#the harmonies are ethereal in this song like I actually ascend

[jacarandaaaas]

I feel incredibly stupid for not realizing this sooner but I just realized that “all of you” has a double meaning. All of you referring to everyone that the family is the miracle. As well as all of you meaning all of yourself. It’s a smart way of saying that this family as a whole is a miracle but also you as INDIVIDUALS are valued. I did realize the meaning of all of you for mirabel at the end when she says “all of me” but for some reason I never caught onto the double meaning in the actual song. I always interpreted it as all of you as in everyone and then the end part being particularly for mirabel but I’m just now realizing the double meaning was there the whole time💀

[a1to-and-scientific-witchery]

my insane thoughts on "shifter" by azsagawa

i want to devour this album. i need to taste every inch of this album. i need to be drenched in it so my skin may absorb it. so it may become part of my body forever.

(individual song thoughts below the cut)

- kokuseki (yunosuke) - solid opener. really nice and stylish bop, yunosuke and azsa complement each other so well, i'd dare say azsa is 2nd to wami for suiting his songs.

- lotus (tokiwa) - AMAZING song, tokiwa completely blew me out of the water with this one with how detailed it is. this song is sweet and enticing; the lyrics are just sung so desperately and delicately, and the chorus is so catchy. absolutely one of my favorites on the album.

- black out (SHOW) - following the same style as "kokuseki" in his stylish bop style. although it's not as engaging, this being in-between "lotus" and "koibana" gives my heart a chance to rest and instead just groove. it's like smooth cruising. really good album placing/song order

- koibana (wotaku) - probably the most drastically different song on the album, it uses menacing strings and feels so dramatic and it TARGETS EVERY PART OF MY SOUL AND BEING. the dark strings, the desperate lyrics; it's an insane lovesickness; THE SWORD STABBING SOUND EFFECT TOO?!?!?!??? it's just so good. the way he goes from menacing softness to desperate and harried passion in his voice. it's compositionally SO FUCKING GOOD!!!!!! as far as i can tell, it's about a sick & dying girl that the singer is in love with and wants to die next to her, feels the same pain as her

- kiminodoku (higma) - pulls the emotion back, more laid back and a bit more relaxed; but the lyrics are still following the same thread of "love" and heart pains. it almost feels sad in a way, like rain falling down? "kimi no doku" means "your poison." there's a lyric where it's like "i've become your poison." his voice here is just... i can't describe it. it's a bit more laid back and lower in pitch and tone than his usual high pitch

- mirage (suisoh) - THIS SONG IS SO FUCKING SEXY AND SEDUCTIVE it's a total bop too and like. the way he uses the whisper and breaths IS SO FUCKING ADDICTING. the title is actually "souou" which can mean "togetherness" but lyrically it's a pun on "mousou" (mirage.) implying the love or scene is like a "mirage." the way his singing here feels like you can almost taste it too, and fitting because there's a lyric where it's like, "hey, what lipstick are you wearing, what does it taste like? tell me" which is. obviously an invitation to kiss and I'M JUST. FUUUUUCK. his technique here is on point he's showing off and it's so fucking hot.

- yudotou (是) - like i said, in terms of album placing, this feels like you're ascending to heaven. it's a slower paced song, but the harmonies are so beautiful and heavenly. it's a song that really just feels like heaven... it's so nice. it's really nice. i've come around on this song because of the album

- nerve (azsagawa) - he wrote this himself! another favorite on the album, with lotus, koibana, and mirage. really great and beautiful song with enthralling pianos, i really think since he wrote this himself, this is the most personal song on the album; the song that is PURE azsagawa and his expression. it's really special because of that, i think. it's exciting in an almost ethereal way? god i just can't describe it. it's closer to a typical jpop/jrock or anime op/ed than everything else on this album, but it's just so. much more beautifully expressive in its own way? god. i love it. i really love. piano work here is absolutely fucking amazing. and his vocals too feel more "middle ground" or "default expression" for him but that doesn't mean it's mid. it feels most authentic actually.

