
The Free Form Funky Freqs—guitarist Vernon Reid, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and drummer Calvin Weston—never play a note together before a show. Not even during soundcheck.
Living Colour’s guitarist and the ex-Ornette Coleman bassist let their Free Form Funky Freqs flags fly on the new Hymn of the 3rd Galaxy.
How many bands can pinpoint the exact number of times they’ve played together? “It’s rare,” acknowledges guitarist Vernon Reid of Free Form Funky Freqs, the power trio he co-leads with bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma and drummer G. Calvin Weston. Because “Free Form” is meant quite seriously—not a note of the music is planned in advance—every Freqs performance is a wholly unrepeatable event with its own distinct marker. This includes the three FFFF studio albums to date. The just-released Hymn of the 3rd Galaxy was performance number 73. Urban Mythology, Vol. 1, the band’s 2008 debut, was number three, after kickoff gigs at Tonic in New York and Tritone in Philadelphia (both defunct). Bon Vivant, the 2013 sophomore release, was number 15.
Owing to pandemic isolation, however, Hymn of the 3rd Galaxy was the first FFFF project to unfold asynchronously. First, Weston laid down his drums. Tacuma responded on bass. Reid brought up the rear with a pair of signature model Paul Reed Smiths and an abundance of digital and analog stompboxes, amp modelers, guitar synth floor units, and laptop-driven software synthesizers. There were no rules, save for this ironclad dictum: one uninterrupted take per track, no fixes, no overdubs. If it’s not “an organic improvised scenario,” in Tacuma’s words, it’s not Free Form Funky Freqs. It’s something else.
“I always dig an amp that’s gonna shake the room.” —Jamaaladeen Tacuma
“I just closed my eyes and pretended I was onstage with those guys,” Tacuma recalls. “The key was to keep the integrity of our process,” says Reid. “It was kind of like a self-imposed honor system.” This is, after all, a band that makes a point of not soundchecking together at gigs. “We have to explain this to house engineers,” Reid continues. “We’ll get sounds, then maybe check bass and drums, then guitar and drums. But we make it clear that the three of us are going to play only when it’s actually time to play.” To do otherwise would corrupt the method.
While their previous albums were live shows, the new FFFF opus was improvised in the studio—one artist at a time!
This improvisational purism makes sense given the band members’ overlapping histories in what Reid calls “the loose circle around Ornette Coleman.” The legendary alto saxophonist and free-jazz pioneer hired Tacuma for his groove-oriented ’70s band Prime Time, when the bassist was only 19. He later hired Weston, as well, at 17. “I was playing with [founding Prime Time drummer] Ronald Shannon Jackson,” adds Reid. “Calvin had played with Blood [experimental blues guitarist/singer James ‘Blood’ Ulmer].” There was a shared vein of experience in the contemporary avant-garde, and yet, as Tacuma observed to Reid one night, the three had never played together as a unit.
“We have to explain this to house engineers. We’ll get sounds, then maybe check bass and drums, then guitar and drums. But we make it clear that the three of us are going to play only when it’s actually time to play.” —Vernon Reid
Reid, of course, had also ascended to rock stardom with Living Colour in the late ’80s and cofounded the innovative Black Rock Coalition. For decades, each one of the Freqs had straddled genres and blown open the conversation about creative music in their time. It was practically fated for this band to form.
Vernon Reid’s Gear
Vernon Reid freqs-out on one of his PRS Custom Signature S2 Velas.
Photo by Sound Evidence
Guitars
- Two Paul Reed Smith Custom Vernon Reid Signature S2 Velas (one with EMGs, one with DS pickups)
- 1958 Gibson ES-345 (on “Earth”)
Amps
- Line 6 Helix
- Kemper Profiler
Strings & Picks
- D’Addario NYXLs (.011–.049)
- Dunlop 205s, Brass TeckPicks, V-Picks
- Graph Tech TUSQ 2.0 mm (“It’s kind of a fetish,” Reid says of his fascination with picks.)
Effects
- Moog MF-107 FreqBox
- Red Panda Tensor
- DigiTech Space Station
- Eventide H9
- Chase Bliss Tonal Recall
- Chase Bliss Dark World
- Boss SY-300
- Roland GI-20 Guitar MIDI Interface
- Spectrasonics Omnisphere software synth
- Arturia Pigments software synth
Studio production for FFFF has been divvied up evenly: Reid produced Urban Mythology, Vol. 1, Tacuma took the helm on Bon Vivant, and Weston brought the remote recording of Hymn of the 3rd Galaxy across the finish line. Each album bears the imprint of its producer in some way.
