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Chuck Kaplan & Paul Mirocha
MANDOPHILIA is musical duo Chuck Kaplan and Paul Mirocha. The basis of their music is four hands and two mandolins, yet as multi-instrumentalists, they can sound like a full band.
Paul and Chuck first met at Celtic and folk jam sessions in the mid–1980s and have been playing together ever since. The self-titled Mandophilia is their first professionally recorded CD album. This CD contains an hour of all–original acoustic instrumental compositions, based on a folk style, but eclectic–sometimes tending towards classical or jazz. But you can set your EQ to Rock.
Mandophilia's roots are based in Celtic music, but they took some crooked forks in the road. There are no traditional tunes on this album, yet the feeling is there in a contemporary frame.
Rather than listing influences, it's probably easier to list the musical genres that Paul and Chuck ignored. German brass polka bands, or Billy Ray Cyrus might fit into this category. But then again, maybe. But ahh, Bach!
The music is ancient, contemporary, and fresh. It's relaxing, with a spark. It's sugar-free and has no unneccesary notes. It combines careful composition and arranging with spontaneous bursts of improvisation in the studio. Even some of the accidents stayed to redeem themselves later and became essential to the tune.
You can spend an hour just listening to Mandophilia. But listeners also find that the music is perfect as a contemplative background for concentration and work. There are no words to distract. People have also told us that they have used Mandophilia as background music for a quiet party or social gathering, Mandophilia creates a subtle mood that's good for relaxed conversation.
Water that has been exposed to Mandophilia's music forms microscopic heart-shaped crystals. (Really! It might.). It has been proven to create alpha brain waves similar to those created by transendantal meditation in orange cats and Cavalier King Charles spaniels.
Chuck Kaplan, a medical doctor, gives music samples from Mandophilia to his patients. And you don't need a perscription. The mind and body are really one. This music is designed to be healing to both.
Mandophilia: the CD
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One of the best ways to hear what we mean is to listen to Mandophilia, our first album. There are samples and free downloads on this site. You can also buy a CD here.
Musicians
Chuck Kaplan plays mandolin, fiddle, quatro, bass, train whistle, and squeaky door. Paul Mirocha plays mandolin, octave mandolin, and guitar.
Guests: Mark Holdaway plays guitar and kalimba on Freezer and The Paradoxical Frog. Doug Shelton plays ukelele on Luna Azúl.
Karen
Falkenstrom plays
Japanese taiko drum on Spiders Lament.
Sound Engineering
Mandophilia was recorded, mixed, and mastered by George Nardo at Luna Recording Studio in Tucson, AZ.
Meet The Maker
Paul Mirocha plays a hand-made A-style oval hole mandolin by Bill Bussman at Old Wave Mandolins, Caballo, New Mexico. This mandolin was the inspiration for Paul's super-real painting on the cover of Mandophilia.
What Listeners Say
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"I like that song! Sing it again."
–Jasper Kunz (3 years old)
On The Ocotillo Waltz
"It’s good, cozy, being at home together music."
--Lauren Leveque , Cape Cod, MA
Nostalgic. Warm. Traditional. Fresh. Exciting. Relaxing.
Chuck Kaplan and Paul Mirocha, the duo behind Mandophilia share all these feelings without words. The all-original acoustic instrumental compositions are all human, filled with emotions. There is nothing mechanical to this album.
Their first CD album, the two strike up a sound that fills the air. At times, the instruments-the mandolin, the fiddle, and the guitar all have a conversation, and at other times they sing together to create a brilliant harmony. The sound has folk and celtic influences, but as Chuck and Paul put it, “it took some crooked fork in the road”. As an album, the tracks follow naturally in style and tempo. But as individuals, each track is a gem of its own, and takes on personalities.
Every time you listen to the album, you find something new that will delight you, whether it is their excellent musical techniques, or fun and unexpected sound effects. It is great music for all occasion—as background music at work, as easy listening, as music for dinner parties, and even for dancing. There are beautiful waltz tracks for slow dancing such as "Cynda", but not "the Paradoxical Frog". It will make you trip.
--Ikumi Kayama, Chapel Hill NC
It's as if you have put a sunny and relaxed Saturday morning in musical form to be used on any grey day. Here in grey Ithaca, where we've had about 3 days of sunshine for the last 3 1/2 week, your CD is a golden and warm dose of sunshine vitamin.
--Camille Doucet, Ithaca NY
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contact Paul Mirocha or Chuck Kaplan
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© Paul Mirocha and Chuck Kaplan