayer | Hexagram: Contention | Element: Fire
Track: Escaping | Hexagram: Travel | Element: Water
Track: Spirit Bomb | Hexagram: Humility | Element: Water
Track: Cold Mountain | Hexagram: Withdrawing | Element: Sky
Track: Permanent Waves | Hexagram: The Well | Element: Sky
Me and Kuma listening to ‘Book of Changes’ for the first time. I played Mario Kart to celebrate, using my portable generator and a projector.
In posts to follow I will talk about each track, based on my memories of their creation. Until then please enjoy the album.