Weston named the new album and the individual tracks as well, and the meaning of it all becomes clear when you pull up a map of the Milky Way (one of three galaxies, along with Andromeda and Triangulum, that dominates what is known as the Local Group). “Near Arm,” “Outer Arm,” “Norma Arm,” “Perseus Arm,” “Sagittarius Arm,” “Orion Spur,” “Scutum Centaurus,” “Far 3 kpc”—these are names that astronomers have given to the Milky Way’s various regions. In this environment, “Earth” and “Sun” (two more track titles) are just infinitesimally small dots.
“Bill Connors’ playing is so full of fire, but it’s also emotionally vulnerable in a way.” —Vernon Reid
The album title is also a conscious reference to Return to Forever’s 1973 album Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy—the fusion supergroup’s one recording to feature guitarist Bill Connors. “That record was very important in my development,” says Reid. “Bill Connors’ playing on it is so full of fire, but it’s also emotionally vulnerable in a way. I was very affected by the compositions, as well. When Calvin mentioned the title, it put this project into a frame for me—the idea of spatial ambience—and that did affect my choices for sounds.”
Those sounds are an amalgam of raw, plugged-in lead guitar crunch and otherwordly sonic glitter: notes that start as notes but become starbursts, or decay like pyrotechnic embers; chordal shapes that overlap and gather into big nebulous clouds. With his seemingly limitless tech-heavy rig, Reid has all frequencies covered.
Jamaaladeen Tacuma’s Gear
Jamaaladeen Tacuma brings his epic funk at the 2003 Ponderosa Stomp festival in New Orleans, where he performed with James “Blood” Ulmer and FFFF drummer Calvin Weston.
Photo by Joseph A. Rosen
Effects
- Korg ToneWorks G5 Synth Bass Processor
- JAM Wahcko
- JAM WaterFall
- JAM LucyDreamer
Strings
- La Bella various-gauge sets
The groove is just as essential, and Tacuma and Weston know how to bring it, whether it’s a slow shuffle (“Perseus Arm”), a mid-tempo Meters-like vibe (“Norma Arm”), or an outbreak of fast, full-tilt abstraction (“Far 3 kpc,” “Sun”). Regardless of feel, Tacuma’s criterion for a bass sound is straightforward: “I always dig an amp that’s gonna shake the room. I mean, I need that room-shaker. Coming up in Philly, hearing R&B groups at the Uptown Theater, which was like the Apollo, as long as that bass was shakin’ the room, that was the most important thing. Aguilar has proven to be a wonderful addition to my setup for the clarity and punchiness, and the ability to dial in certain sounds that I want.” Holding up the Korg Toneworks G5 synth-bass unit that he used on Hymn, during our Zoom call, he adds: “I’m not really a pedal guy, but now and then I’ll bring one out for a special black-tie occasion.”
Ultimately, what explains FFFF’s ability to create together on the fly is musical intelligence and empathetic listening. When Reid’s guitar is more enveloping and spacious and legato, Tacuma’s playing might get busier, and vice versa. “If you go outside right now,” Tacuma observes, “somebody’s walking, somebody’s running. Somebody’s listening, somebody’s talking. Somebody’s eating, somebody’s drinking. All these things are happening, and with music it’s the same thing.” For Reid, as well, deciding when to go for maximum synthesized mayhem (“Galactic Bar”) or a cleaner, more identifiably guitaristic tone (“Earth”) is a matter of attending to the moment. “It’s different than dealing with songs that have a verse-chorus-bridge,” he says. “This is a whole different kind of flow.”
“I’m not really a pedal guy, but now and then I’ll bring one out for a special black-tie occasion.” —Jamaaladeen Tacuma
When discussion turns to Tacuma’s other projects, such as his 2017 album Gnawa Soul Experience, the bassist suggests a link between the FFFF worldview and the time he shared with ethnic Gnawa musicians in Essaouira, Morocco. “Musically, I learned so much,” he recalls. “When they play all night and they don’t have anything written in front of them, and they’re just grooving and going higher and higher in the music, that’s basically what we do, when you put it in perspective. People relate to that; they can understand that.”
