Bio

Mike Tamburo is a world-renowned musician, composer, artist and educator. He is known and loved for his transformational live concerts performed on his personally curated set of gongs, bells and other metal instruments. 

A lifelong multi-instrumentalist, Tamburo has focused his talents on metal percussion instruments, string instruments (hammered dulcimer, guitar, zither, shahi baaja), as well as electronic instruments (synths, looping). 

Since 1994, Tamburo has shared more than 2,000 concerts and workshops. He has recorded over 70 albums, both solo and in collaboration with Crown of Eternity, Meisha, Arco Flute Foundation, Psychic Frost, Brother Ong and more, ranging from epic gong music to ecstatic and transcendental string music, as well as folk, drone, space rock, ambient, mantra music and sometimes unclassifiable sounds. This man loves music in all its forms! 

He teaches gong music, both in person and online with School of Gong. He is also a part of the far-reaching ethnomusicology trio, Dig Deeper, with Mitch Nur and Thomas Orr Anderson. Their online classes have explored countless musical concepts with a focus on the cultural and personal uses of sound for healing, meditation, trance, ecstatic states, relaxation, self transformation, perception, psycho-acoustics, scientific discovery, time and community. 

An early adoptee of meditation, Tamburo’s music offers space for journeying, self-exploration and deep introspection. During many of his early performances, he experienced altered states of consciousness and out of body experiences. To understand these experiences, he explored kundalini yoga, energy work, the therapeutic use of sound and how sound impacts consciousness, human perception and self healing. His love for long sustained drones, overtones and psychoacoustics continues to inspire him to explore music in further directions. 

Tamburo is also an interdisciplinary sound artist, instrument builder, video artist, sound therapist, writer and meditation teacher.

Upcoming Concerts, Workshops, Trainings, Artist Residencies

Date Event Location
 —  — Le Seances Workshop Limusic Residential Recording Studio, Limoux, France Limusic Residential Recording Studio, Limoux, France
 —  — The Big Retreat - Wales Festival The Big Retreat, Pembrokeshire, Wales The Big Retreat, Pembrokeshire, Wales
 —  — Gong Explorations Workshop with Mike Tamburo Glandwr Sacred Vacations, Llandyssull, Wales Glandwr Sacred Vacations, Llandyssull, Wales
 —  — Gong Creations Workshop with Mike Tamburo Glandwr Sacred Vacations, Llandyssull, Wales Glandwr Sacred Vacations, Llandyssull, Wales
 —  — Grotta Sonora Experience Grotta Sonora, Calcata, Italy Grotta Sonora, Calcata, Italy
 —  — Grotta Sonora Small Retreat Grotta Sonora, Calcata, Italy Grotta Sonora, Calcata, Italy
 —  — Knock at Heaven and Listen to the Sound - A Workshop facilitated by Mike Tamburo and Jochen Fassbender HausDreiklang, Birnbach/Westerwald, Germany HausDreiklang, Birnbach/Westerwald, Germany
 —  — Metals: Exploring the World of Musical Metals (workshop) The Gong Space, Tuscany, Italy The Gong Space, Tuscany, Italy
Mike Tamburo Sound Meditation - Tuscany The Gong Space, Tuscany, Italy The Gong Space, Tuscany, Italy
Mike Tamburo Sound Meditation - Tuscany The Gong Space, Tuscany, Italy The Gong Space, Tuscany, Italy
 —  — Adventures in Gong Music - Workshop with Mike Tamburo Glandwr Sacred Vacations, Llandyssull, Wales Glandwr Sacred Vacations, Llandyssull, Wales
 —  — Gong Essentials with Mike Tamburo The Community House, Lofoten, Norway The Community House, Lofoten, Norway
 —  — Gong Explorations with Mike Tamburo ADELHAUS, Pritzwalk Germany ADELHAUS, Pritzwalk Germany
 —  — Gong Explorations Workshop Broder Oetken Gongs, Fockbeck, Germany Broder Oetken Gongs, Fockbeck, Germany
 —  — Gong Essentials Workshop with Mike Tamburo Har-Loft, 10967 Berlin Har-Loft, 10967 Berlin
 —  — Golden Gong Gathering Glandwr Sacred Vacations, Llandyssull, Wales Glandwr Sacred Vacations, Llandyssull, Wales
Schrager 70 (Private Event) Private Event, Acton, MA Private Event, Acton, MA
Mike Tamburo Sound Meditation - Gloucester, MA Floating Lotus, Gloucester, MA 01930 Floating Lotus, Gloucester, MA 01930
 —  — Gong Camp with 9ways Academia The Lighthouse, Perkasie, PA The Lighthouse, Perkasie, PA
 —  — Mexico Tour Sponsered By The Elephant Bowl, CDMX and Tepoztlán Sponsered By The Elephant Bowl, CDMX and Tepoztlán
View previous events

The Heavy Music

Mike Tamburo

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Mike Tamburo - The Heavy Music
(Available on all music platforms)

The Heavy Music is a journey through tone, texture, and time. Mike Tamburo creates a 65-minute exploration of metal, recorded live in one take. From Read more
Mike Tamburo - The Heavy Music
(Available on all music platforms)

The Heavy Music is a journey through tone, texture, and time. Mike Tamburo creates a 65-minute exploration of metal, recorded live in one take. From delicate twinkles to roaring pulses and deep, beating waves, each piece carries its own heaviness and its own movement within a larger story. The Heavy Music weighs 1,694 sonic pounds (physically the instruments weigh 994 pounds) and emotionally, the hope is that the weight of the music is felt deeply by the listener.