- noruka/soruka (police piccadilly) another amazing bop from police piccadilly; azsa nails the addictive and catchy articulation in his pronunciation. chorus feels like you're riding or moving or soaring. matches the more stylish EDM vibes of the beginning of the album -- kokuseki, lotus, black out.

- paranoia (azsagawa & yunosuke) - starting with yunosuke and ending with yunosuke. hearing "nerve" before to get a style for azsa's own songwriting style, you can hear azsa's influence in yunosuke's style here. back to the stylish EDM bops but it's a bit more textured or complex here. really cements the vibes of the album as a good ending song; once again, they work really nicely together. the song ends on a pleasant chord. emotionally ties things up really nicely and beautifully from the preceding intensity of koibana - kiminodoku - mirage - yudotou - nerve. it almost sounds like a sendoff or ED song in some ways? so yeah it works well as the album's ender. although not the best album ender in existence imo (that goes to arcadia in joucho's "creation")

okay that's all i'm insane i love azsa

[mieux-de-se-taire]

The Black Parade - Part 1

I don’t know if words can do this album justice. While Revenge is my personal favorite, I think Black Parade is MCR’s magnum opus. Listening to it is an emotional rollercoaster and a full body experience, and every single song is incredible. It’s an immaculate concept record that feels personal yet universal, theatrical yet intimate. It’s no surprise that it saved and changed so many lives. 

The End - an excellent introduction to the concept while also establishing the record as moving away from the more punk and hardcore inspired sounds of Bullets and Revenge and more towards arena rock, theatrical and dark and sad yet still very fun, I love the grandiosity of the whole song especially when the electric guitars kick in at 0:40, my favorite part is the line “when I grow up / I want to be nothing at all” at 1:16 because I love the line and how Gee devolves into screaming at the end to lead into the heavier section, I also love the transition at 0:56-1:03 with the snapping and backing vocals. Additionally, fun fact, during the TBP tour when they would play through the entire album, Frank was playing the opening section on a cheap acoustic electric Esteban guitar his dad got him (source at 8:06)

Dead! - I love the transition between the end and dead and how the heart monitor introduced in the end flatlines when dead starts, the contrast between the very upbeat sound and the very dark lyrics is super fun and interesting, it’s probably the most fun song on the album, I really like the voices Gee uses for the narrative, his scream at 0:03 is so satisfying, my favorite part is the end starting about 2:49 when he sings “If life ain’t just a joke / then why are we laughing?” and then ends with “If life ain’t a joke / then why am I dead?” (goddamn), my second favorite part is the woody the woodpecker guitar riff at 2:18. Dead was actually one of the first songs they wrote for TBP while touring on Revenge: “‘It’s about being dead and about people not liking you – it was a commentary on the band and how some people feel about us,’ said Gerard. ‘We wanted to say, “You may hate us but we’re still here.” We wanted to say, “Here we are, and we’re better. Here we are and we’re more daring and more defiant than ever.”’” (The True Lives of My Chemical Romance, 139).

This Is How I Disappear - super underrated, some of my favorite vocals on TBP, god, Gee’s scream at 0:25, the harmonies at 2:17-2:34, fucking ethereal, and then the dissonant yelling starting at 2:40, and the layered singing at 3:33-3:46, chef’s kiss, also the line “I’m just a ghost / so I can’t hurt you anymore” (jesus christ), my favorite part is the demented section at 2:40-2:57 when he sings “You wanna see how far down / I can sink”, though I also adore the angelic bridge at 2:17-2:34, overall just a beautiful song, I highly recommend checking out the vocals only version, it works so well for this song

Sharpest Lives - one of my favorite songs off TBP, some of if not the best lyrics Gee ever wrote, I mean “You’re the one that I need / I’m the one that you loathe / You can watch me corrode / like a beast in repose”, “A light to burn all the empires / so bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be”, “Juliet loves the beat and the lust it commands / drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, Romeo”, “So you can leave like the sane abandoned me”, every single line kills, what a fucking song, very dark subject matter but still playful and tongue-and-cheek at the same time, my favorite part is the bridge at 2:00-2:22 with the vocals ascending in fours and Ray tearing it up on guitar, I also love the weird little sounds at 1:08 (Frank?), and, of course, Gee’s pause after saying “So why don’t you blow me”

I’ll be posting a part 2 and 3 review of TBP in the (hopefully near) future, and I’ve already gone over all of Bullets and Revenge. All “extra” material (b-sides, EPs, etc) I’ll go over separately after doing all the albums. Feel free to share your own opinions about MCR with me.

