What's Your Path, Man? (Side A)

Fading Into Obscurity presents: What's Your Path, Man? (Side A)

compiled/recorded on monday, april 13, 2026

SAULT - Rafael's Prayer

Steve Reich & Pat Metheny - Electric Counterpoint (Fast Movement 3)

Maulawi - Root In 7/4 Plus

Wau Wau Collectif - Xale (Toubab Dialaw Kids Rhyme)

Monica Rypma - Sunrise

Fred und Luna - Es ist so schön

Barney Keen - Figure Out

The Dining Rooms - What's your path, man

Culross Close - Letting Go

Frank Zappa - The Black Page #1 [Piano Version]

Palmskin Productions - The Sword Will Die

Salami Rose Joe Louis - A Brief Intermission 

I'm a person who wrestles with purpose a lot.  Like, on a weekly basis.  Constantly questioning whether or not I'm walking in my purpose.  One of my greatest fears has been the idea of dying before I fulfill my purpose on this earth.  So this conceptual compilation comes out of a wilderness period of sorts, where enduring a daily work routine has become a survival skill, but the idea of breaking out of it is perpetually stalled for fear of the unknown.  And the more that certain songs started talking to each other in my head, the more that a collection of tunes began to sequence itself.

Maulawi's "Root In 7/4 Plus" represents my nine-to-five blues.  "At night, at night, I get the blues...at night, at night, at night."  That refrain captures my state of mind on a Sunday night not wanting to face another work week.  And it messes with me when the vocalists wail "I paid my duuuuuuuues..."  Barney Keen's "Figure Out" is a beautiful singer-songwriter tune with Brazilian guitar at its core and contemplative lyrics that made it a natural fit.  Fred und Luna's "Es ist so schön" is described on Bandcamp as "a piece sung in three languages, telling about the joy of seeing your loved ones again after months of loneliness caused by the pandemic."  Six years after the initial and immediate rippling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, I remain of the opinion that we are not okay.  None of us are.  There is a warmth and melancholy to this song that resonates with me every time I hear it.  But it's an electronic music duo from Milan, Italy that provides the title cut for this presentation:  "What's Your Path, Man" by The Dining Rooms is off-kilter jazz-enhanced hip-hop for coffee shop philosophers across the globe.

Surrounding these cuts are others with moments that just bring a smile to my face.  There's the sing-song simplicity of Monica Rypma's "Sunrise", the infectious chants of children peppering the groove of "Xale" by Wau Wau Collectif, and the interlocking notes and harmonies of "Electric Counterpoint" by Steve Reich & Pat Metheny.  Can't forget about the solo piano rendition of Frank Zappa's "The Black Page #1," flawlessly performed by Ruth Underwood.  Then there's "The Sword Will Die" by Palmskin Productions, the first cut selected for this project.  It's a song that slowly reveals itself over the course of 11 minutes and I love that producer Simon Richmond took his time with this.  The first four minutes place you in ambient isolation before the beat kicks in and a tension grows within this piece.  It's foreboding, defiant and hopeful at the same time in a way that I can't quite describe.

Really happy with the way that side A turned out.  As the calming voice towards the end instructs, "please...stick around...for side B."