Superorganism (album)

Superorganism
Studio album by Mickey Hart Band
Released	August 13, 2013
Genre	World music
Length	60:30
Label	360° Productions
Producer	Mickey Hart Ben Yonas
Mickey Hart chronology
Mysterium Tremendum (2012) Superorganism (2013)

Superorganism is an album by the Mickey Hart Band, a musical group led by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. It was released by 360° Productions on August 13, 2013.^[1][2]

On Superorganism, musicians singing and playing instruments such as guitar, bass, keyboards, and various drums combined their music with sounds created using Hart's own brain waves. The brain wave sounds were created by using computers to change electrical impulses from an EEG cap into audible frequencies.^[3][4][5]

The lyrics for four of the songs were written by Robert Hunter, who wrote the words for many Grateful Dead songs.^[5]

In the album liner notes, Hart wrote, "A superorganism is a complex organism composed of many smaller organisms.... A band is a superorganism, so is the universe. For the last few years I have been creating music from the source sounds of the cosmos and now the body. These sounds are noise — harsh, strange — and it is only after dancing with their essence face to face that music can be created."^[6]

Track listing

1. "Falling Stars" (Mickey Hart, Ben Yonas, Crystal Monee Hall, Dave Schools, Robert Hunter) – 6:01
2. "The Sermon" (Hart, Yonas, Schools, Andre Pessis, Hunter) – 4:42
3. "Chabadas" (Hart, Yonas, Hall, Schools, Pessis, Zakir Hussain, Hunter) – 6:16
4. "Don't Let Your God Down" (Hart, Yonas, Hall, Pessis, Cliff Goldmacher, Giovanni Hidalgo, Hussain, Reya Hart) – 6:14
5. "I Want It Back" (Hart, Yonas, Pessis, Hidalgo, Hussain) – 8:15
6. "Aliromba O Saro" (Hart, Yonas, Jonah Sharp, Pessis, Hussain, Hunter) – 5:55
7. "Rage On" (Hart, Yonas, Hall, Schools, Hidalgo) – 5:44
8. "Mind Your Head" (Hart, Yonas, Hall, Sharp, Sikiru Adepoju, Hidalgo, Hussain) – 5:57
9. "Bully Boy" (Hart, Yonas, Hall, Schools, Hidalgo) – 4:38
10. "Ghost Rider" (Hart, Yonas, Hall, Sharp, Adepoju, Hidalgo) – 6:48

Personnel

Musicians

• Mickey Hart – drums, percussion, vocals, brain waves
• Sikiru Adepoju – percussion
• Joe Bagale – guitar, keyboards, vocals
• Crystal Monee Hall – vocals
• Ian "Inkx" Herman – drums
• Giovanni Hidalgo – percussion
• Zakir Hussain – percussion
• Chris Kelley – vocals
• Steve Kimock – guitar
• Gawain Mathews – guitar
• Reed Mathis – bass
• Dave Schools – bass
• Jonah Sharp – keyboards
• Greg Shutte – drums
• Adam Theis – bass
• African Showboyz – additional percussion

Production

• Produced by Mickey Hart, Ben Yonas
• Recording engineer: Ben Yonas
• Assistant engineers: Alex McGraw, Noa Yonas
• Additional engineering: John Paul McClean
• Mastering: Brad Blackwood
• Musicology consultant: Fredric Lieberman
• Graphic design: Malea Clark-Nicholson
• Lettering: Roxanne Smith
• Photography: John Werner

References

1. Superorganism at Allmusic. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
2. Superorganism at the Grateful Dead Family Discography. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
3. Cubarrubia, RJ (August 6, 2013). "Album Premiere: Mickey Hart Band Goes Mental on Superorganism, Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
4. Dow, Mike (August 13, 2013). "This Is Mickey Hart's Brain on Drums", The Maine Edge. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
5. "Mickey Hart Band Announce New Album, Superorganism, and Tour To Celebrate Hart’s 70th Birthday", mickeyhart.net, June 5, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
6. "Mickey Hart Band: The Sounds of Superorganism", Relix, July 24, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.