Ancient Wisdom

Description.

Guitarist Jeff Miller from New Monsoon and The Contribution releases first solo album.

“Ancient Wisdom is the first project I’ve done where I have written, recorded, and engineered all the music myself” says Miller. “I produced it at home in my small cottage, deep in the Northern California forest, with bare-bones recording equipment and a cheap mic. By doing it at home like this I definitely captured a unique vibe unlike any “studio” recording I’ve done. The environs of the woods crept into the songs for sure.”

Instead of going into an expensive studio, with tight timelines and budget constraints, Miller decided to do it himself this time. “I’ve always written in the band context and gone into a studio to record. When you’re working with other people, you work a certain way. When you are all alone at home, your inner Jack Torrance (The Shining) comes out. Spending all day trying to get just one good take can make you go insane!”

”Miller goes on to say “I was going for a more acoustic, stripped-down approach compared to my other projects. I used whatever I could find for percussion: a big ceramic dumbek, shakers, tambourine… I even dusted off my old Roland Guitar Synth to created an entire drum kit on one tune. I couldn’t believe it worked!”

Miller played and recorded every instrument on Ancient Wisdom, including bass guitar, mandolin, organ and drum kit (done with Guitar Synth.) “Some of my favorite artists are do-it-yourselfers: Jeff Buckley, Beck, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel… there’s a very distinct quality that comes out in an artist’s solo work. I wanted to let this quality come out in my work too. I’m glad I didn’t rush the process. I think I found a unique sound here.”

The press wrote.

“Intimate and expansive, the solo debut of New Monsoon’s Jeff Miller is both highly personal and a deeply felt song cycle with universal appeal, a step ahead in the ground broken by the likes of Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges.”
-Dennis Cook

Jambase

“Play every instrument and do all the vocals on a recording, and chances are the resultant music will be a bit too insular. Not so with the solo debut from New Monsoon guitarist Jeff Miller. Miller, who plays and sings almost everything on the CD, has created mostly laid back, sometimes pastoral music that breathes, its cross-cutting guitars, mandolins and basses supporting elegant story songs. The loping ballad “She is Everywhere” is one of several tracks, including “Desolation Summit,” that might remind some of early, folksy Pink Floyd. A couple guests do sneak into the mix — Railroad Earth fiddle player Tim Carbone on the impressionistic “Journey to the Ganges” and singer Danielle Levy on the rambling “Our Arms.” These acoustic-electric textures are heady and appealing.”
-Philip Booth

Relix

All songs written, arranged, produced and engineered by Jeff Miller. All vocals and instruments including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass guitar, mandolin, percussion, and guitar synthesizer performed by Jeff Miller. Special Guests: Danielle Levy vocals on Our Arms, Tim Carbone violin on Journey to the Ganges, She is Everywhere written with Erik Yates.

whiteskymusic.com