With every Freqs encounter, the three bring new elements and ideas they’ve absorbed in the interim, and this keeps the music fresh and evolving. Tacuma and Weston continue to nourish their local Philly scene, mentoring and giving exposure to younger players. Tacuma’s annual Outsiders Improvised & Creative Music Festival always provides a burst of energy. Living Colour is still percolating since the release of Shade, its sixth album, in 2017. Meanwhile Reid has kept additional irons in the fire, including the Zig Zag Power Trio (with bassist Melvin Gibbs and Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun) and other projects. If he, Tacuma, and Weston keep up the pace, they could soon hit the big 100—the Freqs’ centenary performance. Stay tuned for that album.Free Form Funky Freqs Live | Ch0 | 2012
All hail the groove! Sure, this 2012, Ljubljana, Slovenia, performance by Vernon Reid, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and Calvin Weston is freaky … but the funky vibe dictates the flow of its ambient sounds. Catch Tacuma freestyling on the mic at 4:00.
- Rig Rundown: Living Colour's Vernon Reid and Doug Wimbish ... ›
- Jamaaladeen Tacuma: Grooving Hard, Embracing Risk - Premier ... ›
- Rig Rundown Best-Ofs: Gargantuan Pedalboards Vol. 1 - Premier ... ›
Cool compression profile that yields blooming and nasty fuzz with fangs. Simple. Excellent value!
Not a ton of variation in the fuzz’s simple controls.
One big, bad, and very boss no-frills fuzz.
On the surface, fuzz is an almost barbarian concept—a nasty sound that’s easy to grasp in our imaginations. But contrast David Gilmour’s ultra-creamy Big Muff sounds with James Gurley’s free and visceral fuzz passages from Big Brother and the Holding Company’s Cheap Thrillsand you remember that two different fuzzes, in the hands of two different players, can speak very different languages. The latter artist concerns us here because Gurley did his work with a Jordan Boss Tone, which is the inspiration for the Ananashead Spirit Fuzz.
Ananashead’s Pedro Garcia has a knack for weirder 1960s fuzzes. HisMeteorite silicon Fuzzrite clone, for instance, is a knockout. This take on the two-transistor Boss Tone is equally thrilling, and genuinely idiosyncratic when it runs at full tilt. It exhibits tasty inherent compression, and transient notes ring out as pronounced and concise before blooming into full viciousness—a quality that shines when paired with neck-position humbuckers (and which probably made the original circuit appealing to Spirit’s Randy California, another 1960s Boss Tone devotee). That tone profile gives the Spirit Fuzz meatiness that stands out among ’60s-style two-transistor circuits, and the sense of mass, combined with the pedal’s intrinsic focus, makes it superb for tracking. The Spirit loves humbuckers, which coax real sweetness from the circuit. But it was just as happy to take a ride with a Jaguar bridge pickup and an old Fender Vibrolux with the reverb at 10. Sounds painful, right? On the contrary, it was one of the most haunting fuzz sounds I can remember playing.
A hyper-versatile algorithmic reverb with a new and groundbreaking Ensemble engine for generating orchestral-inspired pads is now available for your DAW.
Strymon Engineering has announced the release of the Cloudburst ambient reverb plugin. A direct code port of their award-winning hardware pedal of the same name, the Cloudburst plugin offers a vast library of reverb sounds and orchestral-inspired synth pads, all easily controlled by a simple and elegant user interface.Initially based around the Cloud algorithm from Strymon’s iconic BigSky, Cloudburst refactors the reverb at every position on the Decay knob, allowing it to be used not only for the other worldly dreamscapes that Cloud is known for, but also for hyper-authentic rooms and halls that complement any recording style or genre of music.Controlled by a single knob, the new Ensemble engine creates synthetic pads by analyzing 48frequency bands in the source audio and then generating corresponding upper harmonic partials of what it finds in each band. The result is harmonically rich and organic synth pads that closely follow the source audio, adding complexity and dimension to any sound it’s applied to.
Cloudburst Plugin Official Sound Samples | Strymon
“One of the fun things about using a plugin version of a hardware product you know very well isthe surprise and delight that come from using it differently in a session for the first time”, saidSean Halley, Strymon’s Head of Marketing and long-time recording professional. “The first timeI tried it on tracks I couldn’t wipe the grin off of my face - I put it on classical violins and guitars, drums, percussion and synths, and in every instance it could stay out of the way and remain infinitely professional, or it could change the genetic makeup of the sounds if I wanted it to.Even though the interface is very clean and simple, there is a virtual sonic universe in there to explore.” Gregg Stock, Strymon co-founder and analog circuit guru said “we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. We’re hoping that being able to easily run multiple Cloudbursts in a session really changes what users feel is possible, sonically. We’re looking forward to hearing the music!”
The Cloudburst plugin is available now directly from Strymon and from dealers worldwide for $79 US.