[michaelbogild]

Quotes written April 18 2021

our mutual melodies, our ancient lights that are wed to each other

her soul is spangled with astral grace

our love had florid stretches, our love had terrible pits

Give me, Life, a draught of oblivion.

she entered the truth of this love with a heart about to burst

Of course I love her, I am eternally fond of flowers.

how easily charmed I was, how deeply you travelled into my soul

in her heart, a lone buttercup whispering something true to his ethereal dreams

she answers his soul with all the colors of her affections

the ghostly waves of her forsaken ocean

I am just a floating phantom that once were in love but now is lost

he sailed into the star-spangled night of her sirenic beauty

the florid touch of her soul's amorous eloquence

I met the angels that wrote the harmonies of our love. They were devils.

though his love her emotions became songs of starry beauty

your roses were not without their shades, shades that swallowed me and all my eternal foolishness

tonight, tonight you look like the muse of the moon

I felt in her love the true pulse of life

I writ her absence upon the heart of the unknown

Our poem died too soon, but so does all beautiful things

he set aflame the saddest moon of her heart

surreally pulled by the gravity of her cryptic songs

I still linger in the illusion that you actually loved me

finally we meet, two souls divorced for centuries

in her heart, a fearless daffodil that knows how to dream

I am not a great guitarist, but I play the piano really badly.

Touch me with the mystic silence of all your moons.

nothing is mundane when I close my eyes and dream

her love wears the spirit of an infinite rose

Your are the blue skies that lives in my soul as lies.

her beauty is a bird fluttering in the half-light of his heart

Her bohemian soul, her fancy everything.

you broke the spine of my entire universe

Lady luck, what the fuck?

she wore the endlessness of his love, an invisible dress of mystic grace

I will never see you again, I know that, but how you shine in my lyrics.

the flaming music of her wildflower affections

her roses are now praying, where is his love?

her wraithlike eyes, eyes that saw everything and nothing

time dissolved by the power of our touches

the seraphic enchantment of her gorgeous eyes of spring

I am higher than the star of her love and beauty.

A love that could deluge the heart

we ran full-tilt into what we mistook for heaven

the ambiguous rose of her half-light love

What shall tame this heart now that it has gazed into eternity?

the sad whispers of your absence is nothing but ghosts, but I can't forsake them

she is the temple I pray in, she is the darkness outside of it

our love unfolded a higher reality

see was too ethereal to embrace

Writing poetry has become a psychedelic for me.

timeless temptress, muse of my heart, sing, sing into this night that never ends

we were the throbbing pulse of that night, we burned harder than the stars

he orbits her beauty with his delirious verses

I am suspended in a sky that exist beyond my life.

the ascending poetry of our young love

I am as broken as the autumn that gave birth to me.

the burning cathedral of our star-crossed love

The canvas is empty...and will remain so until she returns.

he excites her heart with the force of a thousand dreams

you deserve an ode that will survive the stars

I planted flowers of poetry on the grave of our love

I will rebuild my life, brick by brick, without you.

the bleeding bride of the moon, whispering to me something unclear, in a night, in a night of a thousand oddities

we took flight towards heaven winged with a thousand hopes

I read a page from her mystic heart and fell irretrievably in love

there are definitely moments when I feel like a cosmic child

she rejoiced in the spring with all the roses of her dreams

thinking about you is flirting with melancholy

I exist outside of my brain, in the world of a dream that can't possibly be real.

they married the vastness of each other's love

we were fit for paradise, but we burned it down

a poem written by the ink of God

You do not own my heart, the night does, which has stopped calling out your name.

we belong in the heart of the cosmos, our love will take us there

He scored the royal flush of women, but did he know?

