This track marks the first time the virtual, trans-continental duo sung (Nat Grant, Australia & Steve Uccello, USA) has recorded together, in the same room! After recording 2010's "Melbourne, Monterey" over the internet we got to play our first shows together in October 2011 around the central coast of California. Videos of us from the Y2KX+1 International Live Looping Festival in Santa Cruz and Seaside's The Alternative Cafe are over here

www.youtube.com/user/SUNGduo#p/u/3/vkB-Fn7cPdc

on our new youtube channel. I couldn't be prouder of this duet and our live videos!

This song, "Tula" was tracked in my little rehearsal shed in Monterey, CA aka "Tortilla Flats studio".

The song itself is a Finnish folk song arranged by my wife Kathy's grandfather, Aimo Kiviniemi. He was a great musician and a professor of voice, as well as a folk lore musicologist of Finnish music.

After picking out the parts from the piano/voice sheet music, recording them, and hearing how nicely it turned out, we felt that it would make a great free download to commemorate the success of our first shows together. We hope you enjoy the music! -Steve Uccello

note: The Story Behind The Story

The way sung ended up recording this song is a cool story that begins with Kathy's sister Carrie & Her husband Matt. When they were expecting their daughter, Carrie had a dream where she was visited by her daughter to be. Her daughter spoke one word to her: "wind". Now having Finnish roots, Carrie found out the Finnish word for wind, Tuula, and decided that it would be a beautiful girl's name. After little Tuula was born, one of Kathy and Carrie's relatives sent a song that their grandfather, Aimo Kiviniemi, had arranged. Aimo was a virtuoso singer as well as a professor of voice at University of Kentucky. He also was an expert of Finnish music. His wife, Viola, was a great keyboardist as well and they would regularly perform together. When Matt & Carrie received the sheet music they sent it over to see if I would read it for them so they could hear what it sounded like. The timing worked out that Nat Grant was here when I got the music. We liked the melody and decided to record a version of it for them to hear. Of course, Nat and I put our own little twist on it in the sung style, and it turned out so nicely we felt it would be great to share it with you all. After reading the lyrics and noticing the different spelling with one U, we found that Tula with one U means strength. For me the words and the song are still fitting as an ode to little Tuula if one thinks of the song as a love song from parent to child.