From devastation to celebration, Lari Basilio comes out on top with her latest album, Redemption.
The Brazilian guitarist’s soaring new instrumental record chronicles her recent journey from tragedy to triumph.
“The journey of this album actually coincides with my motherhood journey,” says Lari Basilio, speaking about her newest release, Redemption. “When I started writing the songs, I had no idea that I was pregnant. It was always a dream of mine to become a mom.”
However, tragedy struck shortly after Basilio learned of her pregnancy. “A few weeks later, unfortunately, I had to deal with the miscarriage of my very first baby. It was actually one year ago,” recalls Basilio. “It was a very sad time. These songs kind of became the soundtrack for this period of my life. And everything that I lived—the emotions—ended up reflecting on my compositions. Basically, my day-to-day life ended up inspiring me to write my songs.”
The guitar proved to be therapeutic for Basilio. As she learned to cope with the loss, Basilio found solace in her 6-string. Many of the songs on Redemption like the title track, “New Chapter,” “Heartbeat,” and “Forever" have a nostalgic, reflective quality. “Music and the guitar are definitely a place of comfort for me. And I kept working and writing the songs and finishing the album,” she explains. While working on the record, Basilio was met with a surprise. “In the middle of the process, I found out that I was pregnant again! And at the end, we’re here. I’m about to release the new album, and I have my baby with me. It feels like my redemption moment, you know? Everything is summed up in this moment for me”
Basilio gave birth to her first child, Liam, just 20 days before our interview. The past few years leading up to this moment have marked other significant changes in Basilio’s life. Two years ago, she uprooted to Texas to live in a peaceful place where she could raise a family, after a six-year stint in Los Angeles that started in 2017. She had emigrated from São Paolo, Brazil, then to pursue her music career after gaining notoriety through her eponymous debut album and followup release, The Sound of My Room.
For her third album, 2019’s Far More, she recruited an ensemble of A-list session players like drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassist Nathan East, and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. This album also featured Joe Satriani (whom she met after he invited her to be an instructor at his 2019 G4 Experience) as a guest on the track, “Glimpse of Light.” Continuing this trend, Redemption, Basilio’s fifth original release, features a return appearance by Colaiuta, in addition to bassists Leland Sklar and Sean Hurley (both of whom previously recorded on Basilio’s 2022 release, Your Love), and keyboardist Mari Jacintho.
“Everything that I lived—the emotions—ended up reflecting on my compositions.”
Redemption is Basilio’s fifth full-length of original instrumental music, and her third since moving to the United States in 2017.
Lari Basilio’s Gear
Guitars
- Ibanez LB1 Signature with Seymour Duncan Lari Basilio pickups
- Ibanez Prestige AZ24047
Amps
- Laney Lionheart L20T-212
- Laney Cub-Super 12
- Laney Cub-Supertop
- Laney Ironheart IRT-SLS
- Laney Black Country Customs Ironheart IRT60H
Effects
- JHS The Violet Lari Basilio Signature Distortion
- Laney Black Country Customs Secret Path Reverb
- Seymour Duncan Vise Grip Compressor
- GNI Music Delay
- TC Electronic Flashback Delay
Strings and Picks
- D’Addario Regular Light XL Nickel (.009–.046)
- Dunlop Standard Tortex Pick (1.0 mm and 1.14 mm)
While it can be intimidating to be in the studio with such legendary studio musicians, Basilio doesn’t really get nervous around them anymore. “I think I’m more relaxed now because we ended up becoming friends,” says Basilio who spent two days with them in Studio Two at EastWest Studios in Los Angeles, then finished the guitars and postproduction later. “But they never cease to amaze me. Every time I’m in the studio with them I’m absolutely blown away. Every time. So this doesn't change, because they’re amazing musicians—the way they put their emotions and their personality into the songs, into the performances, it’s just brilliant. I give them total freedom to put in their ideas and do anything they want, and they're always so polite, and they ask, ‘Oh, can I do that?’ Or, ‘I hope you don’t mind that I tried that.’ And I would sit there and you know, I just can’t believe that these guys are there playing my songs and we’re having these amazing moments and creating these memories together in the studio. There’s only one Vinnie. There’s only one Leland. I hope that maybe one day I’m gonna be able to do a concert with all of them together.”
Though Basilio maintains her public persona of guitar hero, she is also a lawyer. In fact, she comes from a family of lawyers. Her dad, husband, and two brothers are lawyers, and her mom graduated from law school, although she isn’t a practicing attorney.
Basilio at EastWest with her collaborators, from left to right: Leland Sklar, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Mari Jacintho.