her beauty, a mystic pearl

her heart was slighted by the summer of his beauty

how easily she stirs the depths of his wonder

no one will ever find the broken crown of our love, except of course they read my poems

All her stars were enchanting, she sang their light into his heart.

the lyrical dreams of our far-travelling souls

her love was a hollow poet

he brushed the marigolds of her feelings

the resounding canyon of his hearts flaming love-poems

As you played with my heart your own slowly rotted.

in this mystic night of oddities, a profound deepening, whispers, subtle lights, and all my future seen as memories

She lit a candle in the darkest room of my heart.

the elusive butterflies of her more-than-divine love

her love felt like an ancient secret, a hidden star

she wears the yoke of a thousand yesterdays

the yawning abyss of everything I have become, the endless darkness, oh the infinite darkness

The soul of midsummer has turned into the stars of her eyes

I lost my way when I decided to love you

dancing on the shore of his love, daydreaming with the waves

her hopes are now weeping within the saddest cadences of nightingales

she loves with the persistence of a waterfall

the secret rose of her soul was perfumed with the miracle of his love

the radiant songs of our hearts are now wounds of unutterable darkness

this stranded homeless soul, this soul without a dream

From soulmates to strangers, what a beautiful ending.

every song is a knife that cuts me open, how I bleed your absence

she drinks the wine of his soul

His captivated heart sails upon the waves of her songs.

her soul wears the perfume of his heart's golden poetry

the moons of her love were nothing but mirages

the transient dance of shallow love is all she has experienced

I am stranded in a desert void of her love

...and I drank a cup of stars, and I forgot the world and every traitor in it.

the ink that praises you ought to live forever

she weaves into his soul the astral charms of her wildflower sensuousness

the perpetual darkness of her devilish gravity

the astral flare of our young and burgeoning love

she could dream forever in the warmth of his arms

everything this girl does is shaped like poetry

he painted his dreams with all the colors of her personality

he shapes with his summery love the budding constellations of her dream-wild soul

we stand outside the seasons, touched by colours that don't exist

like a careless wave is fate when she washes over us

I keep circling the soul of what we had, I am knee-deep in memories

her love, my lethe

he held her in a mystic embrace, entering her heart like a thousand pulsating truths

his strong affections are madrigals of summer, strains of serendipitous light

she is perfectly scented with the roses of God

But her songs have shades and only them am I allowed to embrace

Where is my mind? Have you seen it? Did her love steal it? I will ask the moon.

at the threshold of true love, two souls ready to be united forever

kissed by a moon-goddess on a night of sweet surrender

the dreadful dissonance that is now between us, how harrowing to my heart

Snowflakes, so many snowflakes. Where are we? Oh yes, in a dream.

She basks in his vast beauty, transfixed on his beautiful lips.

her imperial eyes of sure victory

His flames are French, his warrior-heart Greek.

he is on every page of her heart

only he can read the pages of her blood

the fleeting muse of my crepuscular soul

we ascended into the heart of a sea-born mystery

I kept dancing at the edge of illusion, trying again and again to trap reality

only through love could we flow into each other's souls

the imperial flame of her ruthless soul

lonely lips, aching skin, fevered heart

the astral joys of simply just holding you

We are satellites in a sorrowful twilight, drifting further and further away from each other

Yes, I fell, but into poems.

The spring moon took us into his dreams.

You emptied day by day my soul of stars.

the spirit of the darkness, her eternal twin

richly charmed I was, deep in dreams that sang your name in rainbows

Not even Shakespeare could produce poetry this rapidly.

I live at the periphery of something that shouldn't exist

another love, another soul whose beauty will grow back my wings

We will live forever. Our love is one of divinity's rhymes.

so wondrously colored were the dreams of our burgeoning love

her words are courtesans, her eyes are lies

we turned into ethereal light in those resplendent moments of sensual love

They interwove their imaginations and composed a dream of endless splendour

you were a secret path to paradise

she liberated with a tender kiss the sunlight of his soul

he crucified with his goodbye all the roses of her hopeful love

the songs of her beauty, chains

She charms his emotions with all the summers of her heart.

the astral richness of her dreamily divine eyes

the wistful dusk has a song for our hearts

my dreams are becoming more and more solid

Often did he sail to the moon when she loved him, often did he enter the pulse of life.

bathing in the moonlight of his faithful love

I feel the alluring gravity of her notes, I throb with every beat of her wildflower airs

we met within the colors of a sudden mystery

The evanescent music of those dreamy spheres, how I miss it.

