On "One Cloud", Rob Martino has distilled many of his various progressive rock and classical music influences, and incorporated it into his own unique lyrical Chapman Stick style. His intent is to create soulful music that takes the listener on a journey though different moods, themes and sonic images. The eight pieces on "One Cloud" were composed, performed and further developed over a period of five years before being recorded for this album.
The Chapman Stick is a unique stringed instrument that combines elements of guitar, bass, piano and percussion. The strings are tapped and held onto the frets, rather than plucked or strummed, enabling both hands to play complete and expressive multi-part arrangements.
A hybrid production approach was taken to give "One Cloud" a deep and warm sound- it was recorded and mixed in a high resolution digital domain (96 Khz/24 bit), while being mastered by Michael Romanowski using analog/tube equipment (and even printed to 1" tape). The trend to make modern albums "bright and loud" was resisted- instead "One Cloud" has a smoother, vintage audio quality with more dynamics and space to breathe.
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