a collection of electronic music, mostly computer generated. once abandoned but recently rediscovered whilst recording some new music.

i was experimenting with different time signatures and minimal instrumentation. inspired by a lot of noise music that i was listening to at the time.

Got a little groover that had managed to get all the way through to the first mix before I realised it was all wrong. Well not all wrong but it stood out as a clear weakness on the track list.. I call it ‘big rock’ but I think now it deserves a new name…

I hereby rename you ‘bomb’.

Much more fitting. I had initially called it big rock because it was going to be this big dumb rock song but as it evolved it has become a slow building trance groover.. I use the term trance loosely, it’s 120bpm and it’s full of synthy goodness but like anything I create I don’t think it really fits into any particular box..

I hate the need for genres and labels.. but I’ve had a rant about that before..

So I hit a wall and broke through again and I did it while fighting tonsillitis which I think is something to be proud of!

I was asked where all the audio was on my blog the other day.. truth is I’m not one for sharing music before it’s complete.. but as a treat, over the next week or so, I might post up an early version of a track from the album…

A couple of albums released last week as well to talk about. Tori Amos has released her first ever album on a classical music label ‘night of hunters’, showcasing her incredible gift as a pianist, best album I’ve heard from her in while.. on the other end of the spectrum but amazingly sticking to theme Mastodon released ‘the hunter’ which is a return to a more riff based rock for them. Again on first few listens I’m liking what I hear..

Hoping this tonsillitis clears soon.. such an energy drain.. lots of work to be done.

Bit of a sucker for routine. Yet always fighting against them. Can be so suffocating, so comfortable and can quell creativity. But sometimes a good routine or process exists simply because it’s tried and tested and there is no better way… if there is a line that balances between creativity and routine then I’m flapping about in the darkness trying to find it. As always i need to find my own way.

First mix was a bit flattening. Musically the production of the tracks was lacking energy and it all sounded disjointed. Took me some time to realise it was a rubbish mix and not a year and a half of wasted time. Sometimes I think I’m programmed to always concede failure first. But take it back to the process, 1st mix is always about laying down a marker.

So I’m back to work on the 2nd draft and already I’ve managed to find some forward momentum. The track ‘exploder’ shrivelled and died as it came out of the speakers rather than pop or explode… now it has more of a punch with a more prevalent bass line that pulsates and evolves through the track, no longer just a passenger.

‘night falling’ has had treatment to one of it’s guitar parts, giving it more life and intrigue.

Most importantly I’ve remembered that I don’t have the ears or the equipment to master an album. Which I already knew, so my job is to get the mix right and then take it all to someone who can master it and bring it all together.

Keep conscious of the process but don’t let it suppress your creative instinct.

Finished the first mix for all 13 tracks of ‘explosions’ over the weekend. Over 80 Minutes of audio and on initial listen through still a bit of editing to do and a bit of tweaking to the sound.

Still considering the inclusion of 2 tracks. It might turn out that the current order isn’t doing them any favours or it could just be that they’re tripe and they get scrapped. Also considering chopping up a 17 minute epic noise track into an intermission or something similar.

The track list is completely wrong at the moment though. Might have to call in some ears for advice… the inner circle.. There are some really good songs in there but if you get the order wrong they can get a bit lost…

Will however be able to hand over a copy to a friend who I’m hoping will be up for a collaboration on visuals..

Much work to be done still but edging ever closer..

when i last mentioned this track ‘moving forward facing backward’ it was “troubling me a little”… well i had almost given up on it.  i stripped it bare and rebuilt it and still wasn’t happy so i let it sit for a while and moved on to another track. when i came back to it i had figured it out.  the song didn’t go anywhere and lacked dynamic. as soon as i had figured out what was wrong, finding a fix was relatively easy.

the chorus is much more pronounced, the beats are bigger and the bass is fatter.  it has elements of dubstep which is an admission i come to with a sharp sense of uneasiness. i mean it’s not dubstep but it has the half speed beat and the big simple bass line and that is as far as it goes really. more importantly it works and the track fits perfectly amongst the rest of the collection.

electronic music = evil
i’m not a dance producer, certainly not a dj (not a mixer in site), just someone who likes to meddle with electronic music. genre is a word that i have always despised.  why should i have to squeeze myself into a box that someone else created. what good would it do anyone? i guess it makes it easy for those who want to be part of a scene. i want no part in a scene, i just want to express myself and create something that i’m proud of.

once upon a time i used to think electronic music was like cheating. only music created with ‘real’ instruments could be considered ‘real’ music. what a naive way to look at things.  sound can be created with anything. this keyboard i’m typing on has a distinct sound, the random conversations occurring around the office i’m sitting in at the moment hitting my ears across a broad spectrum of depth, tone and timbre is sound.  any sound can be manipulated into music.  to think music needs to have a verse chorus verse chorus bridge {!!!!key change!!!} chorus is pretty archaic.  not that it’s wrong to follow that structure, a lot of my own songs do, i’m just saying that to place a boundary on the definition of music, and make it too narrow, would mean you would miss out on a hearing a lot of amazing things.

i guess it’s like anything in life, you have to approach it with an open mind, trying not to let other people influence you.

the haters
i wonder if there is still a lot of angst out there towards electronic music and the people who create it?  i get the feeling there is maybe i’m just being a drama queen. i play traditional instruments (and chopsticks, tins of pins, wine glasses etc) but sometimes the best music comes from someone picking up an instrument having no idea how to play it (or knowing, but approaching it in a different way) and just make it up as it goes.  that reminds me, a friend of mine sent me this little clip of ‘Gals with Guitars’, a collaboration that she was a part of in London, i’ll post a video up after this post, i think it’s pretty awesome.

apologies for my absence
well i’m off to London, Glenprosen & Edinburgh, Manchester, Brighton, Tollard Royal & Shaftsbury… bit of a road trip round parts of Britain… probably won’t check back in until the end of August.

ciao.

put some hours into another track last night. processing vocals. it’s quite a cold electronic track and i wanted to keep the vocals in line with that.

