Bob Baran MP3 sound bites from The Art of Love plus Making of..

Making of... “The Art of Love”

I am a Romantic. I have always believed in love. The most intoxicating moments of my life have been those deeply intimate connections where I found myself leaving my body as I journeyed together with my lover into places of undiluted passion.

I wanted to create an album of music that would instantly inspire the mood, the intensity of feeling, the harmonic resonance and the hushed rhythmic motions of the most special communication between two lovers. I can reveal to you "The Art of Love" is inspired by love and all the aspects of the journey into love and is the ultimate soundtrack for your most intimate moments.

These excursions into life's most delicious experiences were the inspiration behind "The Art of Love" and fired my creative juices which fathered an ongoing legacy of musical moments which bring me back to those wonderful journeys. "The Art of Love" is my tribute to the unforgettable encounters that have molded me into the man I am today.

The creation of this album paralleled my own personal experiences. For example, the first track, "You Excite Me" conveys the electric sensation you feel when you first encounter someone who arouses that special energy, that is, in and of itself, a delicious treat. A flirtation with the fantasy of what could be.

"The Art of Love" bears a strong musical relationship to "The Birds of Selenia." The "Birds" was also an excursion into the same delicious palette of musical colors and groove-based rhythms. Together these two albums create the perfect ambiance for intimacy.

The Story Behind "The Art"...

Composed in an urban contemporary/smooth jazz style "The Art of Love" benefits from 21st Century music and recording technologies that have allowed me to go "to places musically" that would have been a mere fantasy back when I was creating "The Birds."

I always wanted to play the guitar, trumpet and violin. The saxophone was my main "ax" and later was supplanted by the piano and keyboards. So, I never took the time to "pay the dues" necessary to learn those other instruments.

The ability to translate my skill on the sax to the emulation of these other instruments came about when I acquired a Yamaha WX5 midi wind controller in the late nineties. With a click of a dip switch I was able to play it with saxophone fingering and I instantly felt at home.

So, what's "behind" "The Art of Love?" It's also an album about falling in love with the music created by these new instruments. Finally, I was able to paint a sound picture that was as passionate as the inspiration.If you want to fall in love, feel like you're in love or make love,"The Art of Love" will get you in touch with those feelings.

Special thanks to Gwen for capturing the passion of the "Art of Love" with her cover design. The simple beauty and intensity of a single red rose...Perfect.

Of Technical Interest...

All of the tracks on "The Art of Love" were recorded, edited and mixed at 192 khz 24 bit resolution. The basic tracks on Gwen, Letting Go, and Romance were up sampled from 44.1khz 24 bit to 192/24. The piano is a Kawai RX6 grand piano. The saxes are a Selmer MK 6 alto and a Keilworth SX90 tenor. Guitar, trumpet and violin are courtesy of the Yamaha WX5 midi wind controller and various Korg, Kurzweil, and Yamaha digital sources. All of the other sounds were digital keyboard and/or sample based. That's a real Korg Polysix on Let Me Take You Sweetly and Afterglow.

If you have any other questions about the making of "The Art of Love" please feel free to email me at: bobbaran@gatheringwave.com.

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