I consider the music on this album in different ways — as environments, a forest or a city, or some type of new not yet created combination of those things. The album as a place to visit, look around, explore, and travel through …
It's also a type of diary, or a moving sonic photo album, representing Traveling Excellently, physically, emotionally, dimensionally. All of these recordings are made from my living collection of samples interpreted and played with my guitar. I use the guitar as a sampler and synth controller, allowing me to make anything my "instrument." I have a microphone in my set-up, and when I'm playing with a group, or in an environment, I point the mic at the band or sound source, and if something happens that I want to play, I record it, and drop it into the sampler. The sample maps across the fretboard, and I can play it at any pitch and speed, effectively making anything that makes sound, my instrument. All possible realities are available. I also explore further with guitar synthesizers, other samples of myself playing various acoustic instruments, and samples of environments like forests and cities. I think of it as a Worlds Within Worlds or Worlds Upon Worlds approach, one where anything is possible — live producing and mixing, a form of DJing Reality, immersively layered sonic landscapes, Time Music, Playing with Time ... This is also my version of a solo guitar album, where nearly everything is created by a guitar, except for a live trio section with Carlos and André in the middle of “Infinite Palaces of Possibility / Horse”. Some pieces are one-take solo performances (tracks 2, 4, 7, 10, 16), others are multiple solo performances edited together, with various levels of orchestration/arrangement/collaging (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11-15, 17). The acoustic sound of my electric guitar is often present too -- I put a mic on it in order to show what is happening in that more traditional sense. It's interesting to have the reference of the acoustic sound of the guitar, with the expansive worlds of sound that it's making.
The song titles begin to tell the story of how I consider this type of music creation. Everyone on this album is a collaborator and writer — this music would not have happened unless we participated in the initial moment of creation together. These are samples collected from my life -- trips I've taken, moments with my family, concerts I've played, recording sessions I've attended, people I've had to my home studio, places I've traveled to and shared music in. A Massive Thank You to every sampled guest on this album for your openness to this process of making more music with our music.
In addition to the musicians sampled, samples include the sounds and expressions of Manhattan, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Oakland, Amsterdam, Tujunga, Topanga, Los Angeles, Venice Beach, Benton, Mayer Arizona, Twentynine Palms, Köln, BART, wind, breathing, water, fire, traffic, crosswalks, guitar birds, birds, cymbals, shakers, gongs, flutes, toms, drum sets, tambourines, voices, bells, shells, chimes, saxophones, clarinets, keyboards, guitars, zithers, psaltery, clave, woodblocks, the hangers backstage at National Sawdust, concerts at home with Juniper, marimbas, xylophones, drum machines, bird calls, and more … Other Locations where samples were gathered include The World Stage in Leimert Park, Nublu in Manhattan, SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, King Georg in Köln, The Watershed in Oakland, Different Fur in San Francisco, Mia and Jesse’s in Glendale, Earthstar Creation Center in Venice, various studios in Hollywood, Malibu, and Santa Monica, and my home studio in Tujunga.
Excellent Traveler is — Ears As Eyes, Musical Mind Cinema, Exploratory Music with a Sense of Discovery, making music with the Highest Quality Listener In Mind, Walking Through The Forest, there's a swarm of bees, and a bird I've never heard before, Playing Life, Noticing, a Vibrant Painting flies through the night sky Carried by Egrets, Worlds Within Worlds, Worlds Upon Worlds, Framing, Time Music, Playing with Time, in and out of Focus, World Creation, Shredding on levels (in ways) once deemed "impossible", now thought of and felt as Now -- have All Ways Been Eternal, hi-fives all around (It Can Be Like This), From One Place To Another, Now We’re Here, Traveling (emotionally), Traveling (physically), Navigating Inner and Outer Worlds in all directions, All Possible Realities, Reality Accelerators, Electric as Acoustic and Acoustic as Electric, Preheating Your Creative Mind, Solo Trips, Visual Music, Playing Not Notes, Expanded Realities, 'Going There' and Reporting Back, A New Type of Solo Guitar Album, Expanding the range of what the guitar can do, unique energy and Pacing, getting as close as I can to sharing the unedited feeling of aliveness in all ways sonically, Understanding What I’m On The Planet For (this time), Searching, Finding Out/In, Epiphanic Score Music, (there are no limits)(redefine)(anything is possible), Sharp Turns, Tempos Implied with multiple overlaid + fluctuating/breathing, Body Tempo, “The School of Freedom All Ways”, Planetary Chord Beam Echoing Throughout The Universe, I’m In The Ocean, I’m on Top of the Mountain, riding and creating waves, Honoring Intuition Immediately, (being) the space listening from, Guitar Solos, Fantastic Thoughts, Lions, Time Decoration, Scene Shredding, This Is Happening Now, All 1 Thing …
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"I call him a Magician," André 3000
would say from stage every night of the
New Blue Sun Live Tour. "He plays Guitar,
but it almost never sounds like a Guitar . . ."
referring to Nate Mercereau's travel rig of Guitar,
Guitar Synth, Guitar Sampler, Pedalboard,
Laptop, aerophones, and percussion.
