Original Music by David Robert Jones

Release Details

Hang Integral Explorations (Single)

An Original Composition

An unhurried exploration of a PanArt Hang Integral, an instrument often regarded as the crown jewel of PanArt's evolving vision for the Hang. This particular Hang Integral has been called "a magical one" by a legendary member of the instrument's community and accomplished builder. I am only its second steward and over its life it has traveled across three continents before finding its way into my hands.

In 2025, the instrument was tuned for the first time since its creation by Colin Foulke, one of the world's foremost tuners. His thoughtful work restored the instrument while preserving the remarkable voice that makes this Hang so special.

This recording was made with a simple goal: to capture the instrument as honestly as possible. Processing has been kept to a minimum so its natural tone, resonance, sustain, and harmonic character can be heard as they truly are.

About the Instrument: PanArt Hang Integral

As described in early PanArt literature about their process, the Integral was more than a new tuning when it debuted. With the 2008 Hang Integral, PanArt moved away from offering many different scales and instead embraced a single musical language. Every note was chosen to reinforce every other, allowing the instrument to function as one coherent resonating body. "Integral" described not only the tuning, but also a philosophy: the integration of sound, touch, listening, player, and instrument into a unified musical experience.

Hang Integral Standard Tuning

D3 / A3 / B3 / C4 / D4 / E4 / F4 / A4

Rather than offering multiple scales, PanArt chose a single tuning in which every note supports every other. The result is an instrument designed not simply for melody, but for resonance, deep listening, and the exploration of sound itself. For me, this recording is both an exploration and a preservation of an extraordinary instrument whose voice I hope to preserve and share.

I hope you enjoy listening to this rare bird.

Deep bow to the makers at PanArt, to the previous owner who cared for it so well, and to Colin Foulke for his extraordinary expertise, generosity, and dedication in bringing her beautifully back into tune.

Listen to Hang Integral Explorations

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Aeolian Nights: PanArt 1st Gen Aeolian (Single)

An Original Composition

Recorded on a PanArt 1st Generation Aeolian || Released July 2026

Aeolian Nights is a cinematic ambient journey featuring a First Gen Aeolian Hang and immersive synth drones using a HiChord.

Built around the distinct sound of PanArt's Pang steel and the Aeolian scale, the piece unfolds through spacious melodies and evolving harmonies and embraces the tensions of light and dark, stormy and calm, joy and sadness.

Cover Art Photo: taken July 24, 2017 on the upper stretches of Sunset Road in the Boise Foothills while cycling.

About the Instrument: PanArt First Generation Aeolian

The instrument featured in Aeolian Nights  is a first-generation PanArt Hang tuned to the Aeolian scale.

Created by the original inventors of the instrument in Bern, Switzerland, first-generation PanArt instruments are known for their distinct voice. The Pygmy scale carries a particularly reflective quality, blending earthy resonance with spacious melodic possibilities.

For me, the instrument serves not only as a means of musical expression but also as a practice of listening, presence, and exploration.

Listen to Aeolian Nights

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Morning Sounds on the Farm: PanArt 1st Gen Pygmy (Single)

An Original Composition

Recorded on a PanArt 1st Generation Pygmy || Released June 2026

This song was recorded on the deck of our family's farm house. My mom has created an oasis in the high desert of Idaho: flower gardens, bushes, green grass, lush trees, and a whole lot of love and care have invited every passing bird and many who call this place their home year-round. 

There are few places on earth that I love playing more than on our farm. The wide open skies, sprawling green pastures, and peaceful nature of the place invite a return to that inner Home that is always calling. Sometimes, we just need to pause long enough to listen.

So, I hope that you might find a moment to listen and to clearly hear Home calling you and inviting you to return -- to hear that call from the many birds who accompanied me the morning of this recording and from this magical steel instrument crafted in a small shop along the Aare River in Bern, Switzerland.

Peace.

About the Instrument: PanArt First Generation Pygmy

The instrument featured in Morning Sounds on the Farm  is a first-generation PanArt Hang tuned to the Pygmy scale.

