This was the song that Patrick was working on, when Tina proposed the idea of the band at the very beginning of 2001.
In the early stages, the rhythmic spine was present, but only the first half of the song (up to the "hinge"), and Patrick had been recording the layers of instruments, that are part of the "swampy morass of music and sound that swirls around", as Patrick later describes.
The Indian music element was present from the outset, but with the addition of Tina's vocal performance, as well as the Sitars and final Tabla parts recorded (let alone the 2nd half of the song, from the hinge forward, the song found its life and focus, and was an immediate example of the collaboration between Patrick and Tina.
Tina's wordless vocals were influenced, at least in part, by Sheila Chandra's music.
Careful listening reveals melodic lines crossing from instrument to instrument, not just counterpoint, but for example, a single line (that would normally be performed by one instrument) shifting from sitar to guitar, to a bass, and so on, done to enhance the "connectedness" of the different instruments, and imply a "oneness" to the song as a whole (as over examined/explained as that thought may sound).
All of this was part of the general idea behind the song, as well as the song's title itself, which has a philosophical history behind it. That said, when Patrick began working on the song (with most of these ideas already in place), he was also working on the assumption that this would never be heard by others (beyond Tina and maybe a few others), and that it was for his own personal enjoyment, so he had no hesitation in putting as much philosophy into the aspects of the song (including the Tabla beat pattern)
"I wanted it to MEAN something to ME, so it wasn't for any pretense or attempt at 'high art', it was just for myself, and for fun."
This was one aspect of the very approach to the music making process, and non-conventional, but appealing results, that attracted Tina to the idea of joining together as a band with Patrick.
lyrics
World Of Dust's tabla beat pattern, is the structural and rhythmic spine to the song.
The basic cycle, is an ascending pattern,
each bar containing from 1 to 13 beats (in reverse, for the last 3 cycles of the song, after the "hinge").
And yes, obviously the number 13 had many positive connections to Wide-Eyed as a group, and us individually, so naturally, i focused on that number for this. As mentioned in the "notes", this was the song i was working on, when Tina proposed the idea of the band to me, so 13 was an aspect from the outset (not to mention our band's address of 1339 (39 being 13x3, of course) Apt. 13 (shown on LUCK's back cover)
I wanted to capture a consistent feel, yet have the song open up on further examination, including the palindromic nature of each individual cycle, as well as the more obvious symmetry of the song as a whole.
In my mind, i visualized the pattern as sort of an audio mandala (though to say that sounds pretentious, it originated from an innocent, genuine place within myself).
It began as a personal exercise for my own practice, and recording; i didn't set out to add to Indian music, but if it were considered to be an addition, it is only a small reciprocation from me, for all that i have received from the sublime music of India.
-Patrick
Each beat #1 should be stressed.
As the beats are counted out, all have equal time value, and are in consistent tempo.
Formed in the beginning of 2001, Wide-Eyed is Tina Lambright and Patrick Pyne. Despite being a duo, they rotated instruments
for recordings to make full, band-oriented songs of varying sounds and styles. Their music can be generally described as experimental pop, or psychedelic rock, but avoiding cliches of any genre. Serious, funny, abstract or direct, despite the dressing, enjoyment is the focus...more
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