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MUSIC: Daniel Guaqueta, TTOCCS REKARP and "the best hello"
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JACKSON, MISS. (SSP) -- Daniel Guaqueta is the sort of musician who collects quite a thick backlog o...JACKSON, MISS. (SSP) -- Daniel Guaqueta is the sort of musician who collects quite a thick backlog of recorded material.
He’s been part of some of Jackson’s most prominent bands, such as Wooden Finger, Storage 24 and Questions in Dialect. Daniel’s drum work sets a high standard in the Jackson area, where he picks up a lot of work backing bar, festival, even church gigs.
Daniel Guaqueta discusses his new recording project, May 2011
There’s also the fact that he’ll record a fresh sound with any readily available audio recorder. Some of his latest work includes music he has recorded, beginning at age 12, on simple cassette tape recorders, dual-cassette machines, 4-track and mp3 devices.
“I have this huge body of music,” says Daniel, 34. “They’re all so different from each other. Instead of throwing out all these different types of genres of music that I’ve made, because I really enjoy all types of music, I figured, why not separate the songs into little sub-genres? So they’re more easily taken into a context.”
Daniel, A/K/A TTOCCS REKARP, presents that context in full with his six-album catalog, the “TR Box Series.” It is a sweeping set, covering wild diversities in sounds, modalities and paths of exploration. Daniel’s percussion, his vocals, guitar work and track wizardry all contribute to a general filling-in of the niches in Daniel’s musical career. Spare, minimalist audio conspires with richly produced studio sound -- in an album release that may be intimidating for its sheer mass and amorphism.
The TR Box Series is a project with firm roots in the indie, home-produced mold, but also one that drafts studio tools for much of its final sound. “The amount of instrumentation I had on a song, I couldn’t do that at home,” Daniel tells me. "It was just too much. So I went to the studio to try to get some clarity on the instrumentation.
“The song lets me know what I need to do with it. Like the song called Y You Strut -- it’s very lo-fi, very nasty-sounding, just dirty. You know, electronics. It may sound to an engineer or a music professional as a bad-sounding song. Those drums weren’t recorded properly, or they’re not punchy, and all that stuff. That’s all, to me, highly subjective.
“I just kind of let the song make itself, as opposed to, make every song a recorded song, in the studio."
Daniel says much of the TR Box Series owes its electronic direction to Tre Pepper, A/K/A Loki, also a member of J-Tran. “I’ll compose a song, then he’ll come in and sequence it, make it a little more interesting. I like to work with other people. I really like to just make a blueprint and have other people come in and play guitar, play a bass line.
“I’ll make the song structure," says Daniel, "pretty much the song structure stays the same. But they come in and add their own little thing to it, make it something more than I could have imagined it to be. I highly believe in collaborative thinking."
With (at least) six discs and dozens of tracks, the TR Box Series is a massive publication. “It’s definitely overwhelming to a lot of people, especially if they’ve never heard of me. As far as me coming out of the blue and saying, hey, here are 72 songs. You’ve never heard about me. And a lot of people can see that as, gosh, why are you giving away everything you’ve got?
Daniel compares the effort to walking into a public street, naked. "Here I am, you know? Like, this is what I am, all my faults, everything. If you don’t like it, that’s cool. But at least I feel good that I finally walked out in the street naked, at least for once in my life.”
Each of the six box-sets incorporates a broad theme: Ambient, Experimental, Rock, Beta, Throwback, Electronic. Some of these require description....
The Throwback disc, for instance, combines five or so recently recorded, high-production tracks -- part of the project’s core music, found in each box and feeling very ripe for radio play -- with demos dating back to Daniel’s earliest work. “Throwback is music that I created when I was a young kid, up until college years,” he says. “So it’s real lo-fi, very raw. They’re songs, but you can also hear me, forming as an artist.
“Beta is that moment in an artist’s life where you’re kind of configuring what you do," Daniel explains, "not really experimenting, but try to write music with other people, collaboration. That’s the beta of the musician. Kind of like lighting up the hallway a little bit. Beta is that box.”
