Artist description SingleZero was written and recorded as a concept album to express how different world cultures (new, old and ancient) and life experiences have touched my life and left their indelible impressions in the fabric of my soul. With the use of conventional instruments, digital samplers, and all sorts of old and new technologies, I've attempted to fuse many different cultures, sounds, instruments, rhythms, emotions and "soundscapes" into the eight songs on SingleZero. It covers the full audio spectrum too, so if you've got a subwoofer, you'll be able to experience the depth as well as the width of this CD. I've tried to visually convey the feeling and spirit of this music through the CD artwork. The graphic on the outside of the SingleZero CD symbolizes a single eye, or window, looking out on the world. The graphic on the booklet center and back is an image taken during a trip to Japan two autumns ago. I was in a small coastal town near Lake Hamana, just outside Hamamatsu. Their local autumn festival was in full swing, and I was lucky enough to capture this image of the children dressed in their ceremonial costumes, marching while playing their flutes, horns and drums in front of a "waterfall" of fireworks. It was quite spectacular, and ethereal at the same time. The graphic on the outside of the CD tray is an image that I took during a trip to the southwest, at Chaco Canyon, one of the largest and most sophisticated Anasazi ruins in North America. It's quite eerie to stand among the ruins during the middle of the day, let alone during the twilight hours and the pitch blackness of the evening.

Music Style Neo Anthro Fusion

Musical Influences Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons, various cultures and life experiences

Artist History Began playing the ukulele at 4, trumpet at 7, guitar at 13, percussion and bass at 15. First studio recording at 16, first national tour at 19, first record at 22, first film soundtrack at 25, first of seven CDs released in 1996. ASCAP and AES member. Composer. Arranger. Engineer. Producer. Digital graphic artist.

Group Members Dick Schalk

Albums SingleZero

Press Reviews Fran Gray - Live & Recorded Reviews - TWO LOUIES MAGAZINE - Singlezero - Having recently returned from his travels across time and space, Dick Schalk has touched down in Portland, timbre-ly transformed. The bluesy roots sound of his last release with Portland band The Executives would hint NOT towards the Neo-Anthro fusion direction of his new CD, Singlezero. Expressing the impacts of world cultures both new and ancient on the fabric of his being, Schalk successfully transports his audience into his thoughts, traveling through amazing musical spaces and returning to reality by mixing ethereal movements and electronic splendor through digital samplers and conventional instruments. The first cut on Singlezero, "4K in the Road" does this with swirling layers and world beat Indian rhythms followed by nylon string Spanish guitar solos. Haunting, nebulous electric didgeridoos oscillate in the background on this musical world tour; a perfect representation of Schalk's unification of culture and music. Covering the full audio spectrum, in one moment you are floating away in nebulous soundscapes that give a sense of infinity, as in track 5 "The Starting." A gloriously rich cloud of synth sounds open this piece up followed by a deep heavy beat, as if it was the soundtrack for a dark dance scene in some Sci Fi thriller. Track 8 "Anasazi Wind" with its Native American chanting, drum beats and moccasin bells is a reminder of the depth of music as a cultural expression. Unified in both concept and execution, Singlezero is a sonic sojourn through world culture and personal experience amazingly translated into a CD of songs. Lyric-less but expressive, Schalk crosses the bold expanse of the emotional universe creating an album that's thought provoking and healing.

Additional Info S'Pacific Records

Location Portland, Oregon - USA

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