Sam Maher - New York Handpan 01

Scale: C, Aeolian. - Notes: (C#)-G#-A-B-C#-D#-E-F#-G#. Recorded at the 7th Ave. G/F station in Brooklyn, NY. I met Sam on my way home from work transferring between the R and the L. As I was walking down the stairs I thought I was hearing electronic music, which you never hear in the subway. But it had a natural essence to it, almost like acoustic electronic music. It was strange and hard to pinpoint what I was hearing. As I got down to the L platform I saw Sam sitting and playing a strange instrument I had never seen before. He had a crowd around him and lots of donations flowing in. After he finished a song I approached him and he told me about his handpan and that he was from Australia and traveling the world as a busker. What a life! He said everywhere he went he was able to make money for the next leg of his trip. The day before he made $200 in an hour playing in Central Park. I asked if he wanted to record and he did but he was leaving in two days for Central America. I was so excited by this beautiful music that I cancelled plans and we met up the next night to record at my favorite spot. Took a while to get some good takes and by the end his hands were bleeding because he had been playing so much recently. It was an amazing experience and I love the sound we were able capture down there.