The Aumitar Oracle
Our orientation to what qualifies as legitimate music is generally informed by the existing cultural climate and those musical sounds which predominate—most often via the commercial airwaves. The widespread adoption of certain “standards” facilitates a “common ground” wherein exchange, categorization, evaluation, etc can be expedited within the music community (composers, arrangers, artists) and the industry at large. And yet over time these “standards” have also come to represent the imposition of a set of criteria that serve to constrict creativity and make “outlaws” of those who choose (for whatever reason and to whatever degree) to transcend such restriction.
Strangely enough it is those “outlaws” to whom we owe the continual evolution of musical expression—and this is true in virtually every genre of music.
That said, if one were to survey a varied demographic on the questions, “What it is music?” and “What is its value and purpose?” myriad responses would emerge, each furnished according to a particular experiencing of it. And so, in reality, we realize that “music” is in the ears of the listener, even as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
The important thing is that standardized cultural concepts cannot be arbitrarily applied irrespective of existing context. That is to say that one cannot burden the engagement/encounter of any instance with the imposition of an arbitrary preconception that ignores the environment/context in which that instance occurs, consequently and simultaneously presupposing a condition to which that instance must then be subject. Music heard through the filter of preconceived notions has not been heard at all.
The Aumitar Oracle is an appreciation of sound as music, whose creative premise is the Natural World (i.e. Nature)—an environment of infinite variety in form, movement and expression—as preeminent. Actual natural expression is indigenous to a Natural environment: the varying cadences of the ebb and flow of currents; the unpredictable change in direction of the wind; the subtle transformation of clouds—all provide evidence of a template offering limitless invention. Musically—in contrast to the strictures of “standard criteria” imposed by man—Nature’s subtleties and sensibilities provide opportunity for a freedom of tempo and cadence not restricted to the “necessary” repetition of a mechanical and static regularity; a freedom of ongoing tonal transformation not bound to the extended constancy of a singular tuning; a freedom of rhythmic exploration that realizes the potential inclusiveness of multiple interpolations rather than the exclusionary insistence of a fixed pattern. Nature offers a significantly larger palate from which to choose and a means by which to engage a range of experience in which exists unlimited potential for unique discovery and accomplishment. Nature does not, however, eliminate the approaches consistent with man’s “standard criteria”, it merely rejects them as absolute, thus they are employed as what they actually are: options no more or less available for use than other existing options.
Subsequently, what you hear will certainly be familiar in some regards and possibly unfamiliar in others.

The Aumitar Oracle is both a statement and a message:
A statement regarding the situation and circumstance of People of Color living in a world now dominated by those who see them as an obstacle—an obstacle standing between themselves and their dream: absolute and uncontested ownership of every material resource on this planet; an obstacle that has become an enemy against whom they wage a relentless war.
A message to People of Color to not participate in their dream; to not participate in your own demise—to not follow in the path of those who seek your destruction; to not pursue the bait of those who would ensnare your souls—but rather to re-discover who you are and to know: They are your enemy but GOD is your friend. A wise man once said, Fear of man brings entrapment; but (who) trusts in YHVH, he will be exalted.
The Aumitar Oracle is an experience of self-discovery—a re-examination of life and being; a realization of self; a realization of GOD—through creative endeavor. It is an expression of a life whose fundamental reference is the Natural World—in all its limitless beauty, simplicity, and organic interrelationship. Equally, in reflecting upon my life experiences up to this point, it is an acceptance of all that I value of who I am and a rejection of all that I have been made to be that I am not. It is therefore a transparent expression of who I have discovered myself presently to be. And yet, it is only the beginning of an ongoing revelation…
The Aumitar Oracle is also a musical endeavor largely informed by verbal and musical conversations with Master Percussionist, Kinah Boto Ayah, Eulipion Emeritus, Kebbi Williams and Scholar of African-American Studies, Mausiki Scales. The creative genius of Artiste Extraordinaire, Ingrid Sibley has also been highly influential.
Other significant contributions that have directly or indirectly informed this work, whether via musical expression, philosophical exchange, association, inspiration, constructive feedback, influence of being, etc., include those of my father, Laurence Crichton, Jerome Crichton, Tejan Crichton, Michael Murani, WaSii, Jorga Mesfin, Shanti Om, Dee Bell, Russell Gunn, W.S. Tkweme, Salim Washington, Michael “Musomi” Carson, Prezel Prescott, The Abuna, Baba Atu, Patrick Jones, Q, Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Eric Dolphy, Foday Muso Susa, Trilok Gurtu, Youssou N’Dour, Marcus Miller, Bruce Lee, Hazrat Inayat Khan, Krishnamurti, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Pharaoh Sanders, Bindu Gross, Alex Blake, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Ultimate Universe, John McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Living Color, Betty Carter, Rachelle Ferrell, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Igor Stravinsky and John Coltrane.
There is also much to be said for the more general influences of music from the African continent, Jamaica, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Russia and Spain. The same is true for the influence of those experiences that informed my childhood, growing up in a highly cosmopolitan North London—early impressions have proven themselves indelible.

The Aumitar Oracle is about the Instruments employed in this recording and the reasons for their being:
The creation of the Aumitar was critical to embarking upon this particular venture—an instrument whose conception was preceded and inspired by the M Bass. The desire to produce an instrument that contrasted with the one-piece, 4 strings, fretless fingerboard, tuning, register, volume/tone controls and commercial hardware of the M Bass provided a template from which to begin. So it was that a two-pieced, 3-stringed instrument, tuned unconventionally, without volume/tone controls or commercial hardware, equipped to produce sound in a higher register on an alternating diagonally-fretted and fretless fingerboard took form as the Aumitar. Always enchanted by the sounds of the Sitar, Veena and Sarod, there was a certain delight in realizing that the Aumitar possessed like timbral and tonal qualities. Consequently, the Hindu Aum (often represented as Om)—as the original formative (sound) vibration by which life was brought into being—was combined with tar, of Persian origin, meaning “string(s)” (as in the word Sitar: Si-tar, translating to “three strings”—as was true of the original instrument so named), via the connective link of the vowel/word i; hence: Aum-i-tar.
An instrument in the hand of a musician must be comfortable, and better yet if it is familiar. As an extension of the musician—a conduit through which the music is conveyed—the more natural and organic the connection between the instrument and the instrumentalist the truer the expression. An instrument crafted by the musicians own hands—with all of the intensities and sensibilities inherent to such an endeavor—effects the ultimate connection. And even instruments otherwise acquired are often subsequently customized according to the peculiar needs of the artist towards facilitating the greatest ease of engagement and freedom of expression. So it is that of the five stringed instruments employed in this recording, three—the Aumitar, M Bass (4-string electric bass) and 6-String Bow—are of original design/construction; one—the Upright Bass—has undergone major transformation; lastly—the Acoustic Guitar—only minor modification; all at the hands of the artist.
The impetus, in both the creation and/or modification of each instrument, was to discover a sound that resonated intimately with the being; that effectively communicated the voice heard within the inner ear; that gave truth and clarity of expression to the language of the soul. It is undoubtedly a spiritual pursuit. Whatever of this pursuit has been effectively realized via this present rendering, it is certainly only representative of an embarking upon a venture into the unknown and ever-expanding territory of one’s own soul. If you are in any way enriched by the sharing of this experience then it is enough.
Peace and Blessings,