“i’m so sick of seeing carbon copy kids”

i ran the vocals through melodyne, a handy tool that manipulates pitch amongst other things, “what you used a pitch corrector tool? inexcusable!”, well no. i’m using it as an effect rather than a correction tool. not that there is anything really wrong with the things, i don’t think i need to prove to anyone that i can sing…

switching from pro tools to ableton I ran the vocals through some resonators and a vocoder than transferred it all back to PT. whilst in melodyne i also converted the vocal audio to a midi file and created a clone track running it into a sine wave synth.

i ran the resonator/vocoder vocals and the cloned synth track alongside the main unaffected vocal and it gives the desired effect. a cold electronic sounding vocal which fits nicely.

next I need to edit the beats up a bit. they’re a bit clean. will try resampling them through my kaoss pad, but i’ll cut them up a bit first.

getting there.

it’s a tough track but i think it deserves the time and effort.

just realized that in a little over 4 weeks time i’ll be preparing to board a flight to London and as we approach the 1st anniversary of our return to Australia i thought it would be a good opportunity to review progress.

London 12 months ago
this time last year i had just packed up my studio and it was loaded into a shipping container bound for Melbourne.  all i was left with was my laptop, which admittedly is a pretty handy tool to have.

7 days out from departure I started writing what was to become the final track for the project in ableton and not surprisingly it has been named ‘7days’.  i’m now just about to put the final touches on this track which has evolved into a bit of a beasty.

but when we left London i had only 4 or 5 tracks about 80% complete and 8 or 9 more skeletons in the closet ready to be filled with their internal organs and skin.

not a lot changed for the first few months as the mad rush was on to find a job, a place to live and then waiting for the arrival of that shipping container.  but slowly things fell into place and the new version of my studio was created in the spare bedroom on the first floor of our house with views overlooking the city from northcote. lovely.

i spent time listening through each track and taking notes of what was needed and what direction i wanted them to go.  then i got to work layering vocals, electronics, bass, guitars, percussion and more beats.

in the now, Melbourne
now nearly twelve months on, i have 12 tracks 95% complete and i’m about to start work on ‘7 days’.

once that is done i’ll do one final sweep through all 13 tracks and add in any minor details needed, before moving on the mix.

i must say, getting into the mixing process fills me with excitement somewhat like a child in a candy shop.  the final shape beginning to emerge from so many hours of work.

when I started this project i recognized that in the past i tended to rush through things when creating music and i was determined to take my time this time around. giving each track the attention it deserved.  i’m quite proud of what i have created so far.

year end is still looking good for completion.

still much to be done.

the daily rant
one final word, a little off topic, but related in a way… i spotted a review of brian eno’s new album on the BBC website, i was quite excited to see what he had come up with expecting to be blown away.. comments on sound cloud made it look like he had discovered the sixth, seventh and eight senses and managed to bring all of them to orgasm.  alas what I heard over 3 tracks was dull. the spoken poetry was novel, but the on the whole the music is dated tripe, like session musos playing jazz, produced well yes, but nothing new, no imagination… utter tripe!  to those who think it’s ground breaking… get your head out of the sand! there is so much music out there pushing boundaries and making use of all this wonderful technology in creative and imaginative ways… eno is riding on his name… what makes it so sad is that there are people willing to jump on board… whatever..

rant well and truly over.
J

such fury
rolling in on distorted frequencies
yet i feel numb to it all
all rage extinguished
not dead on the inside
just incapable of anger
or more likely no need to feel it
sufficiently placated
all wrapped up in garments
sold subliminally, appealing to my need
for drama and individuality
for vanity and comfort
in the back seat driving down the 86 
past the fashionable
trying desperately not to be fashionable
the skinny black jeans rise against the world
and there it is
a glimmer of the rage
it’s still there
not dead after all
just under control
but can i lose it?
i kind of want to

well.. i was concerned…

i started with a basic skeleton of a song… just beats… laid over vocals which i was fairly happy with (considering there was barely a melody to be heard)… and today i got to work layering some abstract guitar parts, strings and synths over the top and the track is a tease but it puts out in the end… and considering the shit i am having to hear playing through the walls from our neighbors… it is sheer genius… mind you there are a lot of whoa’s and yeah’s following whatever tripe they are playing… i could rip my ears off… honestly…

for my dogs
this track means a lot to me… the lyrics were written for a dogbonfire song, “wtf is dogbonfire?” it was this bloody awesome band i played in when i was living in london.  when my time in london was drawing to a close we wrote this song called ende nominative intreppette… it’s latin… and the song was brilliant… so i wanted to pay tribute to my dogs, they are the best, great friends and i miss them dearly.  as you can expect i was feeling a lot of pressure to do justice to lyrics that had been so sweetly carried before… well it’s not finished yet but it’s getting there.

a royal guest vocal
the track is missing a key ingredient and that would be a vocal from a princess who shall remain anonymous.  at least until i know she is happy for me to name her… but other than those vocals i’m not sure it needs much else…
omph there goes etan pushing astro into my wine glass… must be time to end this and go top up that glass…

it’s been a blast.

no wait… they are playing roxette next door… first it was that i’m blue la da di la da da song… and some 80’s aussie rock now this?  i need to get out of the house…


J