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1.
God (A Commentary) god so much baggage on that word means so many different things to so many people yeah what is god? god maybe something infinite in all directions those perceived and unperceived alike those perceived and unperceived alike Infinite directions Infinite directions dissolving into love without resistance love without a cure love everlasting love forever more god maybe something that was never born and never dies yet contains every birth and every death every birth and every death across the multiverse Beyond the boundaries of vocabulary beyond the boundaries of dogma, religion, philosophy, ownership, politics, they all become temporary in the oneness of this God dissolving into A love without resistance a love without a cure love everlasting a love forever more, it's always been here so to this god I can surrender into you sitting still distills the binary outside the mind deep inside the senses only sweetness I love without resistance love without a cure love everlasting love forever more it's always been here, it'll always be here god © sheila nicholls
2.
Thrum 04:30
Thrum where am I from and what is my name? an intricate story to tell in myriad forms the one is the same water, the same well. where is the drum that strikes up the beat of all of this music and noise? the sigh and the hum that my heart repeats in all of its sorrows and joys? the hiss and the scream in a whistle of steam a tidal chorus swells imprinted in me like the sound of the sea in a shell listen! it springs with a rustle of wings as a hush falls on a crowd I hear it whispering so loud as I’m breathing in the murmuring strum of the wind in the trees the chimes that mark the days the throb and thrum and cacophony as every atom plays the hammer is swung with bellowing lungs the primal forges yell ‘til the anthem is sung in the tremolo tongue of a bell listen! it rings in the tension of strings in magnetic dust it drones in my heart and guts and bones resounding and shimmering there is the source of the psalm that I sing of all of my pleasures and cares the intimate pulse that drives everything always, everywhere © dave stringer
3.
Weightless 04:48
Weightless I'm flying on a crazy swing can't find a point of balance in this teeter-totter world of mood I ride the cradle falls and baby breaks his heart, a ball of bliss and ache a pendulum of being, moon and tide weightless I want to be weightless simple and free weightless as pure energy weightless my life's a course of dizzy rings what turning force is governing this clock that slows the beat as it unwinds? it spins in figure-skating girls as galaxies of snowflakes whirl a dervish dance of chaos and design weightless I want to be weightless simple and free weightless as pure energy weightless my heart's too full of heavy things desires pull, and worries cling there's gravity in every string held tight in letting go I celebrate true love and know a boundless state alive in me where all this weight is light weightless I want to be weightless simple and free weightless as pure energy weightless © dave stringer
4.
Ghosts of Steel whispering darts I barely feel stun my heart with ghosts of steel blue slow poisons quietly creep in fear, I'm frozen stagger to sleep in camouflage of blanketing snow the fang-lipped jaws that gnaw the soul desire's howl refusal's chill and piercing doubt that numbs the will barren miles of tranquil ice the years of slumber in your eyes paralyzing lullabies and mournful cries when are you gonna wake up, weary soul? when you can offer the pain up, then you'll know breathe on, give voice a warm wind a murmur from the hearth that glows within it hurt more than I realized I've spent my life anesthetized from failure's stab and memory's sting and every little buzzing thing barren miles of tranquil ice the years of slumber in your eyes paralyzing lullabies and mournful cries when are you gonna wake up, weary soul? when you can offer the pain up, then you'll know breathe on, give voice a warm wind a murmur from the hearth that glows within © dave stringer
5.
River 04:35
