BRAND NEW PSYCHEDELIC EP ALBUM
Man of the Forests, Light The Band & Kenny Nishikawa -
“Basement Jamz”
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BRAND NEW SINGLE
Man of the Forests -
“Maybe Isle”
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BRAND NEW FULL ALBUM VOCAL/VIOLIN CONTRIBUTION
Aaron Wolf -
Running On Hope
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FEATURED NEW VIOLIN CONTRIBUTION
Stick Figure -
Paradise (Universal Sound Version - Acoustic)
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FEATURED NEW LIVE PERFORMANCE
Vana Liya - Live at Sugarshack Sessions
Rise and Fall
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FEATURED NEW FULL ALBUM RELEASE
Alific -
Write It on the Wall
About Derek Waldmann:
Man of the Forests
The violin has always been a part of me. As a young child, I was influenced by John Tesh and the partnering of Charlie Bisharat on the electric violin. I attended their Live at Red Rocks show in 1995 and when the violin shimmered in, I knew it was my life’s journey to create the magic that comes with this mystical instrument. The sounds quickly captivated me. My mother and father gifted my first violin at 6 years old and I would soon learn to improvise and play by ear, rather than learn to read music. It was evident that this instrument and I belonged together.
Not long after, I was introduced to reggae/rock artists such as Bob Marley, Sublime, and 311. I couldn’t stop digging into their sound and I fell in love with the lyrics, instantly transformed by the sounds. I continued to discover artists such as Slightly Stoopid, John Brown’s Body, and Stick Figure through the years. As I began to attend live concerts, I noticed the lack of violin integration in reggae. So it became my mission to do just that.
With prolonged connection in the music scene, I eventually met and started collaborating with one of my favorite artists Alific. We released our first track "Hotep” in May of 2020, a mysterious and high energy jam. Our second track “Deep” that came out September 2020, which portrays the concept of sinking underwater through soothing melodies. In October 2020 ,our third track and the biggest to date was a cover of the classic hit “Bittersweet Symphony”, featuring Johnny Cosmic. With the blending of Alific’s instrumental layers, Johnny Cosmic’s vocals, and the violin swirling between it all, this gives an effervescent and upbeat approach to the original song.
Another early feature I collaborated on was with Aaron Wolf in February of 2021, a powerful track titled “Create Positive” and produced by E.N. Young. In July of 2021, I was proud to contribute to was Trevor Hall’s “Blue Sky Mind Extended Remix”, mixed and produced by Johnny Cosmic, as well as Trevor Hall’s “2009”, a glorious tribute to Mac Miller. I was able to visit Sugarshack Sessions in 2021 to perform and record live with Vana Liya, as well as KBong & Johnny Cosmic in 2022, for a total of 9 tracks that I was a part of. At Sugarshack Sessions with Vana Liya, we performed: “Gold”, “Feelin Good”, “Island Heart”, “Friends”, “Precious Pearls”, and 2 covers: “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer and “Rise and Fall” by Stick Figure. At the KBong/ Johnny Cosmic Sugarshack Session, I performed on: “Daily Hope”, “Hey Mama”, and a cover of “Bend Down Low” by Bob Marley. Sugarshack Sessions is well known for providing an intimate live filmed music experience, and it was a blast being a part of the magic there. When Vana Liya’s debut album ‘Little Kahuna’ came out in September 2021, I led a tasteful solo on the song “Island Heart”.
In March of 2022 I collaboration with Alific on his song “Stardust” , with a swooning violin solo, and sprinklings of strings throughout. I worked with Surfer Girl in July 2022 on his song “The Search”, where I performed the outdo section that is reminiscent of an old Hawaiian string section. I contributed violin to “U Don’t Know Me’ by The Movement in July of 2022. Teaming up with the magical producer Johnny Cosmic, we added layers of swirling and dynamic string arrangements to this final song on the album. In Sept 2022, I teamed up with Aaron Wolf and Alific on a glorious song called, “My People” with violin and vocal harmony additions. In the same month, I came out with a feature on violin with the Brazilian group “Universalize” on their hit track “Porto Seguro”. This also became my first music video. Also in September 2022, the quartet of Alific, KBong, Johnny Cosmic, and myself released a joyous cover of the rocksteady tune “Take It Easy” originally by Hopeton Lewis. My latest work to date came in October 2022 with KBong on his brand new album “Smile With The World”. I provided violin for a total of 4 songs; “Place To Call Home” and “The Coast” which feature the graceful voice of folk singer Raye Zaragoza, “We Care” a classic song KBong wrote in his teenage years, and “Goodbye, My Friend” which is a heartfelt track with one of the most provoking endings to a song you will ever hear. I also added group vocals to the songs, “Hey Mama” and “Bend Down Low”.
