1 - Radio Interference

This was made using various synth gear, I think I used a Behringer Neutron patch synth and some sampling gear and a cheap short wave radio. Oh yeah, I used a Superego Synth Engine pedal from Electro-Harmonix and latched onto and glitched various static and incomplete radio signals and imported them into my DAW. Then I worked my voodoo on them and did who know what. Added some guitar and bass and I was playing keys with a cool arpeggiator turned on, no my fingers can’t move that fast.

 

2 - Broken Edges

When I wrote this I was thinking in the E Dorian. The Chorus I thought of in F#min, with a G#7 thrown in, I think I inverted it or something. This song was sort of one of those where the melody and harmony overlap in a way that is like, 3 groups of 8 and 2 groups of 12 both get you to 24 but they will overlap in a way that is kinda cool. Or at least that was the original plan. This song was written out on paper first as a sketch on a sketch pad. I had originally intended for the intro to be the bridge, or maybe the chorus, I cannot recall, but It just did not fit and I rewrote the chorus. Then I had the old chorus, I even recorded some of it. I decided to insert it as an intro because it was in a compatible key or mode I believe. It had so many starts and stops and the song is very long……vocals would make the song better and I wrote them but cannot sing them and give them justice.

 

The chorus is-

 

Im feeling so exposed and lead astray

Walking with the shadows at my feet

Pretending to become an ocean wave

Giving excuses to have to leave

 

Im feeling so exposed and lead astray

 

Walking with the shadows at my feet

Pretending to become an ocean wave

Giving excuses to have to leave

 

Solace streams to chase the night away

Trading all my hope for harmony

Seeking to control the ocean waves

With the pieces no longer me

 

3- Chapter

 

I think I was trying to write a song that sounded like a James Bond Theme, but not a James Bond Theme……Seriously, I was trying to figure out why the James Bond Songs have this recognizable feel and I tried to mimic, but change that formula.

 

The Lyrics (if the song were ever sung) are all influenced by the nightmare of the U.S. Administration from 2016-2020, yeah, hopefully that was just a scary Chapter.

 

I will probably remix this song because I was not satisfied with the mix so maybe this one will be back in a heavier, more aggressive mix with vocals one day.

 

4- Make You Whole

 

This song makes me ache. It really almost made me sing it. If there was one song that was begging to be sung it was this one. The lyrics started with

 

In the dark

you accept

broken broken things

for love

 

Anything

for the warmth

Tight embrace

exhale

 

5 - Scratches the Surface

 

This song is about dualities. Sometimes what we think we see and what we think we believe is the truth about a thing a person or a concept only scratches the surface.

 

There should be vocals for the guitar intro and the bridge, in addition to verse and chorus like a normal song. The Guitar Intro lyrics would be-

 

Her shivering spine

Passed through exponential

ashes combine

Strengths that it will imbue

Not finding time,

days, years they’re incremental

Repeat the lies

That her broken orchard grew

 

She felt sublime

In heaven with emotion

Pushes divine

Just to cheat her dark virtues

soft whispered lines

Kisses cheeks so warm and gentle

Make room for the last one

That slowly comes to view

 

Each breath

A blink of time

Each blink

Thread will unwind

Each thread

Fate will outline

Stitching the wounds that you can’t hide

But it just scratches the surface

 

This would have contrasted with the bridge vocals/lyrics which would have been-

 

So serpentine, my vines creeps up to the sky

Chasing the light, my leaf seeks the expendable

Sweet parasite, the depths to which I may climb hums lullabies

Scent of wine insufferable

Eyes opened wide,

Heaven with corrosion

Pushes divine

Just to cheat his dark virtues

soft whispered lines

Kisses cheeks so warm and gentle

Make room for the last one

That slowly comes to view

 

Each breath

A blink of time

Each blink

Thread will unwind

Each thread

Fate will outline

My wounds look so benign to you

They just scratch the surface

 

 

 

 

 

6 - Interludes in Moonlight

This pixie is one of my favorites. This was second in line for wanting vocals and I almost did it but just could never get my vocals to sound the way I want them to. It’s about that lull in the night when, how things seem crazy in your life, when the world seems to fall apart, and you can awaken at midnight, walk outside and look up at the moon and realize that probably every human in human history has looked upon it in awe and felt some sort of peace, that lull in the night. That reflection on a full moon is a reminder that daylight will soon be back and light will return again no matter how tough it gets.

 

7 - Borderline

This song is about feeling like you just don’t fit in no matter how hard you try. It has a ridiculous amount of guitar tracks. The break after the short solo and the switch in the drums and change up always make me smirk because its a little quirky.

 

8 -Sympathetic Consequences

A very simple song, probably my most straight forward song. This little pixie came late to the party. She never had lyrics and was a guitar and keyboard showcase.

 

9 - Possibilities

 

This pixie was very influenced by what I did with my friend Chad back in the band SnagLoopDog. This was a very SnagLoop process for the intro. I kind of randomly painted some notes in the piano roll of my DAW, maybe I copied some to other MIDI tracks and clipped out some treble notes on some bass instruments, and clipped out some bass notes on some more treble-ly instruments and them laid a foundation for some guitar and bass work. I think I laid one guitar track, then added a second harmonizing or higher octave and did some extreme quantizing for small a part of it.

 

10- The Universe Dreaming of Wanderlust -

This almost did not end up being on the album. It came so late and was finished so fast it just worked out. This has a lot of circuit bent instruments, I used a circuit bent Casio- SK-1, a Circuit Bent Speak and Spell, a few custom made synths from parts bought off Etsy, a custom made analog pedal, some Moogerfooger pedals and other madness. I use some side-chaining and made it really sound like it is going in a very industrial or techno direction and then suddenly the songs shifts to a laid back piano, almost lounge piano feel. The guitar slowly builds and the weird discordant synth shows up during the pre-chorus, I love this one. Again, this one never had lyrics, it was born with guitar movements in mind.