Late one night, I was licking my wounds in the "loser's lounge" section of Kyle Gass' Burbank condo after a brutal no-limit poker beatdown. As a courtesy to the fallen, he had this amazing econo-line Martin acoustic guitar lying around- it was so groovy. With a capo attached, it produces this lovely sort of Lindsay Buckingham/Chinese Guzheng sound, and it wasn't long before the main piece of music for "Chung King" revealed itself. I'd been listening to Devendra Banhart's brilliant "Cripple Crow" album for awhile and grew disappointed that I hadn't yet recorded something as organic as that record. A lot of my music is fairly ornamental, which I like, but sometimes all the bells and whistles run the risk of obscuring the heart or essence of a song without my realizing it. So "Chung King Summer" is my attempt to keep things simple and try and preserve the earthy dynamic which I'm so in love with but hadn't yet wholly incorporated into my repertoire. I'd been wanting to collaborate with Alanna Lin for a while. She is an excellent songwriter and one of the most genuine human beings I know. I really felt she might suit well the occasion and lend creedence to this whole 'genuine article' aesthetic I was shooting for. But she is a fleeting beauty and sometimes hard to pin down (as fine artists can be), and so it took many attempts and plenty of patience to persuade her to visit my studio in South Pasadena. When she finally arrived, I was so excited I could barely hide my enthusiasm. I'm convinced she should be famous, only the rest of the world doesn't know it yet. By sheer luck, it was the most beautiful day of summer 2012. There's an old enchanted magnolia tree that sits in a park by the library near the center of town. It is truly a massive wonder. I asked Alanna if she wouldn't mind shading alone under this tree for a spell with an iPod, a pen and paper. She obliged and returned a few hours later with some lyrics and a melody. Just like that. I'm a little jealous of artists who can drum up the goods in such a small amount of time. It takes me forever. Which brings me to my next thought. I'd had an orphan piece of music lying around for years which grew into the instrumental section at the end. I was never completely satisfied with it. As with the tree scenario, I stayed out of the way while Alanna sketched and tracked her vocals, hoping that my absence might facilitate a somewhat purer moment. When I returned, I observed that she had also spontaneously composed a keyboard string score for the end music section. To her, it was merely a device to root out melody and was never intended to stay. But it was beautiful. One of the lovliest moments on this recording happened as an afterthought. Just another one of those happy accidents that comes with making art. And I was blown away. With the vocals now recorded and this new unexpected emphasis on the end music, I started listening again. This time, I heard Dylan's "Nashville Skyline"- in particular, the sweet percussion found on Bob's classic "Lay Lady Lay" which served as the soundtrack to a beloved, freeing, and beautiful summer road trip across America many years ago. Summer. I asked the always reliable George Bernardo if he wouldn't mind assembling an assortment of pots and pans etc. What he returned with was even better than what I was hearing in my head. It was a delicate side of George that I'd yet to hear. With these two great artists at my side, the end result, in my mind, is one of the most beautiful and understated collaborations I've ever participated in. So thank you Alanna and George. Sincerely, Brett Credits: Alanna Lin: Vocals, Strings Brett Lyda: Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Background Vocals George Bernardo: Percussion Written by Brett Lyda & Alanna Lin Produced by Brett Lyda Recorded by Brett Lyda & George Bernardo Mixed by David Bianco