River river, where will I be when the ashes have scattered and gone? forever the music and the mystery that splashes in water moves on river, in thy melody a voice is laughing and crying for all I have been and all I will be in the course of living and dying in this moment the current is flowing fast but it holds on to nothing as it's going past when I reach my limit with travels infinite the empty places to fill I slow down a minute and look at what's in it 'til everything seems to stand still river, in my memory I drift in the shimmering sun deliver me please from my miseries when all of my dreaming is done river, is it my destiny to journey back where I've begun through the geography of my heart to the sea where everything flows into one in this moment the future hurtles toward the past to vanish and return going nowhere fast when I reach my limit with travels infinite the empty places to fill I slow down a minute and look at what's in it 'til everything seems to stand still © dave stringer
6.
The Satellite Sky I'm calling an impulse of light in the vacuum of night can you hear me? I'm swallowed in the heavens so bright but no one in sight is near me the satellite sky vast and empty the silence of existence that we signal through await your reply lost and lonely a siren in the distance sounding deepest blue calling for you for conversation linking up and signing off never getting close enough to quiet my heart howling the blues of separation a longing we can't satisfy we are satellites, you and I echoes apart I'm trying to reach you inside but anger and pride interfere with me I'm crying across the divide the satellite sky is here in me the satellite sky vast and empty the silence of existence that we signal through await your reply lost and lonely a siren in the distance sounding deepest blue calling for you for conversation linking up and signing off never getting close enough to quiet my heart howling the blues of separation a longing we can't satisfy we are satellites, you and I echoes apart I'm calling an impulse of light in the vacuum of night can you hear me? © dave stringer
7.
At My Window 05:40
At My Window illumined and blind I dream untroubled washing my mind a stream of bubbles endlessly rise forming, breaking ascending the skies as I awaken at my window, in my chair to watch the clouds go by to sit and ponder a mind that wonders why it wonders why at my window, anywhere in the world I go I'm in the best seat no view is complete but it's the only view I know I focus my eyes where the mirror of sea and the prism of sky draw a thin blue line across the horizon to vanish in me at my window on the grand design what gives me sight? and who is seeing the radiant delight that thrills my being? at my window, I stare but do I really see? the filtered lenses of all my senses distort reality at my window, I'm aware but never really know from pained projection to vain reflection, I'm just a picture show connecting the dots that appear on the screen exposing the plot in the evidence selecting the shots and composing a scene at my window of experience replay, eyes closed watching myself again the only thing I know is I am and all that I see all I feel, all I think resolve to a glimmer of dark and light the flash of my life gone in a blink at my window on the infinite © dave stringer
8.
Lift Up the Veil gunghata ke pata khola re! to he piya milenge lift up the veil and meet your beloved! ghata ghata me vaha sai ramata, katuka vachana mata bola re when love dwells in every heart, why do you say such bitter things? speak sweetly, and you will meet your beloved! dhana jobana ko garab na kijai jhutha pacharanga chola re your money and your good looks make you so proud! but when the masquerade is over, this costume you call your body will unravel into the elements again sunna mahala me diyana barile, asana se mata dola re a lamp is shining in the heart’s palace, and in its light the world becomes divine. once you’ve found that lamp, don’t ever lose it! jaga jugatase ranga-mahal me piya payo anamola re wake up! wake up! explore the palace there within you! go and meet your beloved! this love is the love no one sells or buys --- kabir
9.
Reveal 04:10
Reveal reveal the universe is here to reveal unlimited splendor reveal the infinite diversity of expression no one can withstand her allure reveal adore the colors and the shapes reveal her enchantment reveal the one who permeates us all the one great lover one great lover no one can withstand her allure one great lover one great lover reveal above and below reveal mortal and immortal reveal transient and eternal the one great lover one great lover no one can withstand her allure one great lover one great lover perceive the terrifying beauty be free to suffer and be thrilled by the one great lover one great lover no one can withstand her allure one great lover one great lover maayaa vi-mohinee naama kalaayaah kalanam sthitam iti aadi dharmam–tattvanaam kalayan na prithak bhavet --- from the radiance sutras © lorin roche