Experimental is just as the name implies, replete with glitches. “I have a song in the Experimental, me singing in the New York bathroom,” says Daniel, “doing Tuvan throat singing in a bathroom in New York. The bathroom just reverberated so nicely. That’s an experiment -- experimental sounds and frequencies."
In an aside, Daniel declares, “I interviewed Paul Pena! We had a really nice conversation, it was about a three-hour conversation on the phone. He gave me Tuvan throat lessons!
“I like to overwhelm people. When I do a show, I like it to be a fiasco. I’d like it to be perfectly planned, fine-tuned music. Everything we do is on purpose, it’s not a mistake. And if there is a mistake, we turn it into something beautiful. That’s the part of improvisation art that we enjoy.”
Daniel is playing live shows, under the TTOCCS REKARP banner, in New Orleans, Jackson and beyond. He brings together a powerful stage ensemble -- his current line-up includes drummer Murph Caicedo, Reagan Daniels on guitar, bassist Brent Varner, Ben McCain on keyboards and emcee/vocalist AJC.
“It’s a very rock-oriented show with a lot of electronics in it,” Daniel says. “And I’ve written a lot of pop songs and a lot of dance songs. I’ve written stuff that people can pull off, live. A lot of stuff I write, you just can’t pull it off live unless you rehearse it, a lot. So, we have a body of music that we can perform.
“Some of them are the singles that I have out. Like, all the music videos that I have out, except two, we perform."
“I’ve got a band that’s ever evolving,” says Daniel, who fronts the band on stage as he manages lighting and visual elements with an iPhone. “Luckily I’ve been blessed with some really, really proficient musicians. I mean, they know how to read music, they know how to notate things, so they’ll come in, already have the songs learned, so we’ll just knock them out in one rehearsal.
“It’s its own element, it changes all the time. Sometimes I have dancers, sometimes I don’t, sometimes I have something else. It just depends on what is available, and what’s in the works.”
“To me having a band is all about making sure that they’re accommodated, that they’re having fun, that they’re enjoying the music and the performance aspect. It’s not about me, at that point.”
Daniel plans to take elements of the live show north to Nashville, Chicago, New York City and beyond. “I’ve had a lot of people tell me that I would go over well there. So I’m trying to set up a tour now for July.
“I honestly think TTOCCS REKARP could play anywhere, as far as what I can do as an individual. But as far as a sound system is concerned, there aren’t many places in Jackson that can handle the amount of sound that we’re trying to push through as a band.
“I feel like I could play like two or three shows a year in Jackson, and make them memorable. Like me performing on a roof. Or in a black box that I made up in Fondren.
“I like to make a spectacle out of something,” says Daniel. “This Fire show is another spectacle. I’m going to have filmmakers up there on stage, filming, we’re going to have lights, and dancers, and it’s going to be insane. A full body experience, because the stage is so huge at Fire.”
That experience encompasses the design of his project’s box sets. “All the boxes are handmade, they’re screen-printed,” says Daniel, “they have the DVD, a CD, a sticker. Each box has cool little trinkets and stuff in them that are part of the theme of the box. It’s a fun thing, it’s really about having fun and they’re cheap, they’re 10 bucks.”
DG with the "Ambient" Box, May 2011
You can buy and download selections from the TR Box Set online, at TRMusic.net -- but Daniel is more likely to distribute the Happy Meal-like box packages themselves by hand.
“It’s the best hello I can say to anybody,” says Daniel of the set.
One may even hear a breath of relief from the man. “All that stuff is out, all that stuff is done, he says. "I have cleansed myself of all the past. That closes that chapter of my entire, musical life. And I’m already underway, to my new chapter.”
Part of that chapter is Daniel’s new surf rock band, Buddy and the Squids. “I’ve always loved California culture, surf culture anywhere in the world. I love the ocean. I respect it and fear it.
“Surf music is soulful, lots of body to it,” Daniel says. “It takes a certain kind of musician to play it right -- it really does. It’s kind of like the blues -- surf music and blues music are a lot alike.