Created by the original inventors of the instrument in Bern, Switzerland, first-generation PanArt instruments are known for their distinct voice. The Pygmy scale carries a particularly reflective quality, blending earthy resonance with spacious melodic possibilities.

For me, the instrument serves not only as a means of musical expression but also as a practice of listening, presence, and exploration.

Listen to Morning Sounds on the Farm

🎵 Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music | Amazon Music | Bandcamp

Goodnight Moon: PanArt 1st Gen Pygmy (Single)

An Original Composition

Recorded on a PanArt 1st Generation Pygmy || Released June 2026

Some music asks for attention. Other music creates space.

Goodnight Moon emerged from quiet evening practice sessions and a desire to explore the gentle transition from activity into rest. Recorded on a first-generation PanArt Pygmy handpan, the piece reflects the stillness that often arrives when we finally allow ourselves to slow down.

Beneath shifting skies and changing seasons, there remains an invitation to pause, listen, and return to the present moment. The warm, earthy voice of the 1st Gen PanArt Pygmy creates a spacious and reflective atmosphere that supports contemplation, rest, and ease.

About the Instrument: PanArt First Generation Pygmy

The instrument featured in Goodnight Moon is a first-generation PanArt Hang tuned to the Pygmy scale. (See a more complete description in the Morning Sounds of the Farm section).

Listen to Goodnight Moon

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A Lifetime: Golden Gate Halo Batch 2 (Album)

An Original Halo Album

Recorded on a Batch 2 Golden Gate Halo || Released January 2026

Deep bow. This is one of the first things I remember hearing in early correspondence with Kyle Cox, maker of the Halo. It seemed to be a way he would often recognize, with humility, the beautiful healing sounds that others brought to our world through his creations.

This album is a deep bow on this special day of the year.

An offering. A giving of thanks. A recognition that we all get to play a small but important part in this lifetime we have together.

The first song was initially composed next to my aunt Diane's hospital bedside this past November. It has grown into what it is now, a story of A Lifetime. The ups and downs. The quiet places. The hard times. The easy times. The joy. The sadness.

But always the thread of Loving Presence.

Each song was recorded so that you can feel what it feels like to play the Halo and hear it from my perspective as if the it is on your lap and it is your hands that are dancing. If you're wearing headphones, notes on the right side of the pan will sound more prominent in your right ear and likewise for the left.

I hope to bring you close, close enough to hear me breathing, close enough to notice the imperfections, close enough to feel the emotions of the stories each one of these songs invites, close enough to feel the magic of these pans that Kyle and his team created.

Deep bow. Deep bow.

About the Instrument: Batch 2 Golden Gate Halo

This album was recorded on a Batch 2 Golden Gate Halo, an early-era instrument crafted by Pantheon Steel under the direction of Kyle Cox. Built using Pantheon's original rolled-shell construction, it comes from a generation of Halos that many of us players cherish for the warm sustain, clear note separation, and deeply expressive voice.

From Pantheon's original description of the Golden Gate scale:  A wistful major, filled with golden light and the yearning of two major seventh chords. The low E on the tone circle acts as a second tonal center, allowing modulation from E minor to C major. The name was inspired by the heartbreaking site of fog spilling down a pastel hill like an ocean wave in San Francisco, bright white on top, but moody and mysterious underneath.

The Golden Gate scale became one of Pantheon Steel's most beloved sound models. Its melodic, uplifting character invites both contemplation and exploration, offering a landscape that feels at once grounded and expansive.

There is also a distinctive quality to these early rolled-shell Halos that compelled me to search for one and find one: a tone that feels organic, resonant, and alive. The instrument responds with remarkable sensitivity, revealing subtle textures and dynamics even at the softest touch. Throughout this recording, its voice became more than a musical tool—it became a companion, shaping the emotional contours of each piece.

Today, Batch 2 Golden Gate Halos are recognized as part of Pantheon Steel's classic era, valued not only for their craftsmanship and rarity, but for the unique character they bring to every performance.

Listen to A Lifetime

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