James,
I hold you in high regard as well,so any & all of your opinions are of course,welcomed.
I know & respect your love for celtic music & you being a completely organic musician,I can completely understand your distaste for the direction I've taken this piece into.
However though,the ska theme was deliberate & pre-meditated and I enjoy the contrasts between the infusion of the different genres.
The type of ska I used is known as "Third Wave Ska",which is an infusion of Jamaican Ska,American & British 2-Tone(which is a medley of punk rock & pop),so that being said,I am not willing to change the notation of the percussion track.
From a technical standpoint,the bpm's have never changed,because the entire song remains at 170 bpm's,so if you were to dance to this song,you really don't have to break your stride and that's the underlying theme to this song.
As Issac Hayes once said,"I broke the laws of music by introducing a unconventional element,but I figured that if I could hear it in my head,then I must be able to play it".
Musicians have been deviating from traditional genres for at least 50 years and on one side of the fence,I may be irritating to some ears,but on the other side,I just might be able to grab the attention of some of this generation,that would otherwise never have a interest in celtic music.
Understand though,that I would never want to see Julie Fowlis go in this direction,because she has done such a wonderful job at ressurecting an ancient style of Scottish music & making it her own.
When I see a band live,I much prefer a full piece band with little or no electronic instruments.
Who knows,I just may at some point,come up with an entirely new version of this song-in the style you suggested....in fact,if you would like to do a collab in making a more organic version of this,I am certainly up for that friend.
Also,I'd give you free reign in taking this song in whatever direction you see fit-two versions are better than one.
Thanks for listening,
Thom