about

Thrum:
1. A continuous rhythmic humming sound
2. To drum with one's fingers.
3. In weaving, the fringe of thread left in the loom when the finished cloth is cut away.

Thrum is an idiosyncratic album, deeply personal, and created without commercial calculation. It’s an exploration of the essential vibratory nature of the world; a collection of duets that oscillate between the poles of masculine and feminine, singing both in counterpoint and in harmony. It's a reflection of what we see, a projection of how we see it, and a meditation on who is seeing; an inquiry into the nature of love and identity in a calculus somewhere between the transient and the eternal.

The music defies genre description, but it showcases the truly stellar vocal chemistry of Dave Stringer and Sheila Nicholls. There are no samples, and most of the music was recorded old-school style with musicians playing together in the same room. Sheila and Dave first sang together on mantra recordings back in the early 2000’s, lost track of one another for years, and eventually reunited to produce Sheila’s album All of Nature in 2014.

Thrum sweeps cinematically from intimate closeups to astonishing vistas, brought into exquisite focus by the mixing skill of Phoenix Quinn and the mastering touch of Stefan Heger. It embraces classical, jazz, Americana, madrigal and 70’s Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter idioms, without ever being bound by any of them. The lyrics are at different turns romantic, philosophical and transcendental.

Stringer and Nicholls are accompanied by an exquisite jazz trio on every track, led by pianist Mitchel Forman and featuring bassist Edwin Livingston and drummer Chad Wackerman. Half of the tracks are accented by the pedal steel of Dean Parks and the trumpet and flugelhorn of Aaron Janik. A string section (Deepak Ramapriyan, Manoela Wunder, Rita Andrade, Ro Rowan and Wynton Grant) defines the other half, with Steve Gorn on bansuri flute and Bob Sheppard on clarinet. World percussionist and vibes player T.J. Troy tastefully augments and ornaments all of the arrangements.

We suggest listening to Thrum like you would have listened to a traditional LP. The sound of one side is brighter and points toward the sky, colored by pedal steel and trumpet. The other side is more orchestral, and embraces the depths, shaded by a string quartet. Start with whichever mood appeals and lose yourself in it. Then flip it over and absorb yourself in the sigh and the hum of another world.

credits

released February 4, 2022

Los Angeles recording sessions:

Aaron Janik: Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Horn arrangements
Bob Sheppard: Clarinet
Chad Wackerman: Drums
Dave Stringer: Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Harmonium
Dean Parks: Pedal Steel
Deepak Ramapriyan: Violin, Vocals
Edwin Livingston: Electric and Acoustic Bass
Manoela Wunder: Violin
Mitchel Forman: Piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Accordion, Hammond B3,
String arrangements
Phoenix Quinn: Tabla
Rita Andrade: Viola
Ro Rowan: Cello
Sheila Nicholls: Vocals
Steve Gorn: Bansuri
T.J. Troy: Vibraphone, Cajon, Darbuka, Shakers, Bells, Tambourine, Triangle,
Bowed Cymbals, Tabla
Wynton Grant: Violin

Produced by Mitchel Forman, Dave Stringer & Phoenix Quinn
Mixed and edited by Phoenix Quinn
Mastered in Cologne, Germany by Stefan Heger at Fisheye Studios
Recorded in Los Angeles, California by Talley Sherwood at Tritone Studios,
Mitchel Forman at Lazy Bagel Studios and Phoenix Quinn at Feijoa Studios

At My Window, Ghosts of Steel, Lift Up the Veil, River, The Satellite Sky, Thrum and Weightless: Music and Lyrics by Dave Stringer / Magnetic Melodies BMI
God (A Commentary): Music and Lyrics by Sheila Nicholls / Essex Girl Music ASCAP
Reveal: Music by Dave Stringer & Sheila Nicholls / Magnetic Melodies BMI & Essex Girl Music ASCAP. Lyrics by Lorin Roche from the Radiance Sutras

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Sheila Nicholls Los Angeles, California

Sheila Nicholls is an English singer songwriter based in Los Angeles. Sheila has released five albums and her songs have been featured in the films High Fidelity and Jackie & Ryan. Sheila has toured extensively, charted in the US top 10 in college radio and the Billboard top 40, and appeared on the Tonight show. ... more

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