Nate is also set up to Sample what is happening
around him, including himself, at any moment.
Excellent Traveller is a Guitar album,
but not in a usual way. Everything you
hear on the album has come through the
Guitar, played by Nate, fingers on the Strings,
Soli even, but the sound source is a vast
array of recordings that Nate made in Live and Studio
Sessions with all of the featured artists named.
This is a traditional approach with totally unique
(nontraditinal) elements that speak to the infinite
sonic and energetic, spiritual and creative potentials
that Nate hears and lives.
"I feel like I, and we, contain the vastness
of all infinite potential, and in that potential,
my imagination and feelings about it go beyond words,
and it's all in the music!" Nate, charged like a sunray,
continues, "My greatest inspirations in life and music
come from feeling a sense of infinite possibility,
because I do believe that’s what is available in
Life on Planet Earth and Beyond. I focus on opening
myself up to this freedom as much as I can, and it’s
something I maintain awareness of and cultivate in
all aspects of my life and creativity. Freedom is very important,
I offer it to myself and to others around me. I feel very alive
and tuned in when experiencing, hearing, seeing
and doing things that remind me that anything can happen."
Frequent Mercereau collaborator Carlos Niño
thinks of Nate as a "very rare creative artist who is
truly a multi-instrumentalist - put any Instrument in
front of him and he will make wondrous sounds -
a Composer, Producer, so open to exploration."
An excellent traveller on the surface of Earth,
throughout our Human World, and within
the vast internal depths of Vision, code and
eternal vibration, Mercereau keeps moving . . .
This exquisite album of spontaneous solo
composition and nuanced improvisation features
Living Legends Laraaji, Luis Pérez Ixoneztli
and Idris Ackamoor, as well as 3000, Niño and their
close collaborator, keyboardist, Surya Botofasina.
Nate's (3 years young) Daughter Juniper is on the album.
Sam Gendel, Kamasi Washington, Shabaka,
(add the other names hear,)
all intersect in Mercereau's psychedelic
quests and adventures as well.
Considering Nate Mercereau's vast array of
collaborators and projects over the years,
from Sheila E., Ledisi, Goapele, Jennifer Hudson,
Maya Rudolph, Raphael Saadiq, Leon Bridges,
Ricky Reed, Lizzo, The Weeknd, Jay Z, No I.D.,
John Legend, Jon Batiste, and all those mentioned
above, the Question of what threads tie it all
together, what thoughts, what feelings . . .
To that, Nate answers:
"Exploration, Freedom, Creativity, Discovery,
Openness, Searching, Emotional Depths,
Inner and Outer and Multi Dimensional Worlds,
Immersive Experience, Intensity, Fire, Water, Earth,
Curiosity, Listening, Infinite Possibility . . .
the threads that tie it all together come from me
being a person living a life, and I’m moving through
and in and around this life in every way I find resonant,
in the process of exploration itself, and all that comes with it.
There is always a sense of discovery, going further into emotional depths and possible realities. “Going There” and reporting back.
The way it is presented and shared throughout my life is always different, because of course it is — I am a person who is growing
and changing, finding myself and my environment
in ever present fluid nowness, so my expressions
and interests will be changing as I find new ways
to engage with it. My albums are all the same
in that they are all me, and they are different
in that they are all me."
Travel on Nate, enjoy that flow, we're riding with you . . .
Written by Carlos Niño
releases October 11, 2024
Nate Mercereau - Guitar
Carlos Niño - Toms, Shells and Cymbals on Infinite Palaces of Possibility / Horse
André 3000 - Flute and Vocoder on Infinite Palaces of Possibility / Horse
Produced, Mixed, Edited and Arranged by Nate Mercereau
Sampled Guests in order of appearance
Luis Pérez Ixoneztli
Carlos Niño
André 3000
Surya Botofasina
Laraaji
Idris Ackamoor
Shabaka Hutchings
Kamasi Washington
Cavana Lee
V.C.R
Anaiah Rasheed Muhammad
Aaron Shaw
Andres Renteria
Dwight Trible
Thank You to Alyssa and Juniper, Thank You to everyone who I have created with over the duration of recording this album and for being open to exploring live and expanded realities together, thank you Third Man Records, Luke Schneider, Ben Swank, Morgan Perry, Jordan Williams, Mitch Daniels, Warren Deferver, Sarah Stawski, Thank You Michael and Sherry Mercereau, Carlos Niño, A very special acknowledgement to Carlos Niño for facilitating many sessions, meetings and concerts where some of these samples were recorded, André 3000, Surya Botofasina, Josh Johnson, Deantoni Parks, Kamasi Washington, Jesse Peterson, Mia Doi Todd, Idris Ackamoor, Shabaka Hutchings, Luis Pérez Ixoneztli, Dwight Trible, Aaron Shaw, Andres Renteria, Cavana Lee, VCR, Laraaji, Erik Bailey and Uniform Music, Zach Parkes, Spencer Zahn, Ken Oriole, Patrick Brown, Grace Coleman, Different Fur Studios, Banch Abegaze, Nesanet Teshager Abegaze, Patrick Lukens, Isaac Bolivar, Huck Ingram, Terence Nance, Sam Gendel, Azul Niño, Ricky Reed, Bradley Haering, Nice Life, Rich Good and Dana Longuevan, Josh Whiteman, The Park - Derek Taylor, Josh Lippi and Ben Schwier, Ralph Buzzy Jones, Wendell Harrison, Matthewdavid McQueen and Leaving Records, Dave Harrington, Steve Wyreman, John-Paul Shiver, Rush Hour Records, Noah Klein, Chris Mercereau, Dr. James E. Mercereau, Fred Frith, Robert Fripp, Iasos, King Georg in Köln, Anaiah Rasheed Muhammad, The World Stage in Leimert Park, all travelers ...
