The Gold Transmission

Erich Huffaker
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  • Music Commentary
  • Updated Biweekly

a behind-the-scenes look at how orchestra GOLD (OG) songs are made, and the world they come from. OG blends psychedelic rock with the music and traditions of mali. this series starts with the songs: demos, grooves, and stories from the studio, tracing the path from first sketch to finished track. from there, it opens outward into the people, places, and traditions that shape the band. it’s a living series, and it will evolve as it goes. for deeper cuts, demos, and unreleased music, visit the vault at orchestragold.com. this is an open conversation. feedback is always welcome.

Episodes

  1. Jun 24

    diyanye ko te sa: not everything you want is good for you

    diyanye ko te sa means insatiable desires in bambara. it's the other side of the coin from diyanye ko, the first track on the album. where that one is about passion and love and community, this one is a gentle reminder: not all of your desires come from your higher self ☀ this episode opens with a personal reflection on supremacy, who benefits from whose music, and what it means to actually live your values rather than just claim them. it's the kind of thing that doesn't always make it into a song but lives underneath all of them. the song itself has roots in a standard from the music of segu, mali. mariama built her own version from the ground up. the bass line and drum groove came fully formed from her head, sparked by a moment she heard erich playing guitar from across the house while she was watching a nigerian movie. the second half draws from a deep cut from the new york salsa scene of the 60s and 70s: anabacoa by grupo folklorico y experimental nuevayorquino. there's also a hard rock dimension, a real guitar solo, and a shout out to luke bacé who engineered the sessions. mariama explains the song's message in her own words. including one of the best analogies we've heard involving ice cream. this is the gold transmission. we go behind the curtain so you can hear how the music actually gets made. 1. anabacoa — grupo folklorico y experimental nuevayorquino https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhbtvm72d04 (from the 1975 album concepts in unity on salsoul records)  2. luke bacé — instagram https://www.instagram.com/lakecube  3. a history of music in 500 songs https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-history-of-music-in-500-songs/id1437402802  want to go deeper? the vault is where we keep the good stuff. podcasts (ad-free!), demos, unreleased recordings, behind-the-scenes music and more. starts at $4 a month. orchestragold.com/vault . and if you want to take a piece of us home, our music really comes alive on wax: orchestragold.com/store

    30 min

  2. Jun 10

    baye ass n'diaye: how a sufi prayer becomes a psychedelic rock song

    baye ass n'diaye is the name of mariama's spiritual teacher in the baye fall tradition. baye fall is a mystical branch of west african sufism that centers on the direct experience of the divine over any letter of the law. this song is a praise song for him.in this episode mariama talks about what baye fall means to her and why she wanted to write a song for her teacher. then we go inside the making of the song itself.you'll hear the guitar riff that started it all, a raw 2021 recording session at santo recording studio that didn't quite nail it, and two separate demo iterations before the arrangement finally came together in 2022. the song evolved slowly over the pandemic and took years to find its final shape.this is the gold transmission. we go behind the curtain so you can hear how the stew actually gets made. want to go deeper? the vault is where we keep the good stuff. podcasts (ad-free!), demos, unreleased recordings, behind-the-scenes music and more. starts at $4 a month. orchestragold.com/vault . and if you want to take a piece of us home, our music really comes alive on wax: orchestragold.com/store

    22 min

  3. May 27

    djama ko: the pandemic commission that almost never happened

    djama ko means people in bambara, the language of mali. and this episode is dedicated to someone who helped make the song possible. in 2020, arts consultant preston justice nominated orchestra gold for a yerba buena gardens festival mini commission, a program supporting 20 bay area artists around the themes of endurance, hope and community. marcelo aviles, director of programming at ybg festival, made sure it all came together. the commission paid the players and supported the video. without them this song might have stayed on the shelf. marcelo passed earlier this year. this one is for him. in this episode you'll hear the guitar lick inspired by norman greenbaum's spirit in the sky, the home studio demo recorded entirely during the pandemic, mariama talking about what djama ko really means, and a studio version featuring martin perna of antibalas on flute and kevin goldberg on bass. this is the gold transmission. we go behind the curtain so you can hear how the music actually gets made. 9poFEyrocff4P25xeEHW want to go deeper? the vault is where we keep the good stuff. podcasts (ad-free!), demos, unreleased recordings, behind-the-scenes music and more. starts at $4 a month. orchestragold.com/vault . and if you want to take a piece of us home, our music really comes alive on wax: orchestragold.com/store