Here, tone and time meet expression and emotion, guiding the listener inward to their heaviest places. The shimmer of rod chimes, the surging power of gongs, and the nuanced spaces between them form a complete, unified vision.

Heavy music for Heavy Times.
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    345 lb 8:34
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    280 lb 5:32
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    353 lb 5:37
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    351 lb 21:17
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    273 lb 20:22
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    82 lb 3:55
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Drifts and Nods

Mike Tamburo

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Drifts and Nods is a collection of late-night, dreamy minimalism recorded by Mike Tamburo during his 2024 and 2025 tours. Known for his immersive live performances with an expansive array of metal instruments, Tamburo Read more
Drifts and Nods is a collection of late-night, dreamy minimalism recorded by Mike Tamburo during his 2024 and 2025 tours. Known for his immersive live performances with an expansive array of metal instruments, Tamburo turned to the compact Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizer—no larger than a computer keyboard—to continue creating music in hotel rooms after his concerts. Using the OP-1’s 4-track recorder, each piece was built through looping, layering, and slow evolutions. After long days, late nights, and the immersive energy of performing, Tamburo often succumbed to the music mid-creation—falling asleep as the loops carried on, only to wake to accidental keystrokes or the OP-1 tumbling off the bed. Every piece in this collection was created, in part, while drifting off. The result is music that floats between states of consciousness: spacey, explorative, and deeply intimate. Drifts and Nods lingers in that liminal space between dreaming and doing, offering a rare glimpse into the artist’s quietest, most minimal sonic reflections.
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    Refractions 3:27
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    Return to Dreaming 8:05
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    Happy Jax 6:54
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    Morning Phase 3:49
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    Wet Hands 2:40
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    Rare Refractions 4:46
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    And Sparkles Forever and Ever 15:05
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When I'm Gone Bury Me at Sea

Mike Tamburo

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'When I’m Gone, Bury Me at Sea' is a celebration of the impermanence of existence, a sonic journey that explores the beauty of life’s transience and the mystery of what lies beyond. Opening with Tamburo’s resonant humming Read more
'When I’m Gone, Bury Me at Sea' is a celebration of the impermanence of existence, a sonic journey that explores the beauty of life’s transience and the mystery of what lies beyond. Opening with Tamburo’s resonant humming amidst the clatter of sound sculptures, bells, and percussion, the song gradually unfolds into a shimmering, mystical polyrhythmic groove.

At its core, a hypnotic, repeating, choir-like vocal refrain emerges, where Tamburo reflects on his eventual departure and the fate of his remains. The interplay of textures—both chaotic and serene—creates a soundscape that feels at once meditative and otherworldly, inviting listeners to embrace the inevitable transitions of life with awe and reverence.

With its unique fusion of raw experimentation, groove and introspection, When I’m Gone, Bury Me at Sea offers a deeply moving meditation on death and the celebration of impermanence.
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    When I'm Gone Bury Me at Sea 10:44
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Farewell Voyager

Mike Tamburo

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Farewell Voyager unfolds like a daydream on a long journey, where thoughts and feelings unravel the further you travel. This hammered dulcimer piece captures the essence of comings and goings, reflecting the rhythms of Read more
Farewell Voyager unfolds like a daydream on a long journey, where thoughts and feelings unravel the further you travel. This hammered dulcimer piece captures the essence of comings and goings, reflecting the rhythms of meeting new people and inevitable farewells. It’s a composition steeped in the beauty of transient moments, guiding the listener through a dynamic landscape of sound.

Intricate and layered, the music stretches just over 25 minutes, weaving delicate passages with bursts of kinetic power and intensity. Each note adds depth, inviting listeners to drift and immerse themselves in its shifting atmospheres. Farewell Voyager is both a reflection on solitude and a tribute to the connections that define our journeys.
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    Farewell Voyager 25:51
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Gravity Attracting

Mike Tamburo

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'Gravity Attracting' is a mesmerizing and glacial journey into Mike Tamburo’s world of sound, weaving together the meditative tones of nine aluminum bossed gongs and a two-octave scale of 5”-10” wind and chau gongs.

Read more
'Gravity Attracting' is a mesmerizing and glacial journey into Mike Tamburo’s world of sound, weaving together the meditative tones of nine aluminum bossed gongs and a two-octave scale of 5”-10” wind and chau gongs.

