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SAMMY FIGUEROA
MEMORY OF WATER
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THE ALBUM
The HangPan is a revolutionary hybrid instrument and a stellar addition to the world of melodic percussion. Basically a sophisticated steel drum to be played by hand and fingers, this extraordinary instrument offers a stunning blend of sounds and melodic possibilities.
Its inventors, Felix Rohrer and Sabrina Sharer of PANArt AG, based in Bern, Switzerland, developed a special hardened metal alloy, which not only ensures stability and cliarity of tone, but also produces clouds of overtones and harmonics. Two half-spheres of this alloy are tuned and fitted together, resulting in the pan, which looks just like a small flying saucer.
This recording was created in one afternoon. Completely improvised, these eleven tracks were produced on the following five Hang scales: Aeolian, Hizaz, Ake Bono, Sabah and Pentatonic. As Sammy played, the music seemed to arise on its own, flowing from Sammy's hands into the air like a river of music flowing into an endless sea of sound.
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Celestial sounds and rhythms to purify and inspire.
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| THE ARTIST
SAMMY FIGUEROA
When we think of percussionist Sammy Figueroa most of us think of spectacular conga solos and exciting Latin jazz. But there's another side to Sammy, the contemplative side, the Sammy that meditates, does yoga and has a consuming interest in science, metaphysics and alternative medicine.
That's the side of Sammy that, in 2001, sought out Sabine and Felix in Bern Switzerland so that he could try their revolutionary HangPan, a celestial instrument played by hand, made of a special aluminum alloy. That's the side of Sammy that has a consuming interest in the teachings of Dr Masaru Emoto, who taught that water was so mutable that it could retain memory and so had us praying for the waters of the world, especially the waters in the nuclear reactors at Fukushima.
Now Sammy has combined these two interests in a beautiful CD: Memory of Water, played entirely on the HangPan, expresses the fluidity and flow of the world's waters. The sound of Sammy's improvised rhythms and melodies on this special instrument create a cleansing and purifying effect in any space. The repetitive quality of the music coming through puts the listener in a relaxed, alpha-like state.
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