For the purpose of these credits, the phrase “contains samples” means that each sample was recorded by me, and performed as a sound with the midi-guitar.
1. For The Highest Quality Listener Testing the Limits - Contains samples of Luis Pérez Ixoneztli’s flutes and Carlos Niño’s gong and cymbals from a trio session at Carlos’s home in Topanga, California. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
2. Sound Within Sound - contains samples of André 3000’s flute and Carlos Niño’s drum from a session in Hollywood, California. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
3. Surfing, in Manhattan - contains samples of Laraaji’s voice, Surya Botofasina’s keyboards, Carlos’s Niño’s cymbals and my guitar synthesizer from a concert at Nublu in Manhattan, New York, January 14, 2022. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
4. Excellent Traveler Theme - contains samples of Idris Ackamoor’s saxophone, Carlos Niño’s percussion, and my guitar drums from a trio concert at the SF Jazz Center in San Francisco, California, on February 22, 2023. Also includes sounds of BART recorded while traveling with Alyssa and Juniper. Recorded by Grace Coleman at Different Fur in San Francisco and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
5. Infinite Palaces of Possibility / Horse - contains samples of André 3000’s flute and a Yamaha EM90 drum machine from a session in Santa Monica, California. The middle section of this piece features a live trio performance with Carlos Niño and André 3000 recorded at Earthstar Creation Center in Venice, California by Ken Oriole. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
6. Continually Cresting - contains samples of my own guitar synthesizers and Tujunga night time atmospherics. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
7. I Am In The Fire Place - contains samples of André 3000’s flute and Carlos Niño’s drum from a session in Hollywood, California. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
8. Worlds Beyond (into it) - contains samples of Shabaka Hutchings clarinet and Carlos Niño’s cymbals from a session in Malibu, California. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
9. Worlds Upon Worlds - contains samples of Kamasi Washington’s saxophone and Carlos Niño’s cymbals from Mia and Jesse’s in Glendale, California, as well as a midi instrument created from a note of André 3000’s flute. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
10. Watershed, in Oakland - contains samples of my own guitar synthesizers. Recorded by Zach Parkes at The Watershed in Oakland, California, and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
11. Ears as Eyes (Benton, Tujunga, Mayer) - contains samples of wind and weather in Benton, California, night time atmospherics in Tujunga, California, Butternut Creek in Mayer, Arizona, and guitar synthesizer imitations of birds. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
12. Immersive Realization Landscape - contains samples of flutes and drums from the collection of Luis Pérez Ixoneztli, psaltery, atmospherics from Benton, California, and recordings of a home concert with Juniper speaking and playing marimba. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
13. From One Place To Another - contains samples of Cavana Lee’s voice, Surya Botofasina’s keyboard and Carlos Niño’s cymbals from our concert in Köln, Germany at King Georg, November 12, 2021. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
14. Juniper’s Theme - contains samples of Juniper’s marimba and synthesized guitar waves. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
15. DJinn’ - contains samples of VCR’s voice and zither from The Village in Santa Monica, California, Anaiah Rasheed Muhammad’s drums, a concert from The World Stage in Leimert Park with Dwight Trible, Andres Renteria, Carlos Niño, Aaron Shaw and myself, the metal hangers backstage at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, and crosswalk sounds in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga, with the last two and half minutes recorded by Spencer Zahn in Kingston, New York.
16. Sky Spine Curving Into The Horizon - contains samples of my guitar synthesizers and guitar-bird imitations. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
17. Awayness - contains samples of Kamasi Washington’s breaths and saxophone, and Carlos Niño’s cymbals from Mia and Jesse’s studio in Glendale, California. Recorded and mixed by Nate Mercereau at Studio Tujunga.