Drawing inspiration from John Fahey’s approach to treating the acoustic guitar as a multi-stringed orchestra, this composition extends that philosophy into the realm of resonant metal percussion.

In a previous chapter of my life, I was deeply immersed in composing guitar music, heavily influenced by the American Primitive Guitar movement as well as slowcore and composers like Arvo Pärt and Erik Satie. Fahey’s concept of treating the acoustic guitar like a gamelan orchestra resonated deeply with me. I’ve since carried a reversed imagining of this approach into my exploration of gong music, envisioning what it would be like to treat an orchestra of gongs as if they were an acoustic guitar.

'Gravity Attracting' is the first public release from these tuned gong explorations, where Fahey's haunting drones blend with the slow-core influence of bands like Low and Bedhead, all within the rich, resonant world of tuned gongs. Recorded with an Aston Origin microphone and brought to life through the mixing and mastering expertise of Eric Carbonara, this track invites listeners to experience sound as gravity—inevitable, pulling, and deeply immersive.
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    Gravity Attracting 10:20
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6 Tears for Funwheel

Mike Tamburo

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Slowly evolving electric guitar soundscape.

6 Tears for Funwheel is a dedication to a childhood toy called the Sit and Spin, that my brother and I for some reason named the "Funwheel". We both spent hours on the Read more
Slowly evolving electric guitar soundscape.

6 Tears for Funwheel is a dedication to a childhood toy called the Sit and Spin, that my brother and I for some reason named the "Funwheel". We both spent hours on the Funwheel, just spinning and enjoying life,

At some point, the fun wheel started to come apart, but we still used it, but it became quite dangerous, often getting parts of our skin pinched in the spinning device, brush burns, and even flying off, when the turning wheel would pop off.

6 Tears for Funwheel was recorded a few years ago, the day after Christmas, It was an experiment in effects processing, Where I put the looper first in my effects chain and then slowly processed the original loop with various effects (post loop). It was quite fun to make and I hope it is a dreamy one to listen to.
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    6 Tears for Funwheel 14:49
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Laughing Magic

Mike Tamburo

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From the vaults - this single was recorded during the pandemic.
In January and February of 2021, I picked up the electric guitar once again, to fill the time, to make me feel something different, for some life Read more
From the vaults - this single was recorded during the pandemic.
In January and February of 2021, I picked up the electric guitar once again, to fill the time, to make me feel something different, for some life inspiration, and to see what sounds I could conjure up. What transpired was a series of heavily effect guitar works that seemed to communicate the epicness of the time for me.

This recording features the electro-harmonix melotron pedal in a number its layers.
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    Laughing Magic 8:46
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Sonic Visions

Mike Tamburo

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"As a yearly Christmas tradition, I take LSD to reflect and ensure I am still leading the life I want. Typically, I spend the evening in my home recording studio, capturing whatever inspiration comes my way. This year's Read more
"As a yearly Christmas tradition, I take LSD to reflect and ensure I am still leading the life I want. Typically, I spend the evening in my home recording studio, capturing whatever inspiration comes my way. This year's exploration gave birth to the enchanting aural landscape of 'Sonic Visions,' a deeply introspective musical experience that captures the spirit of spontaneous artistic expression and self-discovery. The interplay of enchanting and interweaving strings (including hammered dulcimer, monolina, zither, resonator guitar, and nylon-string classical guitar), along with pulsating gongs, bells, chimes, and the rods of Val Bertoia's Soundation Sound Sculpture instruments, imbues the music with a distinct cascading feeling and character. The blending of slowly shifting tone and timbre transports listeners into realms inspired by spiritual jazz, folk, and experimental landscapes, yet remains deeply enmeshed in Tamburo’s Sonic Vision. Tom Hall returns for an artistic collaboration, interpreting the music and Tamburo's sonic experiment into a psychedelic album cover."
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    Sonic Visions 16:18
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as you wake or return to sleep

Mike Tamburo

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a love note
(for NH)
written shortly after midnight
meant to be heard upon waking
or before returning to sleep
in the early morning

----------

Mike Tamburo - 'as you wake or return to sleep'
A gentle sonic Read more
a love note
(for NH)
written shortly after midnight
meant to be heard upon waking
or before returning to sleep
in the early morning

----------

Mike Tamburo - 'as you wake or return to sleep'
A gentle sonic contemplation, imagined for the space in time between between waking up in the early morning and returning to sleep soon after. Slow, hazy, dreamy and inviting.
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    as you wake or return to sleep 4:51
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Private Humors

Mike Tamburo

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Private Humors is 8 songs written and recorded on the Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field during the summer and fall of 2022. These songs range from minimal to elegant to lush, from wistful to joyful (and sometimes may I say Read more
Private Humors is 8 songs written and recorded on the Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field during the summer and fall of 2022. These songs range from minimal to elegant to lush, from wistful to joyful (and sometimes may I say nearly poppy) and as with the song 'Grammy', which I wrote at my Grammy's bedside while she was in the hospital after a bad fall, sometimes intentionally meant for peace and healing.