To kick off 2023, Alific released his album ‘Write It On The Wall” on March 23. This album features 5 songs with my violin: ‘Glimpse of Light’, ‘Let’s Get Lost’, ‘Another One’, ‘Green Hills’, and ‘Up To Me (Acoustic)’. The violin gives multidimensional sounds, from Glimpse of Light which is a dreamy and ethereal dub jam, to Another One with a bouncy country vibe, to Green Hillz which has a soft acoustic soundtrack feel. I also was able to provide backing vocals and harmony singing to 6 songs on this album: ‘Glimpse of Light’, ‘Write It On The Wall’, ‘Let’s Get Lost’, ‘Record Player’, ‘Set Me Up’, and ‘Up To Me (Acoustic)’. This album was the debut of my vocal work, singing 3 part harmonies and adding depth and character to the already vibrant tracks that Alific crafted. With the blending of voices and melodies, it provided an uplifting support to this album. In June 2023 I released a song with the island grunge-reggae band Doah’s Daydream on their song "No InBetween”, where I provided a full string arrangement with a few splashes of solos and melodies on violin. In September 2023, the song ‘Moving On’ by Aaron Wolf and produced by Alific came out, which I added vocal harmonies to. I was also lucky to be a part of the track “Georgia Rain” by Johnny Cosmic feat. the Elovaters, where I provided background violin parts.
A landmark violin contribution came out October 6, 2023 with Stick Figure on the song “Paradise (Universal Sound Version - Acoustic)” where I added a series of flowing violin melodies that make the song sway with emotion and feeling. With the production help of Johnny Cosmic, this song came out otherworldly and timeless, and it instantly rose to #1 on the worldwide reggae charts. Another crucial contribution came with the release of “Joy is Here” in early March 2024 by Kevin Kinsella (founding member of John Brown’s Body and 10 Ft. Ganja Plant), where I was able to add harmonies and soulful ooo’s and ahhh’s to this timeless tune.
My latest full album work came in May 2024 in the form of Aaron Wolf’s debut album, “Running On Hope” which was produced by Alific. I added vocal harmony and background vocals on all of the track on this album, as well as a featured violin track “Simplify”. This album was a new coming of my vocal work, and adds an essential layer to these phenomenal songs. In July of 2024, I added backing vocals and vocal harmonies to Vibe Merchant’s funkadelic song “Best Days”, produced by Alific. Then in August 2024 I was able to collaborate with San Diego punk-reggae specialists The Resinators on their song ‘DETAILS’, where I provided full violin string arrangements to sway throughout the song. An instrumental version was released with the full string sections highlighted in full detail.
On September 1st, I released my first single as Man of the Forests solo, with a cover of The Frightnrs song “Maybe Isle". This was backed by the Vana Liya Band (Dan Guzman on guitar/vocal harmony, Kenny Nishikawa on bass, and the late Logan Tyler on drums/mixing/mastering). It was a very sentimental release of music, as it debuted one month after the tragic death of our drummer Logan Tyler. Recorded live in a dank basement in Pittsburgh earlier in 2024, it has an extremely raw power to it, and an incredible freestyle jam at the end with violin and guitar leading the way.
My long awaited release with Johnny Cosmic on his song “What A Trip”, which was recorded back in 2021 was finally released in August 202. One of the first songs I worked on with Johnny Cosmic, this 9 minute adventure takes you to places most music can’t reach.
My latest release is a psychedelic rock EP entitled, “Basement Jamz” featuring myself, Light the Band, and Kenny Nishikawa. This album contains 3 songs, “PEANUT” “BUTTAH” and “JELLY” which were all improvised on the spot from the same session in the basement where “Maybe Isle” was recorded. Each track is an adventure into the unlimited possibilities of music, and the freedom of expression and communication in melody and movement. These songs are guaranteed to take you on a trip, with violin by Man of the Forests and guitar by Dan Guzman of Light the Band swirling expressively throughout, and the thunderous drums by Logan Tyler of Light the Band and raw power of bass by Kenny Nishikawa. These were the last tracks Logan Tyler worked on before his tragic passing on August 1st, 2024, as he mixed and mastered the tracks before he left us suddenly.
All of these songs can be found on my Spotify Playlist ‘Man of the Forests Contributions’.
I continue to collaborate and release songs with many artists in the reggae scene, and have shows and tours planned with my friends Vana Liya and Alific in the coming future.
It’s a Gift to Uplift with you all. Peace and Love.