I imagined a heaven that could never exist

her love is a conduit of colours, the spring of eternal songs

she breaks the borders of my very thoughts, her soul is pure endlessness

the truest colour must be that of your eyes

the soft whispers of angels can still contain lies

the infatuated moons of her sea-kissed heart

he reached with a perfect kiss the secret lyrics of her spring-blessed soul

I clung to a dream that didn't want me.

your love and beauty is the true world and the only world I will worship

our moonstruck hearts spoke in the poetry of sensual touches

To think of you is to walk at the contour of a mystery.

We have never been further apart, so why do I feel you so deeply in my bones?

Venus herself could not have slid into my soul any faster than you

the velvet paradise of her seraphic love

our love had a spiritual chorus, but this religion had to die

the aching ocean of her breakable heart

the burning pilgrim-notes of her desirous love

His imagination has taken on the shape of the universe.

she is made entirely of night-songs

she floats into empty spaces and decorates them with all the colours and shapes of his translatable beauty

she invites another universe into my heart

Everything she is, everything she does, summons poetry from his soul.

the sunset knows my heart better than you ever did

I amorously burn through verses and visions. I miss you all the time.

the liberated Venus of her bashful beauty

he rides on the crests of her oceanic emotions

the luscious strains of her beauty's cosmic song

black tears, all I shed now are black tears

you darken my writings, your dusk is everywhere

I was enslaved within the songs of the sea-nymphs, I felt a thousand waves curse my bones and blood.

though naked she wears the spirit of the night

I am restlessly rooted in nights that call out your name.

her poems like ornately-colored butterflies

I can finally drink the wine of my own spirit.

she danced with the soul of his love on a shore of exotic dreaming

foolishly anchored in the elusiveness of his love

vaster than the dreams of God is her summer-born beauty

nothing can dream like a pair of green eyes

he chases immortality through sonnets of glorious devotion

they were ready to drown in each other's blood

she is the throbbing pulse of his verdant poetry

love, the mirage I supposed real

I am high on the poetry of this life, this life with you

She plays with the unsung darkness, places the dusk upon her tongue.

Ever a slave to her sorcerous spirit.

how rapidly we turned into stars, how deeply we felt the cosmos of love's deepest truths

loving her was like dancing next to an abyss, drunk

I stand in the rich blaze of her mystic spirit

he courts her jasmine heart with a poem of unbeatable eloquence

the sea-nymphs of her silken voice speaks of endless love

[haus-of-wu]

WayV - Take Over the Moon Album Reaction/Analysis

i was not prepared for this at all - like it’s just RUDE

(also there’s so much more english this time around w o w)

1) Moonwalk

The first 15 seconds of the instrumental was every bomb sci-fi space movie soundtrack to exist - curious, beautiful, kinda modern, and filled with wonder. And then the percussion and horn line come in to up the ante.

The verse melody (with the background strings filling in the pauses) is super suave. Then you get rap line delivering the goods with swagger. The buildup to the chorus uses the bass horns very well to accent each step as we ascend to the chorus.

moooonwaaaaalkkkk~~

This chorus is symphonic - harmonies for days. I can’t get over the fuckin’ strings in this song

and then the electric guitar instrumental/dance break? kinda jopping-esque but i’m not complaining because we get put right back into the opening dreamy space orchestra vibe before getting hit again in the face by the chorus

“Moonwalk” alternates between being dreamy/ethereal and going hard, but in a very Space Lite™ way. (Xiaojun doing that heckin’ power belt at the end though)

The MV? Great mix of a space and earthy minimalist aesthetic. (chef’s kiss)

2) Yeah Yeah Yeah

Felt very “meh” about this one - it’s pretty forgettable and repetitive. (Not gonna lie, there’s a lot of “yeah”s in this one) It isn’t a bad song, it’s just a bit lackluster compared to what I know WayV can pull off. There wasn’t anything that stood out to me about this.

