Sky's The Limit
'Short' List of credits ( listen )
Jazz? New Age? Pop? Ethnic? Native American? World Beat?Call it what you'd like, it's very difficult to pigeonhole Douglas Spotted Eagle's music. His expressions span so many genre's and bin cards, he seems to defy nearly every label put upon his musical taste. Having released classical forms, jazz, rock, pop and what he terms "modern ethnic" blends of traditional Native music forms and contemporary sensibilities, his constantly shifting sound focuses around one instrument. The Native American Flute.
DOUGLAS SPOTTED EAGLE
Toubat: A Journey Of The Native American Flute
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Already world renown as a virtuoso performer on Native American flute and a preeminent composer of contemporary ethnic music, Douglas Spotted Eagle received a Grammy Award for his production of Gathering of Nations Powwow. He made his Higher Octave album debut with " PRAY ", a musical and spiritual journey combining ancient and progressive sensibilities in a dazzling multicultural context. Now he has recently released his second solo project on the Higher Octave/Virgin label, entitled, " VOICES ".
Introduced to Higher Octave fans through his work on Craig Chaquico's " Once in a Blue Universe ", Spotted Eagle has recorded 13 previous albums under his own name and collaborated on more than 40 recent projects , including the Kevin Costner production of "500 Nations", Robbie Robertson's score for The Native Americans, and Brian Keane's "The Way West", as well as performances with Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Peter Buffett, David Arkenstone, John McEuen and others.
His musical voice, percussion and performances may be heard on projects as diverse as Saturday morning cartoons (Johnny Quest, Star Wars Ewoks) to "The X-Files", "Millenium", "Tracy Ullman", Cadillac commercials, and his sounds are heard on the big screen in movies like "Truman", "The Scarlet Letter", "Young Guns", and "Geronimo" to name but just a very few .
Raised in the small town of Valley Junction, Iowa, Douglas built his first Native American flute when he was 12 years old. During junior high and high school, after his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, Spot sang and played guitar in a rock and roll band that reached its peak opening five concerts for Z.Z. Top in the late 1970s.
He put music aside when he married and began raising his own family; it was only in the wake of divorce in 1988 that he returned to his muse and created a tape of original music in tribute to his children. That recording, integrating flute and synthesizer in a wholly personal context, found its way to Tom Bee, a former Motown artist who had just founded SOAR , Sound of America Records. Spot became the first outside artist signed to SOAR.
"I had never planned to be a performer," Spot explains. "It just happened. It was a fluke occurrence that became a wonderful thing. And I certainly never thought it would last. But here I am, 12 years later."
Setting up his own recording facilities, Native Restoration Studios , Spotted Eagle, with Tom Bee, has been largely responsible for bringing Native American music, from authentic pow wow recordings to experimental Modern Ethnic amalgams into the digital age, advancing the format from low-fi cassettes to state-of-the-art compact discs.
Together, Spotted Eagle and Bee released the first-ever recording of powwow music on compact disc, paving the way for their co-receiving the first-ever Native American Grammy Award.
Along the way he has fashioned a unique modern ethnic sound with "PRAY". Featuring artists as unique and diverse as the Indian Creek Singers, Wil Numkena, Lynelle Kirkwood, Daryl Stuermer , Michael Manring , Marion Meadows and Samantha Rainbow, " PRAY " is yet another step in the musical journey begun by Spot ten years ago...
In addition to flutes, Spot performs on a variety of drums and percussion instruments, synthesizer, and voice. Didgeridoo, guitar, clavinet, and vocals further broaden the musical palette, but Spot emphasizes that "the flute is the predominant instrument.
I write the melodies on the flute, and everything else falls into place around it."
In 1995, Douglas and a couple of other performers and friends created what became the first ever, multi-media, multi-presentation Native American performance arts group. Soon matched with Peter Buffett, the VOICES company became the 500 Nations Performance group, which failed. Spot again struck out on his own, after being the flute player on the Spirit Dance recording.
The 34 piece "Voices of Native America" group, augmented by multimedia lighting, film, and special effects, has been copied by many others. Voices may not be the largest, nor most heavily funded tour out there, yet it's got a heart that none of the other companies have achieved.
"Voices of Native America" Performing Arts Tour is the realization of a dream for many people, presenting Native culture from a past, present and future view.
Most folks don't have a real clue as to what's going on out there. They see a few Hollywood movies, and think that is the defining structure of Native America. Couldn't be more false. We are still fighting, just not with bows and arrows.
Education is a great weapon. And through education, the future of Native America, the culture, the People, and the legacy will live on forever. We Are Still Here!!"
On a technological level, in conjunction with Q-Up Arts of California, Spot designed " Voices of Native America ", a CD-ROM of instrumental and vocal samples that have been used throughout the music industry by Michael Bolton, Spike Lee, Michael Jackson and several others. Spot also maintains a video editing facility, creating documentary videos of Native American culture.
Having released " PRAY " and more recently, " VOICES " on Higher Octave Music , (distributed by VIRGIN) Douglas once again taps the special personality of the flute.
"It seems that the flute touches a part of everyone who hears it, regardless of who the player might be. You see, I believe that when it comes to the flute, I am like a pitcher of water. I don't put the music in the pitcher, I don't listen to the music that pours out of the pitcher, but I do get to hold that music for a short time, and that's where I find my musical fulfillment".
But in every context, Spot explains, he is touched by the way audiences partake of the musical and spiritual journey.
"It seems to reach a primal sense in them," he explains. "Even non-indigenous or so-called non-ethnic people are tribal, they just don't consciously remember. We all have tribal instincts still within us, and I feel this music tends to reach in and touch that part of spirit. I hope that " PRAY " exemplifies that idea. Modern times seem to generate a feeling that contact with a higher being or Creator is less important, and regardless of one's religious beliefs, the benefit of prayer is that it encourages contact with the soul, spirit, or whatever you choose to call it, in addition to communicating with a higher being.
Prayer is one means by which we can make ourselves better people, and thereby reshape society into a better place. Prayer helps the spirit remain focused in a constantly changing environment for both young and old. By way of the music in this recording, I hope to encourage listeners to pray by whatever means best works for them."
And given that even the most devout atheist has most likely invoked the name of the Creator at some point in time, Spot is very likely correct in his thought...........