I had a lovely time creating this music in my private moments between the live concerts I was performing with my percussion & gong rig and the classes I was teaching online. In 2022, I found a new mode of expression on the OP-1. It's ease, size and flexibility, make it another perfect instrument to express myself with.
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    Orange Triumph 2:50
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    Your Chariot Awaits 2:35
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    Grammy 4:51
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    Green #097969 4:32
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    And The World Pretends 3:58
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    Cry Laughing 1:39
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    Young Fools 5:42
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    A Boy Named Comedy 4:16
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The Giant Sleeps

Mike Tamburo

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Mike Tamburo returns with a shimmering and primal set of metallic explorations and sonic meditations performed on gongs, bells and sound sculptures. Powerful and emotional, 'The Giant Sleeps' continues Tamburo's vision of Read more
Mike Tamburo returns with a shimmering and primal set of metallic explorations and sonic meditations performed on gongs, bells and sound sculptures. Powerful and emotional, 'The Giant Sleeps' continues Tamburo's vision of creating beautiful and compelling music with metal instruments and forging new pathways for himself as a composer and improviser.
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    The Giant Sleeps 2:07
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    The Giant Dreams Remarkable Things 7:37
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    A Battle with the Ocean and a Romance with a Bee 6:13
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    The Earth Quakes When the Giant Shakes Themselves Awake 7:27
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    The Giant’s Snores Rumble the Shores and Rattle the Trees 2:58
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    A Simple Motion Creates the Waves in the Ocean and All of the Seas 4:08
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    The Giant Sings and Their Song Rings Out Beyond the Mountain Peaks 11:54
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    And Once Again, The Giant Sleeps 4:16
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The April Tapes

Mike Tamburo

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Happy to announce the release of 'The April Tapes' - a 12 song EP recorded in my kitchen during April, 2022 on an OP1 synthesizer.

There is a certain beauty to this collection that I wanted to share as soon as possible. Read more
Happy to announce the release of 'The April Tapes' - a 12 song EP recorded in my kitchen during April, 2022 on an OP1 synthesizer.

There is a certain beauty to this collection that I wanted to share as soon as possible.

These are the first songs that I had written since my father passed in December.

April also saw me going through a slow unexpected romantic break up.

This music was an important force in my life as it was coming together. There was an ease and simplicity to it all. The songs are short and sweet, but each speaks volumes to me.

I usually write and record during the winter, but I was grieving this winter and I was far from being able to write or record anything. Instead I spent the winter building metal bell plates and performing concerts.

I remember sitting down one day at the beginning of April and I had something that I wanted to express once again. Inspiration had once again set in.

I hope this music can act as a balm for those who hear it.
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    4.18 2:11
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    4.12 1:10
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    4.10.1 1:47
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    4.26 3:16
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    4.28.1 3:33
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    4.22 1:36
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    4.9.2 2:23
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    4.7 1:16
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    4.28.2 2:15
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    4.10.2 1:56
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    4.8 0:46
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    4.9.1 1:34
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Just Another Twinkle In Time

Mike Tamburo

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I first composed this on the Wilsonic app while living in in Santa Cruz in December 2018. My 2019 travels and tours kicked in before I had a chance to record this piece and then Covid hit, bringing me back to Read more
I first composed this on the Wilsonic app while living in in Santa Cruz in December 2018. My 2019 travels and tours kicked in before I had a chance to record this piece and then Covid hit, bringing me back to Pennsylvania. I ended up recording all of the instruments in my mom's basement in January 2021. I finally ended up adding the humming part at my house in Pittsburgh while I had Covid in October 2021.
I love the vibe of this and I hope that you will as well.
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    Just Another Twinkle In Time 8:02
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The Air We Share

Mike Tamburo

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Music inspired by our strange times, David Lynch, Wallace Shawn, Masha, waterfalls, a psychedelic birthday party, changing seasons, feeding fortune cookies to geese, sleeping on a kayak, and all of the surprises that come Read more
Music inspired by our strange times, David Lynch, Wallace Shawn, Masha, waterfalls, a psychedelic birthday party, changing seasons, feeding fortune cookies to geese, sleeping on a kayak, and all of the surprises that come along with composing on a malfunctioning electric vibraphone.


This music was recorded during the same time period as 'Distance Music - March 2021'. I consider the two albums to compliment each other.
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    Mahh Sun #2 7:24
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    The Air We Share 12:36
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    Clearly Music 2:26
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    Wallace Shawn 4:26
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    Water Run With Me 8:01
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    Our Forever Illusion 8:03
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Distance Music

Mike Tamburo

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This music is inspired by the space that we have been experiencing apart from each other during these times.
It is drifting and peaceful and it is a perfect music to play on repeat through the day or night.
Recorded live from my basement lair on a 1964 Deagan Electric Vibraphone through effects and loops.
I hope you enjoy it.
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    Distance Music 39:11
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Fantastic Tales