    26 min

  4. May 13

    nema: a 1960s mali orchestra, a love song and a word with no english translation

    nema is a word in bambara that doesn't translate directly into english. it means something like freshness, the feeling after rain, the warmth of having someone you love next to you. mariama says love and nema work together but they're not the same thing. english doesn't quite have it. in this episode mariama explains what nema means and why it became a love song. then we go inside the making of it. the song was inspired by a track called tasi doni by super biton de segou, one of the great malian orchestras of the 1960s and 1970s. erich has had the privilege of meeting some of the members on visits back to segou. the vibe of that track, not any specific element, became the seed of nema. you'll hear the initial guitar loop, a lead guitar part that got so hot it ended up becoming the horn lines, and the full demo before the album version. this is the gold transmission. we go behind the curtain so you can hear how the music actually gets made. want to go deeper? the vault is where we keep the good stuff. podcasts (ad-free!), demos, unreleased recordings, behind-the-scenes music and more. starts at $4 a month. orchestragold.com/vault . and if you want to take a piece of us home, our music really comes alive on wax: orchestragold.com/store

    21 min

  5. Apr 29

    dakan, a song about destiny

    dakan means destiny in bambara, the language of mali. it's also the title of one of our favorite tracks on the new record. in this episode we go inside the song. you'll hear the guitar lick that started it all, the drum groove we borrowed from rail band's classic track nanthan, and the full demo version before it became what you hear on the album. mariama also sits down with us to talk about what dakan means to her. how destiny shows up in the big things and the small ones. singing, dancing, sewing clothes, braiding hair, coming to america. all of it woven together. we also give a shout out to sergio rios, who mixed the record and brought something really special to mariama's vocals. this is the gold transmission. we go behind the curtain so you can hear how the music actually gets made. want to go deeper? the vault is where we keep the good stuff. podcasts (ad-free!), demos, unreleased recordings, behind-the-scenes music and more. starts at $4 a month. orchestragold.com/vault . and if you want to take a piece of us home, our music really comes alive on wax: orchestragold.com/store

    30 min

  6. Apr 20

    introducing the gold transmission

    we don't entirely know what this podcast is yet. we know where it's starting. we just don't know where it's going. that's the honest intro to the gold transmission, a new podcast from orchestra gold where we take you behind the curtain. the songs, the demos, the stories, the stuff that never makes it out of the studio. orchestra gold is a band co-founded by erich huffaker and mariama diakite, a singer and artist originally from mali, west africa. together we make psychedelic rock rooted in the music and traditions of mali. this podcast is our attempt to share more of that world with you. we're starting with the songs. after that, who knows. want to go deeper? the vault is where we keep the good stuff. podcasts (ad-free!), demos, unreleased recordings, behind-the-scenes music and more. starts at $4 a month. orchestragold.com/vault . and if you want to take a piece of us home, our music really comes alive on wax: orchestragold.com/store

    3 min
  • 6 Episodes

About

a behind-the-scenes look at how orchestra GOLD (OG) songs are made, and the world they come from. OG blends psychedelic rock with the music and traditions of mali. this series starts with the songs: demos, grooves, and stories from the studio, tracing the path from first sketch to finished track. from there, it opens outward into the people, places, and traditions that shape the band. it’s a living series, and it will evolve as it goes. for deeper cuts, demos, and unreleased music, visit the vault at orchestragold.com. this is an open conversation. feedback is always welcome.

Information

  • Creator
    Erich Huffaker
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Orchestra GOLD
  • Show Website
    The Gold Transmission