It also didn’t help that instrumentally, rhythmically, and structurally, it was very similar to “Super Car” but it was nowhere close to slapping as hard.

Both songs are heavy in the dirty electric chords for a bass line, alternated with some musically sparser, higher pitched sections.

The rap verses of “Yeah Yeah Yeah” aren’t as out there (fight me, but the rap at the beginning of the second verse has the same general shape/rhythm/flow as the super car rap, but it the delivery isn’t as syncopated nor staccato)

The instrument choice was pretty much stuck in the same middle-range without much variety (”Super Car” was lit because of the high pitched synthetic steel drum “bass” line).

3) Love Talk

Wait, I get a full first 20 seconds in English? And on top of that, the chorus goes “I can hear her callin’ / ….. / Touch me, tease me, feel me up” ??? And part of the verse that goes “I love the way she’s talking to me” ?? W I L D

This one gives me good nostalgic R&B vibes, like Pussycat Dolls/Ariana Grande/Normani-esque? What’s interesting is that the overall musical vibe (in my opinion) is generally associated with what a female R&B artist in the West would do, as opposed to a male R&B artist. Not that this song sounds overtly feminine, but I just don’t remember Western R&B guys doing their tracks this way. The masculinity of the rap almost makes it feel like WayV featured on their own track lmao

This is probably legit my favorite song on this album kill me now

where’s the MV for this

4) King of Hearts

Chill lo-fi cruising on the highway vibe. The rap verse has some good flow.  Kinda has some of Taeyong’s “Long Flight” feel to it. Really appreciating the 8-bit/old school video game SFX in the background keeping ? n i c e

I definitely would listen to this on repeat while coding at work

5) Face to Face

Is this my Chinese rookie-Taylor Swift-like country ballad? The acoustic guitar though - this track is simply s o f t

The way the minimal percussion drops in during the second verse is A+

holy shit this is so country and i don’t hate it - is that why their variety show was on a farm

6) We go nanana

At first I thought this had a NCT Dream vibe, but then I later realized that it also was actually 1D from 2012 calling because they want their feel-good pop back

This song is friends dancing around while walking through the suburbs and/or the beach during summer. The spoken rap is a nice touch, and you can’t help but groove to this one.

I’m very pleasantly surprised by this mini-album - I think this album did a wonderful job of letting WayV show off more sides of their style.

[sontagfag]

THE PREDATORY WASP OF THE PALISADES IS OUT TO GET US: a full analysis

NOTE: everything i know about music theory i learned from the internet so it very well may all be nonsense; take what i say with a grain of salt. this is long as hell and mainly my ramblings about a song i love with all my heart by one of my favorite artists. all under the cut.

first of all, there’s the title. immediately we see the main symbol of the song—the wasp—being characterized as “predatory”, reinforced by the fact that it’s “out to get us”. the wasp, in this sense, is seen as a villain, or as a predator, preying on sufjan and his friend. more on that later. sufjan also gives us our setting- the mississippi palisades, a stretch of bluffs along the mississippi river near savannah, illinois. while you could choose to view this as metaphoric for the story (ie contrasting the sweeping surroundings with the mundanity of the story sufjan’s telling) i choose to believe it’s just there because it was the literal setting of the story.

the next thing worth noting before actually getting into the meat of the lyrics/music, is the song that comes before it on Illinois, A conjunction of drones simulating the way in which Sufjan Stevens has an existential crisis in the Great Godfrey Maze. the song is 19 seconds long, and consists of synth chords and some cymbals. it’s an interesting track, considering that it is simultaneously the most overtly personal, title-wise, on the album (as sufjan’s known to speak heavily in metaphor), yet also the least revealing in its actual content. sufjan chooses to follow this enigma of a track with Palisades, which i’d consider to be the emotional heart of the whole album. perhaps this could be considered to be an emotional prelude to Palisades.