Mike Tamburo

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Mike Tamburo’s Fantastic Tales is a sonically poetic tapestry of string tones and rhythms blended together in a heartfelt cosmic journey. Tamburo is joined in an exquisite collaboration by Jesse Sparhawk on harp, Galina Read more
Mike Tamburo’s Fantastic Tales is a sonically poetic tapestry of string tones and rhythms blended together in a heartfelt cosmic journey. Tamburo is joined in an exquisite collaboration by Jesse Sparhawk on harp, Galina Tamburo on monolina and zither, Ryan Jewell on drums and Anthony Molina on synthesizer and percussion. Tamburo’s rolling hammered dulcimer stylings and compositions are intertwined with Jesse Sparhawk’s crystalline harp, Galina Tamburo’s flowing drones and are held together by Ryan Jewell’s expressive percussion. Certainly an ode to the cosmic music of Alice Coltrane and the 1970’s spiritual jazz scene, the artistry and beauty of Fantastic Tales is experienced in the group interactions as they each evoke a quality of a story or narrative - the adventure - the tales that each song shares.
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    My Beloved 8:15
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    Fantastic Tales of Artok 16:56
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  3. 3
    Universal Paths 5:25
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Plays Metal

Mike Tamburo

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This is a Music of Love.

Mike Tamburo plays metal. He weaves, blends, layers and creates a dense sonic tapestry of slow building, powerful, emotionally charged, deep sustained tones, drones, harmonies and primitive Read more
This is a Music of Love.

Mike Tamburo plays metal. He weaves, blends, layers and creates a dense sonic tapestry of slow building, powerful, emotionally charged, deep sustained tones, drones, harmonies and primitive melodies. Performed live without overdubs on gongs, bells, bilas, gong oblongs, crotales, plates and trigons.

Best experienced on good speakers or headphones.
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  1. 1
    All To Love (Agape Music) 18:57
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    Lasting Waves 10:52
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    Sand Writing 17:10
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  4. 4
    A Mirror Reversed 18:23
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  5. 5
    Love To All (Agape Music) 11:44
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One Instrument / Nice To Meet You

Carlos Niño & Mike Tamburo

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Mike Tamburo - Gongs, Plates, Bells, and other Magical Metals
Carlos Niño - Cymbals, Chimes, Gongs, Bells, and Percussion

Improvisations Performed as a Live Recording, with an audience of around 12 people, on the night Read more
Mike Tamburo - Gongs, Plates, Bells, and other Magical Metals
Carlos Niño - Cymbals, Chimes, Gongs, Bells, and Percussion

Improvisations Performed as a Live Recording, with an audience of around 12 people, on the night of our first meeting in person at Light and Space Yoga, Ojai, California, Monday, January 20, 2020.

Recorded and Mixed by Benjamin Tierney
Additional Mixing and Editing by Carlos Niño
Produced by Carlos Niño with Mike Tamburo

Mike Tamburo:

https://miketamburo.bandcamp.com
https://soundseternal.com

Photo by Jiro Schneider

Special Thanks to Serge Bandura and the Staff of Light and Space Yoga, Kenny Osehan, The Hummingbird Inn, Benjamin and Nina.

https://www.lightandspaceyoga.com
https://www.hummingbirdinnojai.com
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    One 5:27
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    Two 6:20
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    Three 4:53
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  4. 4
    Eno 4:56
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  5. 5
    Owt 10:57
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Universal Hum

Crown of Eternity

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Experience deep pulsations and shimmering tones as Crown Of Eternity deliver you through a dynamic listening experience. 'Universal Hum’ is a tapestry of slow paced rhythms, drones and tones carefully blended and Read more
Experience deep pulsations and shimmering tones as Crown Of Eternity deliver you through a dynamic listening experience. 'Universal Hum’ is a tapestry of slow paced rhythms, drones and tones carefully blended and orchestrated into pulsating fields of sound using 11 gongs and more than 60 tuned metal instruments.

‘Universal Hum’ was recorded while Mike and Gallina were immersing themselves daily in sensory deprivation tanks. With ears blocked and no external stimuli, the duo entered into the richness of their inner spaces and the internal sounds that began to reveal themselves became the inspiration for this album.

With ‘Universal Hum’, Crown of Eternity continue to evolve their take on Conscious Sound by exploring different tunings, tonalities and instruments and moving further into the realms of Sound Art and drone based minimalism.
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    Jupiter's Halo 4:47
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  2. 2
    Star Signals 11:35
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  3. 3
    Sun Blind 9:27
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  4. 4
    New Dimensions In Infinite Vibrations 10:30
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  5. 5
    RMBLKTT 4:23
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  6. 6
    Monolith 9:27
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  7. 7
    Universal Hum 19:35
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World of Sound

