Martin, Billy

Falling Water Bamboo Rainsticks

Label: Amulet Country: USA

Billy Martin has an obsession with percussion, and his Amulet records was founded to document that love. In this instance, the Medeski, Martin and Wood drummer's focus is on the instrument used by Amazon Indians for magic and ritual. The rainstick is a long tube made from a dried bamboo or cactus branch. When dried, the tiny seeds inside loosen and flow in a chattering way when the tube is tilted, making a sound very much like a delicate flow of rain. This album is a collection of eight recordings Martin made of his own rainsticks, which were combined by David Baker to form one continuous track.