Wyland doesn’t sit on his laurels when it comes to raising awareness of the ocean’s troubles.
The artist’s latest endeavor is "Blues Planet II: Global Blues Music for Our Environment," which was released Sunday on Earth Day. The album is the second in a set of three that collects music written by Wyland and recorded in New Orleans by a band of hand-picked musicians, including Taj Mahal and Willie K.
Wyland, who is better known for his tableaus of marine life, was motivated to make the music, he said, by the devastation of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in 2010.
ON THE NET
Find out more about Wyland’s environmental initiatives at wyland.com. For a video of “Dirty Oil” and footage of Taj Mahal and the Wyland Blues Planet Band jamming on the streets of New Orleans, search “WylandMarineArtist” on YouTube. |
Last Friday, the second anniversary of the Deepwater disaster, Wyland called from Laguna Beach, Calif., to talk about the album.
The incident killed 11 men and injured 17 others, and sent oil flowing for three months into the Gulf of Mexico. It has been recorded as the largest unintentional marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.
Wyland went out on the water five days after the disaster, with members of the National Wildlife Federation.
"There was oil as far as the eye could see," he said. "We had to wear gas masks. Really, the atmosphere was affected and you could feel it penetrating your skin.
"I was so disgusted that I went back to my home in the Florida Keys and I wrote 60 blues songs."
Encouraged to record the music by folk and blues veteran Taj Mahal, a close friend who, like Wyland, maintains a home in Hawaii, Wyland gathered up his team of musicians in New Orleans for a five-day recording session last May.
The players include Taj Mahal, Amy Hanaiali‘i Gilliom, Willie K, Rod Piazza of the Mighty Flyers, and Steve Turre of NBC’s "Saturday Night Live" band, who plays conch shells on the album among other instruments. Also, from New Orleans, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s Roger Lewis, clarinetist Michael White and jazz trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis joined in.
"Nick-I" Hernandez of the Southern California-based reggae band Common Sense contributed fiery blues vocals, bringing Taj Mahal to tears during the recording session, Wyland said.
The gang recorded 48 songs in five days; all the music will be released.
An iTunes download of "Dirty Oil" from the first album, released last November, benefits National Wildlife Federation efforts in the Gulf.
"Blues Planet" clearly reflects its New Orleans flavor, with a never-say-die gaiety as well as a classic blues sentiment of paying witness to bad things and hard times.
"The band was so inspired," Wyland said. "Man, did they bring it."
"We want to bring it out on world tour next year with the whole band."
IN CONNECTION with the "Blues Planet" project, Wyland produced a new documentary about environmental challenges.
"Blues Planet Sounds" is narrated by famed oceanographer Sylvia Earle (Time magazine’s first "Hero for the Planet"). The film premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Friday. It’s been submitted to the Hawaii International Film Festival for consideration.
He’s also traveling the country during Earth Month advocating for his national Water Pledge challenge (mywaterpledge.com). "You’re saving water, you’re saving energy, you’re saving money and you’re saving the planet," he said. "It’s a simple way to take action."
Wyland said he’s been rewarded by building alliances with others — "to try to think as big as I can, and then to try to inspire through art and science and get people involved … with what we’re trying to do as a foundation, and as a company."