Mike Tamburo

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"Over the past twenty years Mike Tamburo’s prolific musical output has covered a range that includes everything from yoga and meditation music (as Brother Ong, and with Crown of Eternity), to psychedelic post-rock (with Read more
"Over the past twenty years Mike Tamburo’s prolific musical output has covered a range that includes everything from yoga and meditation music (as Brother Ong, and with Crown of Eternity), to psychedelic post-rock (with Psychic Frost, Arco Flute Foundation, Meisha, and others), to various types of experimental electro-acoustic sound. In spite of such diversity, fans of any of those branches are likely to be initially surprised by World of Sound. To be sure, there’s plenty of continuity with Tamburo’s previous work; however, here its characteristic looping layers and sonic textures are arranged into more identifiably song-based forms, and draw on a musical palette that incorporates such reference points as 1970s kosmische musik and film soundtracks, 1990s electronica, and contemporary space rock – buzzing guitars, galactic synths, minimalist pulsations, electro rhythms, blissed-out melodic vocal chants, and something called a “vibrational accumulator” (of course). Hypnotic, spacy, and uplifting (dare I call it “groovy”?), enthused yet serene waves of positive musical energy designed to put a smile on just about any type of head." - Kevin Moist
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  1. 1
    In the Garden of Lazers (Album Version) 6:28
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  2. 2
    Cacao Mama and the Great Pretender 7:29
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  3. 3
    Heart Brake 2:41
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  4. 4
    In Transit 3:08
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  5. 5
    The Last Song I Leave Behind (Album Version) 4:00
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  6. 6
    World of Sound 8:46
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  7. 7
    Darkest Sky 4:07
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  8. 8
    The Long Drive 1:40
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  9. 9
    When the Music's On (Bebe Shawncho Mix) 8:41
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Aquarian Drifter

Mike Tamburo

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AVAILABLE ON CD ONLY THROUGH DEEP WATER ACRES

Mike Tamburo returns to Deep Water with an immersive new CD of music for electric guitar, his first release on the label under his given name (following previous discs by Read more
AVAILABLE ON CD ONLY THROUGH DEEP WATER ACRES

Mike Tamburo returns to Deep Water with an immersive new CD of music for electric guitar, his first release on the label under his given name (following previous discs by Brother Ong, and as part of the Psychic Frost duo). Tamburo’s lengthy and ambulatory musical career has included everything from post-rock (with Arco Flute Foundation), to solo acoustic-electric guitar, to avant-garde New Age (Brother Ong), and yoga music/sound therapy (with Crown of Eternity). Aquarian Drifter manages to embody aspects of all of those, even as it steps to the edge and glides off into new spaces: Concise, elliptically looping compositions that expand and contract with a psychedelic ebb and flow, often treated and processed to the limits of recognition, sonically recalling early ambient Eno or classic ’70s kosmische, though totally contemporary in spirit and effect. A soundtrack for letting go and floating free, as literally or metaphorically as you like. Nine tracks, 37 minutes.
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  1. 1
    Last Nights 2:35
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  2. 2
    Hubble's Eye 3:26
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  3. 3
    Epic Transport 5:22
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  4. 4
    Edwin 1:54
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  5. 5
    Tundra Swan 7:56
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  6. 6
    Moment or Momento 3:27
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  7. 7
    Clock Watcher 1:57
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  8. 8
    AAHHAA 6:53
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  9. 9
    Final Days 2:26
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The Way to Be Free

Mike Tamburo

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Expansive inner-journeys into world-opening passages as told by Mike Tamburo through hammered dulcimer, drones and tones, and other instrumentation

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Mike Tamburo, also known as Brother Ong and one part of Crown Read more
Expansive inner-journeys into world-opening passages as told by Mike Tamburo through hammered dulcimer, drones and tones, and other instrumentation

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Mike Tamburo, also known as Brother Ong and one part of Crown of Eternity, has returned to his renowned practice of hammered dulcimer in his latest release composed between 2010 and 2015, The Way to Be Free. Travelled upon, dissipated, and re-worked through multi-layered wanderings, Tamburo’s The Way to Be Free treads old practices and phases through the complicated inter-workings of his most expansive string works to date. The Way to Be Free is a comprehensive exploration of an artist’s massive perceptual shifts as told through compositions
that travel memories of past performance, the stripped bare return to disappeared collaborations, and the complexities found in the relationship between musician and instrument.

Culling informative listenings of Dorothy Carter, Alice Coltrane, Shivkumar Sharma, Robbie Basho, Sandy Bull and John Fahey, Mike Tamburo’s explorations of hammered dulcimer are positioned in deep wanderings to understand American identity through folk music. As a veteran of the DIY avant-
garde and improvisation circuit, as well as his more recent work with meditation music and formless sound, Tamburo’s extensive touring has culminated in a multiplicative approach to the engagements experienced through his road-traversed interpretations of anywhere USA. How
this manifests in Tamburo’s work is applicable in the sounds of The Way to Be Free: the music evokes a sense of experienced external travel defiant of a permanent destination, allowing the listener to act as a dislocated traveler repeatedly embarking on the recording’s voyages for contemplative discovery.