“So what if we’re not near the beach?" he insists. "We played last night and got offers to play Bourbon Street, we got offers to play on the [Gulf] Coast, and Destin, so now we’re on our way. Now I can play the beach and be smelling the salt air while playing these beautiful songs that I highly admire.
“That’s my dream,” says Daniel, “to me that’s like all I’ve ever dreamed of. And I’d be happy just doing that for a couple of years.”
TRMusic.net
From Daniel's show schedule:
Thursday May 26, 10p -- Allways Lounge, New Orleans
Thursday June 9, 9p -- Fire, Jackson
Posted by Tom Wright at 7:22 PM
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Pick It Up & Do It: Meet Daniel Guaqueta
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Part Colombian, part American, pure go-getter: meet the modern day renaissance man, Daniel Guaqueta....Part Colombian, part American, pure go-getter: meet the modern day renaissance man, Daniel Guaqueta. The 35 year old Fondren resident says he’s an outsider in Mississippi though he’s grown up here most of his life. Born in Hattiesburg to a Colombian father studying in the English language institute program at USM and a south Mississippi mother, Guaqueta’s family returned to his father’s native country until Daniel was 7. “I spent every summer there”, he said “and my grandmother made sure I knew Colombian tradition and culture. I’m very Colombian”. That may surprise some who try his southern dishes like pecan pie and cornbread. “My grandmother here made sure I knew about my Mississippi heritage, too”.
Guaqueta started college majoring in music at Jones Junior College in Ellisville, though that didn’t stick. “I hated my major”, he says, switching to horticultural technology after just a year. That program landed him in an internship with Disney where he plantscaped their first-ever cruise ship. That’s something near to his heart. His family back in Colombia is in the plant brokering business. But Guaqueta never strayed from music for long. It’s where you most likely have heard of him: as the man at the helm of Mississippi Happening and playing in his band, Ttoccs Rekarp, a moniker he invented at age 12. He’s also behind the drum kit for Hunter Gibson and the Gators and behind the Mac Book for Belhaven University’s dance department. “I have a self created job there”, he says, “as an electronic accompanist”. Guaqueta is able to work from home for the most part, collaborating with others on private Facebook groups to form something much bigger. “My whole life, I have been trying to achieve this huge spectacle of things. I’m into that”.
A proud Fondrenite and supporter of the neighborhood, Guaqueta and his wife of two years own a house here and he says it’s the personality and diversity of the area that drive him. “We like to take the long way home, discovering a street or an area we’ve never seen”. And drive is something else you’ll find no shortage of in Fondren. Guaqueta is self employed and admires the entrepreneurial spirit of others here as well. “If there’s something you can do, pick it up and do it. If you have the determination, I respect that. It’s why I live here. I may not be famous, but I love what I do”.
Photo: Tate K. Nations
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Latest Mississippi Music Video – “Coma Boy”
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Regional collaborative artist (TR) recently premiered their latest music video Coma Boy at the Febru...Regional collaborative artist (TR) recently premiered their latest music video Coma Boy at the February 2011 Oxford Film Festival, simultaneously releasing it to an eager online audience.
This is the fifth music video in three years to be released by (TR), of which the primary creators are duo Daniel Guaqueta and Clay Hardwick. While Guaqueta, an experienced pop-rock electronica, avant-garde musician from Colombia is responsible for overseeing the music behind (TR), Hardwick takes a drivers’ seat in steering the visual manifestation of the group; even using live projection to craft a more immerse experience at live (TR) actions.
“(TR) is more than just a band, it puts itself out there as an ever-evolving collection of artistic visions, whether that’s presented through a traditional band on stage, multimedia ‘happening,’ or a single on iTunes, (TR) is coloring peoples’ ears, eyes, and minds.” (Clay Hardwick, Director)
The latest video released, Coma Boy is an electro-pop croon with solid Latin rhythms underlying this playfully digitized deconstruction. Playing off images of workers from a range of classes: pizza cook, office square, medical tech, yard man – the South American cadence unites them all in an allusion to the steady trance of a strong rhythm creating a release into the cycles of life…even the redundancy of everyday work. The labor-induced coma is the natural escape of all workers who have color sucked from their job.