the song opens minimally, with an arrangement of flute, guitar, and piano, contrasting the often orchestral big band feel the album has. i think that this smaller arrangement makes the song feel more personal, more authentic— the only other song on the record to do similar is John Wayne Gacy, Jr., which absolutely uses the even more minimal arrangement to give a more confessional feel. also noteworthy is that the song is in 6/8, which for the less musically inclined means that every measure consists of 6 eighth notes. 6/8 is commonly used for folk dance music like jigs or polkas, so it’s interesting sufjan uses it here. alternatively, you could think of it like two triplets per beat, a sort of double 3/4.

the song is also in e major, which is a key generally associated with joy and delight (according to Christian Schubart’s Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst). the chord progression, as far as i can discern, is E, C#madd11, Amaj7, F#m9. In the key of E, this is considered going from the I chord, to the vi chord, to the IV chord, to the ii. going from the I to the iv is not unusual, and is used in the famous “ice cream changes”, its effect being to prolong the tonic. in addition, it’s a submediant chord, which wants to resolve to the predominant. the chord also has a d# in it, which helps bring it a little closer to the Amaj7 chord. like the ice cream changes, the iv resolves to the IV here. contrary to the ice cream changes, though, this I-vi-IV progression is not just to add interest as opposed to just immediately going from the I to V. instead, sufjan does a little descending thirds type dealio. the Amaj7 gives us a little bit of the feeling of resolve because Amaj7 and E both have an e and an g# in common, but mostly provides the tension of wanting to resolve to the tonic. finally, sufjan takes us to the ii, which is a supertonic, or the I chord sung a step up, providing the release of tension wanted from the subdominant. also interesting about this progression is that every chord in it contains a g#, helping ease the transition from chord to chord. essentially, this progression is essentially a variation on the descending thirds progression, but with a little added flair. my last note here is that it’s an interesting contrast to descend with the chords while the intro flutes play an ascending melody.

wow, that was a lot of music theory, something i don’t know that much about! the song keeps this same progression pretty much throughout the whole song, except for the instrumental sections and the ending, but we’ll get to that in a bit. let’s get into the lyrics now, starting with the first verse:

“Thinking outrageously I write in cursive

I hide in my bed with the lights on the floor

Wearing three layers of coats and leg warmers

I see my own breath on the face of the door”

this first line is particularly beautiful, i think— we get the juxtaposition of his thoughts to how he is writing them down (in cursive), the translation of thoughts into action. cursive is inherently controlled, and meant to be beautiful, unlike his thoughts. there’s also a kind of self-censorship in writing in cursive, as opposed to writing in your own handwriting, because you are eliminating the less sightly parts of how you write and conforming to a certain way that people have decided words are meant to be written. i think you could even translate this to the entire song’s themes of how tiny actions are interpreted to be huge, sweeping statements. there’s also that once the vocals kick in, all the other instruments go out except for the guitar, and occasionally some vocal harmonies in the background, again giving this a very confessional and ethereal feel.

the rest of this verse is spent setting the mood of the story—lights on the floor, hiding in bed, a mood of secrecy. the “lights on the floor” particularly reminds me of my own experiences of summer camp, lying in bed with flashlights under the sheets while i read. i’d also interpret the reference to “leg warmers” as a callback to the 80s- sufjan’s said that this “was written in 1986”. there’s also this implied cold, what with the three layers and being able to see your breath, which i think is another juxtaposition to when the story took place, summer camp.