Tamburo’s The Way to Be Free offers the listener an intricate sincerity evoked in the album’s most tender renderings. As a companion to soft considerations, Tamburo doesn’t hesitate to present the listener with challenging confrontations. The most intimate moments meander into
controlled manias, hard-tinged hammered dulcimer drumbeat regions, and controlled corridor-like repetition. Ascent comes at a cost in The Way to Be Free, and it is reflective of Tamburo’s journeys and exploratory phasing(s) necessary for artists to expand and grow beyond their
foundations.

- Ed Steck

------------------
Sounds Eternal 11
releases 30 March 2015
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  1. 1
    Old Gypsy Way Of Calling Upon Spirit 14:49
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  2. 2
    Evil Spirits Be Damned/Clan of the Kukeri 11:30
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  3. 3
    The Way To Be Free 2:17
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  4. 4
    The Unknowing 12:10
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Presence

Mike Tamburo

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Cassettes are Available from https://www.innerislands.com

Mike Tamburo - Zither, Vibrational Accumulator, effects, Loops

'Presence Like a Beacon' Parts 1-6 (tracks 1 - 3) was recorded live at Crown of Eternity during a Read more
Cassettes are Available from https://www.innerislands.com

Mike Tamburo - Zither, Vibrational Accumulator, effects, Loops

'Presence Like a Beacon' Parts 1-6 (tracks 1 - 3) was recorded live at Crown of Eternity during a Kundalini Yoga class. on 8/26/12. The meditation this music accompanied is caled Tattva Siddhi Meditation for Presence Like Beacon.

'When We Met I Was A Guitarist And When You Left I Was A Man' was recorded live at Garfield Artworks on 9/3/12

mastered by Ben Wentz
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  1. 1
    A Presence Like A Beacon Parts 1 & 2 23:05
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  2. 2
    A Presence Like A Beacon Parts 3 &4 19:01
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  3. 3
    A Presence Like A Beacon Parts 5 & 6 24:05
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  4. 4
    When We Met I Was A Guitarist And When You Left Me I Was A Man 24:39
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Emperor and Penguin

Mike Tamburo

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"Oops I did it again!

I have a new release called Emperor and Penguin available today on the new label run by my friends Ryan and Mch called White Reeves Productions. It is available as a limited edition cassette and Read more
"Oops I did it again!

I have a new release called Emperor and Penguin available today on the new label run by my friends Ryan and Mch called White Reeves Productions. It is available as a limited edition cassette and download.

I composed this during the coldest days of the winter of 2015. I had been rummaging through field recordings I had made the previous summer around my yard, at Point State Park, at the Aviary and around Highland Park in Pittsburgh. The sounds were such a vast contrast to my wintery environment. I dozed off listening to the summer sounds and I awoke with the concept of Emperor and Penguin.

This is the story of a young penguin who wakes after a long sleep. As the world comes back into focus everything seems new to him. He has almost forgotten that today is the day he will be begin his journey to be coronated as Emperor of the Penguins. His father reminds him of the responsibility that he is about to take on. He feels nervous and scared. The young penguin talks to his father about his doubts that he will make a good Emperor. His father reassures him that his kindness and honesty are what the penguins need in a leader and that he must be strong for his journey ahead.

The coronation ceremony requires our young penguin to journey to the highest glacier in their kingdom so that he can see all of the land that he is meant to rule. It is said that the experiences he has on the expedition will transform and mold him into his new role as Emperor. It is a difficult journey that requires him to travel through and beyond the land of humans before he makes the difficult trek up the glacier and then back to his kingdom. He has many adventures along the way. The journey teaches him many lessons. He arrives at the apex of the glacier transformed. He is the Emperor. This is the soundtrack of his journey." --- Mike Tamburo
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  1. 1
    Emperor and Penguin Part 1 14:31
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  2. 2
    Emperor and Penguin 13:41
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Electric Guggulu

Mike Tamburo

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Mike Tamburo delivers a new EP of joyful pulses and meditative electronics played on dozens of instruments that loop and build into an ecstatic dance.

From The Horses Mouth...

I have a new release called Electric Read more
Mike Tamburo delivers a new EP of joyful pulses and meditative electronics played on dozens of instruments that loop and build into an ecstatic dance.

From The Horses Mouth...

I have a new release called Electric Guggulu. The digital version is available now on bandcamp. I will be making a limited number of cassettes and cds that will start shipping at the end of the month.

I started writing this as a continuation of Emperor and Penguin (Released in April, 2015). I was hoping to create something joyfully hypnotic.

I play about 20 instruments here - everything from a Korg Kronos to a Bass Vl to a Pentatonic Bao gong set all into 2 sync'd Boss RC 505 loopers. Everything was recorded between the hours of 12am - 3am.

