A Day Without Contrails

I recorded the banjo part of this lament on 9/12/2001. Additional parts were recorded by Andy (bass) and me (synth and guitar) a bit later.

I created the video on 9/10/2011 for the 9/11 anniversary.

This song is part of The Dirt Roads of Nations.

"A Sliver of Pandora" — dulcimer and harmonica improv

I don't often play dulcimer and harmonica together as they seem to be powered by overlapping, melodically-concerned parts of my brain. But today, it seemed necessary, so I fired up the recorders and this is what happened. Take one. It never got more honest than this. But Twang Darkly will no doubt kick it up a notch at next rehearsal.

Dulcimer is tuned GDC. That's a c-harp.

Interview on ApsaraMusic

There's an interview with me on music, dulcimers, and my views about tradition over at ApsaraMusic.com.

Sailing the Junkyard Sea — oud and acoustic guitar

An experimental film I made with footage from the Library of Congress — Thomas Edison produced night footage from 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

The recording is the title improvisational track from my most recent album with Andy, Sailing the Junkyard Sea.

"Her Secret Name" — guitar and flute instrumental

Twang Darkly has been rehearsing this one in nearly every configuration. With the flute, with two guitars, with harmonica. I think we'll mostly likely play it in its guitar incarnation for a while, though.

"Lydian Glass" — new dulcimer music performed by Twang Darkly

A new one, with the dulcimer tuned GDD, performed with Twang Darkly.

"The Road from Thursday" — banjo & dulcimer instrumental

Banjo is in DGBD tuning; dulcimer is DGD. The harmonica is a C-harp.

NEW CDs

Yes, indeed, there are two new cds:

New Twang Darkly

available on No Matter the Train Records

New Andy and Michael Futreal

available on No Matter the Train Records

Twang Darkly recording "Greensleeves in Blue"

Our take on Greensleeves:

Twang Darkly recording "Blue Rover"

Here's my band's rendition of "Blue Rover," one of my original dulcimer pieces.

This was a rehearsal at which we recorded material for a forthcoming cd release.

Twang Darkly rehearsing "Not My Sunshine"

Here's my trio, Twang Darkly, rehearsing "Not My Sunshine" a few weeks ago.

"Riding with Rustface" — original dulcimer music

The dulcimer is tuned GCC; the tune is a mix of G dorian and C mixolydian for those of you who care about such things.

"Regular 8" — original electric dulcimer music

Here's a prototype for a Twang Darkly tune. That's my Tom Yocky electric dulcimer in two different guises. One of 'em is run through an Electro-Harmonix HOG (a kick-ass harmonic pedal that can shift polyphonic sound sources) so that it comes off as a bass.

"Blue Rover" — solo dulcimer

An original experiment for dulcimer in DAC tuning — sort of a dulcimer blues.

See also: Twang Darkly recording Blue Rover

New Download Sales ( MP3, flac, etc.)

My 2 solo dulcimer and guitar cds are now available for sale as digital album downloads at michaelfutreal.bandcamp.com.

Find out more about each of these releases: