Table for the 1 triples with object "Known for the distinctive "bowhammer" technique that he himself originated, Michael Masely is a master of the cymbalom?a modern orchestral (Hungarian) version of the hammered dulcimer, an instrument that made its debut in Persia as the santour around 2500 years ago. The instrument's trapezoid shape and distinctive sound?which comes from playing the instrument with two hand-held hammers?have been an important part of world history and culture for over two millennia. Masley's innovative technique adds thumbpicks to the traditional playing style, which enables plucking, striking, and bowing of this ancient instrument.
Michael Masley's music has been heard in a diverse array of venues and contexts including original contributions to the soundtrack to Geronimo: An American Legend, on which he worked with guitar legend Ry Cooder. Masley has also recorded with producer and Garbage drummer Butch Vig and appears on the multi-platinum Garbage Version 2.0.
In addition to impressive collaborations, Masley's music has been heard in NFL broadcasts, The 1994 Winter Olympics, Entertainment Tonight, HBO programming, and most recently?in Martin Yernazian's upcoming documentary, Art Officially Favored by Pyrotecnia Productions. Masley's also been profiled by NPR's All Things Considered where excerpts from his CD, Mystery Repeats Itself, still occasionally surface in their programming. His song "Six White Horses" is featured on the All Songs Considered CD, published by NPR Classics.
Michael is also active politically as "The Artist General", a self-created position (similar to the Surgeon General) he has created to represent the interests of artists in the USA.
Note that Mystery Repeats Itself is a compilation of previous works, and includes some songs present on Cymbalom Solos. Masley also plays hammered dulcimer duets with Magnatune artist Jamie Janover on "All Strings Considered"."^^xsd:string on predicate ns2:olb sorted by label