Enjoy!
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  1. 1
    Electric Guggulu 10:28
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  2. 2
    Leaving Carolina 3:57
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  3. 3
    Empress Village 9:53
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  4. 4
    Timothy 5:49
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Lives On Air

Mike Tamburo

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Mike Tamburo - 6 string Guitar

Recorded Live 5/22/06 On WNUR By Mike Corsa
Special Thanks To Mike Corsa and Nick Schillace


Recorded live at WNUR back in 2006, we find Tamburo in full tour mode as a finger picking Read more
Mike Tamburo - 6 string Guitar

Recorded Live 5/22/06 On WNUR By Mike Corsa
Special Thanks To Mike Corsa and Nick Schillace


Recorded live at WNUR back in 2006, we find Tamburo in full tour mode as a finger picking guitarist. "I was touring with the amazing guitarist Nick Schillace and I thought it would be great to do the tour with just my 6 string - a little brotherhood if you will. I left all of the other instruments, effects, and amplifiers at home and went out for a few weeks with just the guitar. Playing on the same bill as Nick, meant that my picking had to be sharp and focused. He really pushed me and these songs into some new realms. I pulled into WNUR studios in Chicago the day after I dropped Nick off in Detroit. I was feeling tight and ready and was happy to capture these takes - warts and all!!!" Originally slated for release in 2006, these recordings were shelved and alternate takes were buried in Tamburo's Language of the Birds and Other Fantasies Boxset. They are now available in their original intention.
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  1. 1
    The Last Museum 19:14
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  2. 2
    For Vanishing Eyes and Hiding 11:11
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  3. 3
    Glass Bead In The Hawaiian Eye 12:11
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Deep Water Creation

Brother Ong

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Brother Ong - Shahi Baaja, Vocals, Effects
Originally released On Deep Water Acres

Brother Ong is Mike Tamburo, and Deep Water Creation is the first recording released under his new ordination. In contrast to the Read more
Brother Ong - Shahi Baaja, Vocals, Effects
Originally released On Deep Water Acres

Brother Ong is Mike Tamburo, and Deep Water Creation is the first recording released under his new ordination. In contrast to the Pittsburgh-based Tamburo’s past work on guitar and hammered dulcimer, here Brother Ong focuses his energy on the shahi baaja – a 22-string electrified Indian zither – as channeled through a raft of effects (distortion, looping, etc.), plus floating wordless vocals on one track. While longtime fans will certainly be able to hear continuities with Tamburo’s previous music, Deep Water Creation also manifests an even greater sense of centered self-assurance in its pulsating webs of meditative sound. Call it post-psychedelic exotic trance music, or call it avant garde new age – just don’t call it late for kundalini yoga class… Five tracks, 47 minutes.
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  1. 1
    Intro To Creation 3:49
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  2. 2
    The Possible You 14:55
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  3. 3
    Sacred Pool 5:25
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  4. 4
    From Her Mighty Blade 18:22
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  5. 5
    Flower And Hand Ceremony 4:23
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Mysteries Of the Shahi Baaja Volumes 1 & 2 - Ong Sweet Ong & The Perfumed Dragon

Brother Ong

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Mike Tamburo as Brother Ong in Mysteries of the Shahi Baaja
Disc One - Ong Sweet Ong
Sweet Nectar Of The Sun Lion
Tratakum
A Peace Lagoon
Elementals
Disc Two - The Perfumed Dragon
Kiss Of The Perfumed Dragon
Splendor Of Read more
Mike Tamburo as Brother Ong in Mysteries of the Shahi Baaja
Disc One - Ong Sweet Ong
Sweet Nectar Of The Sun Lion
Tratakum
A Peace Lagoon
Elementals
Disc Two - The Perfumed Dragon
Kiss Of The Perfumed Dragon
Splendor Of the Sun
The Silver Cord
The Float
When My Caterpillar Flies

Mike Tamburo deepens his manifestation as Brother Ong with 2 discs of blissed out shahi baaja explorations. "The year was 2011. It had been nearly a year since I had recorded something new that I enjoyed. For Metallica or Madonna this might not seem like a long time, but for me and the output of creativity that I had become accustomed to, this was forever. I had been practicing Kundalini Yoga exercises for creativity for some time (in hindsight I was storing potential energy) and nothing new was wanting to come out of me. It was as if I had fallen into some sort of role - (a Mike Tamburo pit) that I could not get myself out of. Everything I was trying was something I had already done. My wife, in her infinite understanding of me and my inner workings, gifted me a shahi baaja for my 34th birthday and permitted me to forget all I had done before and to recreate myself. Her words surged through me like an electrical current and immediately opened up a new path of creativity for me. I had no notions about the shahi baaja. It was a mystery to me. I returned once again to a space of experimentation, deep listening, focus, pure sound and pure creativity. I was practicing a daily bowing meditation during this recording session. I would bow in reverence to creation for half an hour and then pick up my instrument and the sound and creation just flowed through."
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  1. 1
    Sweet Nectar Of The Sun Lion 8:22
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  2. 2
    Tratakum 7:00
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  3. 3
    A Peace Lagoon 4:40
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  4. 4
    Elementals 16:54
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  5. 5
    Kiss Of The Perfumed Dragon 11:22
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  6. 6
    Splendor Of The Sun 15:01
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  7. 7
    The Silver Cord 6:58
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  8. 8
    The Float 6:50
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  9. 9
    When My Caterpillar Flies 13:39
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