Grayfolded
Encyclopedia
Grayfolded is an album produced by John Oswald
featuring the Grateful Dead
song "Dark Star
". The album's name, Grayfolded, is a homophone
of "Grateful Dead".
In essence, it is the only Grateful Dead or Grateful Dead-related record that features participation by every person who was ever in the group between 1965 and 1995.
Grayfolded was released 1994/5 in two parts on the Swell/Artifact label. Out of print by 2000, Oswald's fony label reissued the Grayfolded 2CD set (fony 68/95), which includes an essay by musicologist Rob Bowman, 2 timemaps of Dark Star, as well as several interviews, in August 2004.
In an interview in 1995 Oswald described how the project came about:
On another occasion Oswald said that he had been asked by musician and journalist David Gans
to produce something very short, he explained his response to this suggestion:
John Oswald (composer)
John Oswald is a Canadian composer, saxophonist, media artist and dancer. His best known project is Plunderphonics, the practice of making new music out of previously existing recordings .-Philosophy:Oswald coined the term "plunderphonics" to describe his craft in a paper called which he...
featuring the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
song "Dark Star
Dark Star (song)
"Dark Star" is a song released as a single by the Grateful Dead. It was written by lyricist Robert Hunter and composed by lead guitarist Jerry Garcia; however, compositional credit is sometimes extended to include Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, the late Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, and Bob Weir...
". The album's name, Grayfolded, is a homophone
Homophone
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose and rose , or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms...
of "Grateful Dead".
Creation
Using over a hundred different performances of the song "Dark Star" between 1968 and 1993, Oswald built, layered, and "folded" all of them to produce one large, recomposed version spanning just sixteen minutes short of two hours.In essence, it is the only Grateful Dead or Grateful Dead-related record that features participation by every person who was ever in the group between 1965 and 1995.
Grayfolded was released 1994/5 in two parts on the Swell/Artifact label. Out of print by 2000, Oswald's fony label reissued the Grayfolded 2CD set (fony 68/95), which includes an essay by musicologist Rob Bowman, 2 timemaps of Dark Star, as well as several interviews, in August 2004.
In an interview in 1995 Oswald described how the project came about:
Phil Lesh called me up and talked me into doing it. At that point, I hadn't listened to any Grateful Dead music in about twenty years. I did think I was qualified, because I do think it's often a good idea to come into a project without a lot of prior knowledge and get kind of an alien's overview of what the music seems to be, and then put in your own two cents of what you think it should be. And I think that was the case for this. During the course of working on it, I went to a couple of Grateful Dead concerts, but other than that, I haven't listened to anything except these hundred versions of "Dark Star" that I found in the vaults.
On another occasion Oswald said that he had been asked by musician and journalist David Gans
David Gans (musician)
David Gans, in Los Angeles, California, is an American musician, songwriter, and music journalist. He is a guitarist, and is known for incisive, literate songwriting. He is also noted for his music loop work, often creating spontaneous compositions in performance...
to produce something very short, he explained his response to this suggestion:
What interested me most about the Grateful Dead was their extended playing style. I wrote a counter-proposal to David saying, 'Well, I've been thinking about it and all I can hear is the opposite - something very long.
Transitive Axis - Disc one
- "Novature (Formless Nights Fall)" – 1:19
- "Pouring Velvet" – 2:58
- "In Revolving Ash Light" – 17:00
- "Clouds Cast" – 7:13
- "Through" – 8:52
- "Fault Forces" – 6:19
- "The Phil Zone" – 4:45
- "La Estrella Oscura" – 9:33
- "Recedes (While We Can)" – 1:56
Mirror Ashes - Disc two
- "Fold" – 2:10 (hidden track)
- "Transilience" – 0:07
- "73rd Star Bridge Sonata" – 13:41
- "Cease Tone Beam" – 12:45
- "The Speed of Space" – 8:49
- "Dark Matter Problem/Every Leaf Is Turning" – 6:42
- "Foldback Time" – 1:33
Musical personnel
- Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
- lead guitar, vocals - Bob WeirBob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
- rhythm guitar, vocals - Phil LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
- bass, vocals - Bill KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
- drums - Mickey HartMickey HartMickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
- drums - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan - keyboards, vocals, harmonica, percussion
- Tom ConstantenTom ConstantenTom Constanten is an American keyboardist, best known for playing with the Grateful Dead from 1968 to 1970.-Biography:...
- keyboards - Keith GodchauxKeith GodchauxKeith Richard Godchaux was a musician best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead.-Biography:Keith Godchaux was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Concord, California...
- keyboards - Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals
- Bruce HornsbyBruce HornsbyBruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
- piano, keyboards, vocals - Brent MydlandBrent MydlandBrent Mydland was the fourth keyboardist to play for the American rock band the Grateful Dead. He was with the band for eleven years, longer than any other keyboardist.- Early life :...
- keyboards, vocals - Vince WelnickVince WelnickVince Welnick was an American keyboardist, best known for playing with the band The Tubes during the 1970s and 1980s and with the Grateful Dead in the 1990s.-Music career:...
- keyboards, vocals - John OswaldJohn Oswald (composer)John Oswald is a Canadian composer, saxophonist, media artist and dancer. His best known project is Plunderphonics, the practice of making new music out of previously existing recordings .-Philosophy:Oswald coined the term "plunderphonics" to describe his craft in a paper called which he...
- arranger
External links
- Grayfolded flash promo
- Grayfolded release sheet in pdf format: Grayfolded.pdf Lightshow.pdf