''RAMU'' is an album by drummer

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

. It combines traditional drums, electronic percussion, sampled sounds, and vocals. It was released on November 10, 2017. The title of the album refers to the Random Access Musical Universe (RAMU). This is a synthesizer that combines a sophisticated

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

with Hart's extensive library of sound samples. The RAMU is one of the many musical instruments heard on the album.

Critical reception

In ''

Relix ''Relix'', originally and occasionally later ''Dead Relix'', is a magazine that focuses on live and improvisational music. The magazine was launched in 1974 as a handmade newsletter devoted to connecting people who recorded Grateful Dead concer ...

'', Justin Jacobs wrote, "... on his latest solo release, ''RAMU'', Hart's created a deliciously meandering, melodic exploration, with a whole cast of more contemporary voices adding some ecstatically fun spice to the global drum experience. It’s like "Drums" and "Space" with an all-star backing band of internationals and aliens.... Thankfully, this 12-song collection is total, free-wheeling fun — all lunging rhythms, slithering jazz, bubbling beats, stacked vocals, and foggy atmospherics." Pablo Gorondi of

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

said, "There's plenty of movement on Mickey Hart's 14th studio album, as the Grateful Dead drummer extends his prolific solo career centered on his amazing approaches to percussion, knowing expeditions into world music and the cross pollination between music and sciences.... the powers of ''RAMU'' stem from Hart's ability to calibrate layers upon layers of rhythms and melodies from bountiful sources — fine tuning instead of Auto-Tuning." In a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' interview of Hart,

Andrew Leonard Andrew Leonard (born 1962) is an American journalist who writes feature articles for ''San Francisco'' and contributes to Medium. From 1995 to 2014 he wrote for '' Salon.com''. He has also written for ''Wired''. Career Leonard is credited with c ...

wrote, "Hart mixes the old – samples of blues recordings captured by Alan Lomax, snippets of never-before-heard Jerry Garcia guitar – with percussive, pulsating electronica. You'll want to put on your highest-end headphones to listen to it."

Track listing

#"Auctioneers" (

) – 2:41 #"Wayward Son" (Hart, Robert Hunter) – 4:08 #"Big Bad Wolf" (Hart, Tarriona "Tank" Ball) – 5:09 #"The Lost Coast" (Hart) – 4:24 #"Who Do You Think You Are?" (Hart, Hunter) – 3:54 #"You Remind Me" (Hart, Hunter) – 4:08 #"When the Morning Comes" (Hart, Ball) – 1:53 #"Jerry" (Hart,

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

) – 3:39 #"Wine Wine Wine" (Hart) – 3:59 #"Nacare" (Hart) – 4:58 #"Spreading the News" (Hart, Hunter) – 3:38 #"Time Beyond Reason" (Hart, Hunter, Garcia) – 4:42

Personnel

Musicians *

– traps, RAMU, beam, percussionscape *

Sikiru Adepoju Sikiru Adepoju (born 10 November 1950) is a Nigerian percussionist and recording artist, primarily in the genres of traditional African music and world music. He plays a variety of instruments and styles. Background A master of the talking dr ...

–

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, which can be used as a form of speech surrogacy by regulating its pitch and rhythm to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather t ...

* Tarriona "Tank" Ball – vocals *

Oteil Burbridge Oteil Burbridge (born August 24, 1964) is an American multi-instrumentalist, specializing on the bass guitar, trained in playing jazz and classical music from an early age. He has achieved fame primarily on bass guitar during the resurgence of t ...

– bass guitar *

Peter Coyote Peter Coyote (born Robert Peter Cohon; October 10, 1941) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, and narrator of films, theater, television, and audiobooks. He worked on films, such as ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), '' C ...

–

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

– guitar,

synth guitar A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnership) such as ...

*Samuel Goodman –

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

* Jason Hann – additional traps *

Giovanni Hidalgo Giovanni Hidalgo a.k.a. "Mañenguito" (born November 22, 1963) is a Latin jazz percussionist. Early years Hidalgo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary education. His grandfather was a musician, and his father, José ...

– vocals, bata,

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s * Zakir Hussein –

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

madal The madal () or maadal is a Nepalese folk musical instrument. The madal is used mainly for rhythm-keeping in Nepalese folk music. It is very popular and widely used as a hand drum in Nepal. The madal has a cylindrical body with a slight bulge at i ...

Sabir Khan Sabir or Sabbir Khan may refer to: * Sabir Khan (musician), Indian sarangi player * Sabbir Khan (Bangladeshi cricketer) (born 1978), Bangladeshi cricketer * Sabir Khan (Indian cricketer) (born 2000), Indian cricketer * Sabbir Khan (born 1976), I ...

–

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked three-stringed instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, Sindhi folk music, Haryanvi folk music, Braj folk music, and Boro folk music (the ...

Steve Kimock Steve Kimock (born October 5, 1955) is an American rock guitarist. He was a member of San Francisco Bay Area bands Zero and KVHW. His tone and some of his playing approach has been compared to Jerry Garcia, who was a friend of his, and he has ...

– guitar,

lap guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

Niladri Kumar Pandit Niladri Kumar is an Indian sitar player and music composer. Early life He was born to sitar player Kartick Kumar, a disciple of Ravi Shankar. He started learning sitar under his father at the age of four. Kumar gave his first public per ...

–

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

, zitar * Charles Lloyd – saxophone *

Babatunde Olatunji Michael Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist, and recording artist. Early life Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nig ...

– vocals *

Avey Tare David Michael Portner (born April 24, 1979), also known by his moniker Avey Tare, is a musician and songwriter who co-founded the American experimental pop band Animal Collective. He has released four solo albums, as well as four collaborative alb ...

– vocals *Sekaa Jegog Yuskumara –

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

Production *Produced by Mickey Hart *Co-producer: Michal Menert *Associate producer: Reya Hart *Recording engineers: Nic Pope, Tom Flye, Adam Tenenbaum, Boris Gladkihl, John-Paul McLean, Jason Mills *Sound design: Mickey Hart, Michal Menert, Adam Tenenbaum, Boris Gladkihl *Mixing: Mickey Hart, Nic Pope, Michal Menert, Zakir Hussein *Additional recording, mixing, and production: Bassy Bob *Arrangements: Mickey Hart, Michal Menert, Zakir Hussein *Archival: "Decibel" Dave Dennison *Mastering: Chris Gehringer *Photos:

Jay Blakesberg Jay Blakesberg (born December 1, 1961) is an American, San Francisco-based, photographer and film maker. Biography His suburban youth was spent mostly in Clark, New Jersey, where he first discovered a passion for taking pictures. As a teenager, ...

, Atiba Jefferson, Camille Lenain, Susana Millman, John Werner *Cover illustration:

Stanley Mouse Stanley George Miller (born October 10, 1940), better known as Mouse or Stanley Mouse, is an American artist who is notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs and album covers for the Grateful Dead, Journey, and other bands. ...

*Package design: Jacob Lerman

References

{{Authority control Mickey Hart albums 2017 albums Albums produced by Mickey Hart