(TR) brings these disconnected everyday workers together in an alternate reality: a Pool Party! The culmination of this piece is a splash-crazed pool bonanza allowing all the characters to let loose and embrace imagination. The video reveals painted dancers as a mass of guests frolicking and laughing in this daydream they share.
Production for the video included a wide community of friends in various roles and was, to their credit, accomplished in only five weeks. With tight coordination and the environment which comes from working with friends, we completed our shooting in one week and knocked out an astonishing post production schedule in a month. The workers featured were shot in near cinéma vérité style in their normal working conditions thanks to some local art-supporting businesses and organizations. Humdrum turns fantasy in this colorful, upbeat music video.
All production took place in Jackson, Mississippi USA. The video was released online and select screenings on February 13, 2011.
For an online viewing of the video, please visit: http://www.trmusic.net/videos.html To request a DVD or digital download of the video for viewing or press, please email Clay Hardwick Clay@echomech.com or call 601.497.7410 For all press/questions for (TR), please email Daniel Guaqueta GuaquetaProductions@gmail.com or call 601.307.0151
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Un sueno en Mississippi "A Dream in Mississippi"
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Un sueño en Mississippi
El joven músico estadounidense Daniel Guaqueta, de padre colombiano, destac...Un sueño en Mississippi
El joven músico estadounidense Daniel Guaqueta, de padre colombiano, destaca en Estados Unidos por ser un gran artista multifacético. El diario Clarion-Ledger de Mississippi lo destaca por su talento y su pasión por Colombia.
Se siente tan estadounidense como colombiano: "estoy haciendo una fuerte combinación de ambas culturas", aseguró este artista, enamorado de sus raíces colombianas. “Yo amo Colombia y este sitio”, escribió Guaqueta en la página http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia .
En la radio ha participado como productor y locutor de programas locales como Radio Fondren, Mundo Melodia (un programa de músicas del mundo) y, más recientemente, Mississippi Happening, que actualmente transmite en forma de ‘podcast’ muy popular que la música muestra de Jackson y en todo el estado.
En 2002 este artista viajó por varias ciudades colombianas y se aventuró a recorrer en un jeep los Llanos Orientales, y luego San Agustín. Desde su infancia visita con frecuencia la tierra de su patria.
"Sé que la música de ambas culturas está en mi corazón y es muy profunda… que han influido en mi forma particular de crear cosas”, aseguro Guaqueta, que toca la batería, la guitarra y los teclados y hace parte del grupo de rap-rock Storage 24's que cuenta con el Kamikaze, rapero ganador de varios premios.
Guaqueta también compone bajo el nombre de ‘Plume Ttoccs Rekarp’. Este apodo inusual representa una música inusual, una mezcla de ‘techno’, metal, ‘world music’, jazz y rock.
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"I'm Living The Dream"
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Guaqueta has made a splash in the Jackson arts community through his music, his radio shows and podc...Guaqueta has made a splash in the Jackson arts community through his music, his radio shows and podcasts, and his video production efforts. Guaqueta also is active in the video production realm, having created music videos for his own music, Storage 24, and for the Dark Knights of Camelot, among others.....
More at LINK.
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Coma Boy
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Man, a lot of work went into this video. A couple of months ago when I saw Andy Culpepper's Coma Boy...Man, a lot of work went into this video. A couple of months ago when I saw Andy Culpepper's Coma Boy photo album on facebook, I thought the entire video would center around the pool and all the painted people. If you watch the video, you see that the segment from the pool is just the last third of the video. That looks like a lot of work for about 1:20 of video, and naturally there was a lot of work that went into the first 2:40.