Photo by Eduardo Orelha
Having a background in law, however, doesn’t mean Basilio strictly follows the rules on everything—least of all guitar. She sometimes employs an unorthodox fingerstyle technique where she keeps the pick tucked into her palm by using her right hand’s ring finger, while keeping the thumb, index, and middle finger free to pluck. Basilio says, “I think this is one of the things that came naturally. Every player has to try to find what is natural for them.”
This approach can be heard on tracks like “Seasons,” where Basilio plays percussively with her fingers. “I love playing fingerstyle. I play a lot both with a guitar pick and fingerstyle, and I kind of developed my own way to play fingerstyle out of the necessity of looking for new tones and new dynamics,” she explains. “And I love to incorporate it into my songs, to get those percussive sounds and lots of ghost notes. It’s so much fun.”
Redemption closes with the beautiful “Forever,” which showcases Basilio’s fingerstyle technique. The song also demonstrates her strong background in music theory, which she built thanks to the organ lessons she started at age four before her father, Jesonias, handed her a nylon-string acoustic guitar and showed her open C and D chords when she was around eight years old. “Forever” is Basilio’s first solo unaccompanied guitar recording, though she has performed that style many times in public over the years.
“This is something that I always did for my videos, for my YouTube channel, but I haven’t had a full song written that way,” Basilio explains. “I just sit down and try to play by myself, just me and my guitar. And I think it was about time for me to have a song written that way, and I’m happy I could do it for this album. It’s so much fun to try to develop it because at the end of the day, this songwriting process and style of composition is something that you develop by practicing. Some people might think that you don’t have to practice songwriting and composition, but I think it comes from practice as well.”
Flanked by her trusty Laney amps, Basilio wields her signature Ibanez LB1-BK.
Photo by Eduardo Orelha
YouTube It
Lari Basilio uses her unique fingerstyle approach to perform a delicate and ethereal unaccompanied intro to her composition “Running to the Other Side.” Once the band kicks in, she goes all out from precision picking to right-hand tapping to display her jaw-dropping chops.
Fall Headline Tour Scheduled to Kick Off October 31st with Special Guest Myles Kennedy GRAMMY® Award-nominated songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Wolfgang Van Halen is back with the latest single from the band he masterminds, Mammoth.
Mammoth: The End (Official Video)
“The End” is an adrenaline-driven rocker that kicks off with a signature lead guitar riff that has become a fan-favorite element in Wolfgang’s music. The anthemic build of the intro gives way to the driving verse melody with each part carefully created and performed by Van Halen and his returning collaborator Michael “Elvis” Baskette. The chorus is driven by the unforgettable vocal melody as the message of “Take your hand in mine and watch the end with me.” The song is now available for pre-save via all digital service providers here.
“I’ve had the tapping idea on the intro for ‘The End’ since before Mammoth. I was able to fit it into this world. It’s still over-the-top and shreddy, but it’s also melodic and controlled. Overall, I was doing some different things on the record, and I knew this was going to be a big step. Once we finished ‘The End,’ it felt really special to me,” explains Wolfgang Van Halen.To coincide with the single release, Wolfgang and Mammoth have released a music video for “The End” that is one for the history books and something rarely seen in music videos anymore. Wolfgang teamed up with legendary director Robert Rodriguez to do a modern-day interpretation of Rodriguez’s 1996 hit film, From Dusk Till Dawn. The video tells the story of a rock band that is booked to play a show at a dive bar and given an ominous warning from the club owner portrayed by Danny Trejo. Mammoth decides they know better, and things quickly turn dire for the band before a surprising revelation during the final moments tie the complete video lore from the band together. Friends of Mammoth including Slash, Myles Kennedy and Wolfgang’s mother Valerie Bertinelli all show up throughout the short film. Horror effects icon Greg Nicotero offered his talents to the video to create zombies, werewolves and vampires that all bring a deadly end to the attendees of the show.
With a short run of May dates creating excitement for a Mammoth tour, the band is announcing a Fall headline run. The End Tourkicks off on October 31st and runs for 5 weeks before it wraps up on December 7th. The tour will make stops in Las Vegas, NV (November 1), Atlanta, GA (November 8), Montclair, NJ (November 14), Chicago, IL (November 26) and Tempe, AZ (December 6) to name a few. Longtime friend Myles Kennedy will be the special guest on the run. Tickets will be on sale starting May 5th via artist presale and on sale to the public on Friday, May 9th. More information on all tickets and VIP passes can be found at www.mammoth.band