“Oh, I am not quite sleeping

Oh, I am fast in bed

There on the wall in the bedroom creeping

I see a wasp with her wings outstretched”

this second verse is a little bit puzzling. i’ve always puzzled over what “i am fast in bed” means, and the way i see it there are two interpretations: either sufjan physically got into bed quickly, or the one i like more, he’s kind of shortening “fast asleep” by saying “fast in bed”. I think these lyrics also add that cloud of sleepiness to the whole thing, like this is just a memory that comes to mind right before he falls asleep. and here is also where we first see the wasp, the catalyst for this memory. It’s described as “creeping”, again adding to the secretive nature of the memory, and also the possibly dream-like quality to the wasp.  it’s also interesting that sufjan chooses here to characterize the wasp as female- the only way i can see to interpret this is that apparently female wasps, after mating, become solitary, so perhaps it has something to do with that?

then we have a little instrumental break, going from b to a, which are the V and IV chords, respectively. this is pretty standard, going from the dominant, which creates tension, back to a tonic. however, it’s here that the song’s arrangement gets a little more boisterous. along with the guitar come back the flutes playing a repeating melody line along with some percussion, and a strings section if i’m not mistaken? i couldn’t find performance credits for this song in particular so you’ll just have to take my word for it. as soon as this instrumental break ends, though, it goes straight back into just guitar.

“North of Savannah we swim in the palisades

I come out wearing my brother’s red hat

There on his shoulder my best friend is bit seven times

He runs washing his face in his hands”

here again sufjan is setting the scene, with tiny details- the swimming, the red hat. the interesting thing about this story is that its real life counterpart takes place in michigan, where he was born, but he moved it to illinois for the sake of the album. i think that this little twist of reality adds even more to the whole quality of this song as unreal, perhaps just a dream. while i’m tempted to say the red hat could be a reference to Catcher in the Rye, i did make it past 8th grade english so i’m not going to. here, also, is the first appearance of sufjan’s friend- named muppet, franco, or frankie, depending on what live video you’re watching. interesting that sufjan simply introduces him as a “we” here, like he’s just retelling the story to himself. we can also see that the actual wasp bites are not the actual thing in pain here, since he’s not washing his shoulder- he’s washing his face. something about this scene to me screams embarrassment, that he’s running, with his face in his hands. just as the wasp was only a metaphor, so too is the bite- for shame, for hurting. also worth considering is seven times- my boy suf is very religious and so we can certainly extrapolate something otherworldly about this, what with seven being a holy number.

“Oh, how I meant to tease him

Oh, how I meant no harm

Touching his back with my hand I kiss him

I see the wasp on the length of my arm”

the harmonic vocals are back in, giving this whole section a very holy feel as well. again, we have the “oh”s preceding two matching statements. some nice poetic repetition. this section in particular is also very interesting- even before sufjan tells us what he’s done, he’s defending himself. the way i see it, the wasp symbolizes the encroachment of the outside world, what others might think. we know sufjan knows that he should feel ashamed from the first two lines of the verse and just this simple declaration- that he kissed his friend- provokes the fear of being stung by the wasp, of hurting his friend through this small gesture because of society’s expectations. i also just love the simple detail that he’s touching his friend’s back, what a tender line? it’s also hard not to notice the imagery here with talking about bodies, first in the last stanza with the shoulder/hands/face, and here with the back/hand/arms. it’s also implied, at least to me, that they aren’t wearing shirts, seeing as they’re swimming, which adds to the raw vulnerability of this moment. anyway, it’s gay.

here there’s another instrumental break, this time with the same chords as the verse but with a trumpet part. It’s descending, following the chord progression, but also giving this section a kind of deflated and lonely feel. it repeats, again, with another trumpet harmonizing the melody line. this is kind of the last quiet moment in the song before it goes, as i’d say, Full Sufjan, with the arrangement. Immediately after, there’s a quick moment of quiet before the drums burst in, along with the flute intro melody, a harmonized lyrical part, and something that kind of sounds like a marimba? the chords also change here to a more major progression, that being E, B, F#m, A. that would be going from I, to the V, to the ii, to the IV. this is another pretty standard progression, with only one chord difference from the famous 4 Chords by Axis of Awesome progression. the only difference is that instead of going from the V to the vi, it goes to the ii. that creates a little more unresolve, because it’s going from a dominant to a subdominant instead of to a tonic, which creates the feeling of home. it is interesting, however, how sufjan then chooses to resolve the subdominant to another subdominant, which just continues that feeling of unresolve until it gets back to the tonic.

“Oh, great sights upon this state! Hallelujah!

Wonders bright, and rivers, lake. