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Today is the official release date for “Ume in the Middle”!  It’s available now at CDBaby.com and on iTunes. We’re also hitting the road to celebrate the release of our new album with up coming performances in Ashland, Tahoe, Placerville and Berkeley.  Next month we’ll be in Eugene and the month after that  we’ll have some Los Angeles performances and perform at the California WorldFest along with this year’s headliners Los Lobos and the Indigo Girls.

Our radio campaign for “Ume in the Middle” kicked off this week and it’s off to a great start.  To see if a station near you is playing “Ume in the Middle” check the list below.  I’ll update this list frequently so if you don’t see you favorite station on the list keep checking back! (more…)

Here’s an excerpt from Wildy’s World review of “Ume in the Middle”:

On Ensemble is a rarity in the realms of popular music; they are wholly original. Ostensibly a Taiko ensemble (ancient Japanese drumming), On Ensemble mixes that venerable art with Hip-Hop, Rock and electronica to create sounds very few people have heard before.

It’s a fairly positive review though we only score 3.5/5 stars…  That’s like a C-.  I once got a C- in the seventh grade on a grammar quiz and cried.  I guess you can’t win them all.

I think one of the most brutal reviews we ever got was from Chris Beyond at No-Fi Magazine. He called our first album “Dust and Sand”: “pretty cool for dinner background music” and “not something I’d listen to often, but your parents would appreciate it.”

OUCH!  Just not the thing you want to hear after you’ve poured countless hours and a decent part of your soul into an album.  The best part about it was I think he was actually trying to say something positive.  To be fair “Dust and Sand” was not really the kind of fare that No-Fi usually covers.  Which is our basic problem when presenting our music to a wider audience.  Being a unique band with a unique sound is both our greatest strength and greatest weakness.

Woohoo!  Say hello to our new 8-core powermac studio computer.  I’m so excited to have a new audio computer.  Up to this point I’ve been using my trusty g4 laptop which has performed admirably through the years.  I recorded and mixed “Dust and Sand”, “Ume in the Middle”, four EPs and two movie soundtracks on my laptop and it’ll still get used for performances and for mobile recording. However as the audio productions have gotten more complicated the laptop has been really stretched to its limits.

I’m also using the addition of the new computer to rework our recording set up.  We’re pooling resources with our studio mate Charlie and Kris has started building his own preamps with DIY kits from Five Fish audio so we’ll put it all together for a much improved studio.

My all time favorite piece of studio gear is our two channel Gordon preamp.  I bought this preamp after my first paying movie soundtrack gig and have used it on every recording since then.  It’s beautifully designed, it sounds amazing and it’s hand made by the designer Grant Carpenter. The only thing better than how the Gordon pre sounds is how well you are taken care of after you buy it!  When you call the Gordon audio phone number you get to speak to the designer himself and the customer service is unbelievably good.  In this age of crappy customer service and navigating through horrible voice recognition menus it’s so refreshing to buy a high quality work of art from someone who loves what they do and will stand behind the workmanship of their product. Seriously I can’t say enough good things about Gordon audio and if you are contemplating an investmnet in a quality mic pre get this one!

Just got another review of “Ume in the Middle”.  It’s quite a nice and detailed review so visit No Eyed Bird to read the full review:

On Ensemble delivers that mysterious, hypnotic attraction to beats with the release Ume In The Middle. Melding together traditional Japanese Taiko music with modern electro and jazz, the CD delivers delectable beats and blips with a dash of drone.

Just got a nice review of “Ume in the Middle” by LMNOP.com:

Truly interesting and innovative stuff. On Ensemble is the quartet consisting of Masato Baba, Kristofer Bergstrom, Shoji Kameda, and Kelvin Underwood. These four individuals are heavily integrated into the world of music with hefty connections as far as the arm can reach. They are well-respected teachers, workshop leaders, and composers as well as performers. Ume In The Middle is a beautifully packaged album featuring a die cut front insert as well as a clear plastic sleeve that caresses the jewel case. The exquisite packaging is a perfect fit for the music contained within. Ume features nine tracks full of boundless imagination. Some of the tracks are surprisingly accessible while others are rather progressive and spontaneous. Instead of going for one style or sound, these folks apparently just let their imagination run wild. The results…are intriguing and strangely hypnotic. Our favorite cuts include “Yamasong,” “Hiroya vs. Miniboxx,” and “Bounce Back.” After hearing too many generic pop bands, this one comes across like a cool blast of fresh air… (Rating: 5+)

Our press campaign for “Ume in the Middle” is just getting started.  We’re excited to be working with the Planetary Group to promote our new album and I’ll be posting the reviews and press we get as it comes in.  Our first review comes from AndMoreAgain:

Instead of worldbeat, often a combination of different cultures, you might call On Ensemble’s unique club music taiko beat. On Ume in the Middle, the Silverlake quartet fuses Japanese drumming with electronic loops and effects. The multi-ethnic outfit also incorporates throat singing, koto, and shinobue into their Eastern-tinged melange, resulting in melodies designed as much for meditation as for moving, i.e. the tempo is never slow enough for sleeping, nor so fast that dancing is the only option.

I had recording session today with Hiroshima for the band’s new album.  For those of you that don’t know when I’m not touring with On Ensemble or spending time in Java I’m usually playing with Hiroshima.  I’ve been with the band for about five years and played on the last two albums “Obon” and “Little Tokyo“.

The new album is going to feature greatest hits from the band’s earlier albums and many songs that are standards in our live set.  I don’t want to give away too much but the new Hiroshima album is going to be really great and a real treat for die hard fans of the band.  For fans that have followed the band from the late 70′s there are songs from “Hiroshima” and “Odori” and for those new to the band it’ll be a chance to rediscover some great music.