Whisky and Mes is a wild fusion of Guayla (Northern Ethiopian) grooves, Irish trad jigs, desert blues, jazz big-band vibes and straight-up fusion—played on a Dingwall SP-1 through Ampeg gear with some Ableton magic. The main tune is actually an Irish jig (“Out on the Ocean”) slowed down, dropped into Eb and spun into quintuplets, with Irish flute and pipes adding extra flavor—and yes, an Eritrean dinner in Belfast turned out to be the perfect pre-show inspiration.
Under the hood, it’s notated in 5/16 to keep session players sane, even though you feel it in 4/4 quintuplets. Mid-track they pull a metric modulation (think 5-note swing morphing into a 3+2+3 feel that almost feels like double-time), and the “chorus” melody pops up four times—each in a new guise—showing how repeating with just enough variation turns a tune into a story.
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