When I released Belizean Heat back in February of 2018, I had hopes of making videos for at least some of the songs using GoPro footage I shot while there. I still haven’t gotten around to putting any of them together, so I figured it was about time I at least put them up on Youtube for people to listen even if they don’t have any fancy visual element to go with them. I realize a lot of people listen to most of their music on Youtube these days for convenience, so it makes sense to have it up there. Of course the album is also available on Spotify and Bandcamp along with other online sources if you prefer those.
You can find the playlist of the album below.
While staying at Caves Branch Lodge, we took a tour into Guatemala to visit Tikal, the former Mayan capital. While there, our informative guide told us stories of Mayan history and legends, as well as the efforts being conducted to uncover and restore this ancient site. It is his voice that you hear at the start of this song, telling the story of the twins that managed to trick their way out of Xibalba, and the lethal authority of the Mayan priests. The Mayan priests installed themselves as a necessary conduit for the people to be able to communicate with the gods. They were considered divine, and the people weren’t even permitted to look up at them. They would have to approach them and depart with bowed heads, or risk having their heads chopped off. To make matters worse, decapitation was an even less attractive option then because the obsidian axes they used were fairly dull, and the executioners had poor aim because they were often tripping out on hallucinogenic mushrooms.
Xibalba is by far the most ambitious one on the album as it features me playing more acoustic instruments than any of the others. I played a few tracks of trumpet and trombone, as well as something called Xaphoon, which is sort of like a recorder with a saxophone reed. I also played a number of percussion instruments like shakers and hand drums. I even made a cabasa out of an old tin and some bottle caps. I’m not much of a guitar player, but I played a few chords and some slower sustained notes with an electric. The rest came from my poly evolver and sample libraries. I’m quite pleased with how this one turned out. I feel like it provides a nice contrast to the other songs without being too much of a departure stylistically.
SUBLIME SOUND 