Jon Durant | Dance of the Shadow Planets
Jon Durant : Guitars, Cloud Guitars

Colin Edwin: Fretless Bass

Caryn Lin: Violin

Jerry Leake: Percussion
Like all of Durant’s work, “Dance of the Shadow Planets” defies categorization. Part concept album, part freeform exploration, it’s a mesmerizing, multidimensional mix of ambient soundscapes and melodic storytelling. Durant's compositions integrate elements of jazz, progressive rock, new age and minimalism, creating rich texture and a wholly unique space.

“Dance of the Shadow Planets” is a line borrowed from Shalimar the Clown, Salman Rushdie’s epic novel set in the precarious region of Kashmir. The shadow planets represent love and hate, and the dance is their interplay within us all, and their influence over our actions on a daily basis. These themes are woven throughout the nine tracks of this recording, exploring passion, tension, chaos and magic. “The book was definitely resonating with me throughout the entire writing process,” explains Durant, who composed the entire work in a flood of inspiration that took just three weeks.

When it came time to record, Colin flew in from England, Caryn came up from Philly, and Jerry from Boston. All had been sent the music in advance to prepare, but were purposefully kept apart.

“The whole point of this was to play it live,” says Jon. “It needed to be a real group dynamic, and it needed to be spontaneous.”

Unlike previous records, which were all done in his own Cohasset studio, this one was recorded and mixed by Randy Roos at Squam Sound in Ashland, NH. (Jon studied with Roos before and after his days at Berklee and they have since collaborated on several recordings.)

“Everybody arrived completely ready, already getting what I was trying to achieve. These were people I hadn’t work with before, so it was even more incredible. We really became a group within minutes. We set up shop on Sunday night and were ready to play first thing Monday morning.”

Durant is still amazed by the results and says he “couldn’t have imagined that it would have come together so spectacularly.”
Video for Irreducible
NASA Video with Boonyi

(begins at 4:57)
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