Bellefonte musician Michael Christie returns to his roots with new album
Full disclosure ... I’m an acoustic music lover. It’s true, but I’ve recently been getting more into the seemingly infinite space of electronic music, and an electronic music gem is right here in Centre County.
Bellefonte resident and Telepath visionary Michael Christie, formerly a member of super-gigging bands Lotus, Afromotive, and Second Sky, has released a new album called “Resonate,” a supremely layered and nuanced collection of what Christie calls “organic electronic music,” meaning it is within the framework of electronic music, but uses real instruments.
“The sound starts with a base of organic, mostly downtempo electronica, and then adds bits of influences from reggae and music from India and the Middle East,” Christie wrote in an email. “It’s a return to the style of music I was making in 2006-2011 when I was doing music full time.”
Speaking of full-time music, Christie is a road-tested musician who played up to 100 shows a year for a few years in a row, really making a go at being a professional, touring and recording musician on what I might associate with the jam band scene. Christie can definitely jam, but he has some serious skills when it comes to composing, which “Resonate” showcases.
“When I stopped touring in 2011, I spent the next few years experimenting with different musical styles,” Christie wrote. “During that time, it felt very freeing to be able to create whatever came into my head. But, after several albums of that sort of thing, it felt like it was time to ‘come home.’”
The concept for “Resonate” emerged from Christie’s eclectic musical interests, which is quite recognizable when listening to the music.
“In the past I’ve always listened to all kinds of music, and then taken these disparate influences and mixed them together to create the style I was looking for,” Christie wrote. “But on this album, I actually felt like I was trying to be inspired mostly by my own previous work. It was really interesting to come at it from a place of trying to be influenced mainly by myself.”
Christie’s creative process of dipping into his own body of work resulted in a phenomenal project. The first song, “A Clear Path Forward,” rumbles in with a splash of sound, kind of like a subtle big bang that begins with an understated and deliberate sonic eruption that weaves its way in and out of elaborate melodic excursions. The journey continues throughout the album, with a sense of expansion prevalent in each song. This album consists of individual songs, but the songs are an unfolding, a blooming, a resonant awakening.
“Telepath (Christie’s independent project) albums have generally consisted of me playing as much as I can on my own (drums, percussion, bass, keys, guitar and a few random wind instruments),” Christie wrote, “and then bringing in guests to sing or to play instruments that I can’t.”
For “Resonate,” Christie brought in the Brass Cadillacs’ horn section for two songs, a singer from India named Pappi Gill, and others as well.
“(Pappi Gill) just absolutely kills it,” Christie wrote. “I think my favorite moments on the album are things that other people did, rather than anything I did.”
Although Christie is Bellefonte-bound these days and working a day job that enables him to help support and spend more time with his family, he still hopes the album is a success, and is well-positioned to market the album electronically.
“Life feels very uncertain right now,” Christie wrote. “I thought it would be a good time to offer some (music) to the old-school fans who were still occasionally sending me messages asking for something like this. That’s really all I’m hoping for — just to give 40 minutes of good vibes to some people who could use it.”
So, it’s a shout out to former and current fans from around the country who keep up with what Christie is doing, and Christie is happy to connect with them in this new, more stationary phase of his musical life.
“I was playing around 100 shows a year all over the U.S, getting to do amazing festivals in places like Jamaica and Red Rocks,” Christie wrote, “but honestly, I’m really quite content to not have that kind of pressure on the music anymore. It’s nice to get back to it being something that I do for fun.”
And for Christie, it all has a much deeper significance with implications for us all.
“I feel like there are so many creative opportunities waiting to be explored,” Christie wrote. “We just need to allow ourselves the time to do it.”
“Resonate” is available on online platforms such Spotify, iTunes and Amazon. Visit www.telepathmusic.com for more details.