Writings about Music

Song of the Day - Delayed Response by Michael Robinson

Screenshot for Song of the Day - Delayed Response by Michael Robinson

I was glad to discover online tonight how Delayed Response from my first album, Trembling Flowers, was selected for Song of the Day on April 21, 2021 for the Wichita Lineman Was A Song I Once Heard Wordpress blog curated by Niall Cullen. Indeed, that Glen Campbell recording is a huge favorite of mine, too. For his twitter, Niall uses an image of Jimi Hendrix.

On the same page you can see how Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Hancock, George Michael, and Michael Jackson have had their music selected for Song of the Day, too. Glancing at earlier posts, there were selections from Joni Mitchell and Lynyrd Skynyrd. I love being part of eclectic assemblages.

 

Delayed Response is a rather unique composition and performance of mine. Here it is above for your curiosity.

When Delayed Response was first played on the radio while being interviewed by Carl Stone on his Imaginary Landscape program on KPFK FM in Los Angeles, I later learned how two men had exited the 405 Freeway to facilitate writing down what the music was they were hearing. Afterwards, they insisted upon meeting me, so I invited them to my home for a pleasant chat. Regretfully, I cannot recall our specific conversation, or their names and professions. They simply were very excited to meet the person who composed and performed Delayed Response, and treated me as if I had provided them a transformative experience through music. In any event, I hope they are out there somewhere enjoying my subsequent recordings.

There does seem to be something of a following for this piece around the world, the music including a very unusual chord sequence, a soaring melodic voice, and a transcendental rasa with uncommon tenderness.

- Michael Robinson, August 2021, Los Angeles

 

© 2021 Michael Robinson All rights reserved

 

Michael Robinson is a Los Angeles-based composer and musicologist who has been a lecturer at UCLA, Bard College and California State University.