Erica Bramham is a critically acclaimed vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and composer from Melbourne, Australia.  She has recently taken up the bass and has been studying with Anita Hustas.  For her, playing the bass has been a uniquely challenging experience, and one that she has become deeply passionate about. Erica has developed several interesting projects in recent years, including: The Song Chain Project - writing a song a day for 203 straight days The Dryad Project - bringing creativity and improvisation into her practice routine and letting the instrument direct her creative process, all while using composition to help solve technical challenges We talk about these projects, the value of routines, reflections on her first year of playing double bass, and more, and we also feature excerpts from her singing and her partner Adam Speigl playing bass on A Low Heavy Sun. Enjoy, and be sure to connect with Erica on her website as well as Instagram,  Facebook, and YouTube. Listen to Contrabass Conversations with our free app for iOS, Android, and Kindle! Contrabass Conversations is sponsored by: D'Addario Strings This episode is brought to you by D’Addario Strings! Check out their Zyex strings, which are synthetic core strings that produce an extremely warm, rich sound. Get the sound and feel of gut strings with more evenness, projection and stability than real gut.   Ottava Imports   Naj Qureshi has made it his mission to get the highest quality hand carved Italian Basses into the hands of bassists at prices that are unbeatable for the quality of Ottava’s Inventory. Naj’s priority starting Ottava has been to make sure that any bassist has access to marvelous instruments crafted in the Old World Tradition at realistic, fair and uninflated prices.   Steve Swan String Bass Steve Swan String Bass features the West Coast’s largest selection of double basses between Los Angeles and Canada.  Located in Burlingame, just south of San Francisco, their large retail showroom holds about 70 basses on display. Their new basses all feature professional setups and come with a cover at no additional cost. Used and consignment instruments receive any needed repairs and upgrades before getting a display position on the sales floor. Modacity   Modacity is a practicing app that helps musicians be more effective at practice.  They help you get the results you want, while keeping you encouraged and motivated to stick with it and reach those goals – however big, or small, they may be.   Kolstein Music The Samuel Kolstein Violin Shop was founded by Samuel Kolstein in 1943 as a Violin and Bow making establishment in Brooklyn, New York. Now on Long Island, over 60 years later, Kolstein’s has built a proud reputation for quality, craftsmanship and expertise in both the manufacture and repair of a whole range of stringed instruments, and has expanded to a staff of twelve experts in restoration, marketing and production. A440 Violin Shop An institution in the Roscoe Village neighborhood for over 20 years, A440's commitment to fairness and value means that we have many satisfied customers from the local, national, and international string playing communities. Our clients include major symphony orchestras, professional orchestra and chamber music players, aspiring students, amateur adult players, all kinds of fiddlers, jazz and commercial musicians, university music departments, and public schools. Upton Bass String Instrument Company Upton's Karr Model Upton Double Bass represents an evolution of our popular first Karr model, refined and enhanced with further input from Gary Karr. Since its introduction, the Karr Model with its combination of comfort and tone has gained a loyal following with jazz and roots players. The slim, long “Karr neck” has even become a favorite of crossover electric players.   Contrabass Conversations production team: Jason Heath, host Michael Cooper and Steve Hinchey, audio editing Mitch Moehring, audio engineer Trevor Jones, p