Regarding the music, am I the only one who hears a little David Bowie in the song? Maybe something from the early albums like "The Man Who Sold the World", "Hunky Dory", "Aladdin Sane" and "Diamond Dogs". There's something in the sound that makes me think back to those early Bowie albums. I probably am the only one with that thought, especially since those albums came out 40 years ago. Few of my few readers were on this earth when those albums hit the record stores. I must say that David Bowie from 40 years ago is far better than most of what is played on the pop music radio stations in this era.
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TTOCCS REKARP
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Don't bother trying to make sense of the name. TTOCCS REKARP (pronounced tox rekarp) is a name Danie...Don't bother trying to make sense of the name. TTOCCS REKARP (pronounced tox rekarp) is a name Daniel Guaqueta made up when he was 12, when the project first began. Almost two decades later, and TTOCCS REKARP is becoming something of a Jackson fixture. Guaqueta, the project's only main member and also the drummer for Wooden Finger and Questions in Dialect, uses a music aesthetic he sharpened at that young age: record with anything, whenever. The result is a sonic mash-up of the electronic, the proverbial, the new, the replaced and the a capella.
"I think everything makes music," Guaqueta says. "I often whistle with birds, listen to the rhythm of my engine."
Guaqueta's whistles and hums have led to boxes of recordings, most of which no one has heard. On some, he has converted old Bell Biv DeVoe tapes into new songs. On others, popcorn tins and wire hangers harmonize in new tunes.
"I would also scratch records and play them through a tape recorder, switch the tapes around and re-record them," Guaqueta says. "It was my experiment in music since I wasn't classically trained."
These days you can find him on stage with a dozen or so other musicians collaborating in the live incantation of TTOCCS REKARP. Or check out his latest offerings on MySpace.
Casey Parks(2007, Artists to Watch in 2007)
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AlaDandy (ooh ooh Elizabeth)" by TTOCCS REKARP featuring 7even:Thirty
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What I know is that I like this song and video. After that, the specifics about (TR) TTOCCS REKARP s...What I know is that I like this song and video. After that, the specifics about (TR) TTOCCS REKARP sort of escape me except for the part about it revolving around current Jacksonian Daniel Guaqueta (that's Daniel in the South Jackson t-shirt at the start of the video). Therefore, let us look at a couple of cut and paste from the "About" section of the (TR)TTOCCS REKARP website and we can all learn about (TR) TTOCCS REKARP together:
"Don't bother trying to make sense of the name (TR) TTOCCS REKARP (pronounced tox rekarp); a name Daniel Guaqueta made up when he was 12, when the project first began. Almost two decades later, (TR) TTOCCS REKARP has become an animated fixture of musical and visual collaborations through music videos, performance art, modern dance, and elaborate live musical arrangements of his recorded material. The result is a sonic mash-up of the electronic, the proverbial, the new, the replaced and the a capella." -- Casey Parks --
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"A drummer, a writer, a keen creative mind - Daniel Guaqueta, aka (TR) TTOCCS REKARP, is quickly emerging as a dynamic and inventive hybrid musician. With an eclectic sound influenced by continued experience melding the genres of electronica, rock, rap, world, jazz, pop, and classical, Daniel brings a powerful combination of talent and will that is reflected in each of his productions. Where his urban travels have constructed his technical aptitude, his Colombian heritage provides a unique spirituality and sense of purpose that has always driven him to succeed.
Now, after years of performing and producing, Daniel Guaqueta is on the move, aiming for a full album and a European tour by the end of 2011. Regularly in and out of the studio, Daniel is constantly reworking the visual and audial elements of his music, as evidenced by his regular music videos and complex stage performances.
From his time with Questions in Dialect, Discover America, Mainframe Theory and Storage 24, to his collaborations with artists like Mute Math’s Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas, Kamikaze and tours with Mute Math, Circa Survive, Unwed Sailor, and Mae, Daniel is an experienced performer, and in the studio he’s refined his talent through work with veterans such as Bob Weston and Andy Baker.
Having shaken up the Mississippi music scene and taken more than one tour nationwide, Daniel Guaqueta is poised to spread his art across the globe." -- Nick Judin --
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Labels: (TR) TTOCCS REKARP
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Hot As Heat for Live Video Clay 2 MASTER
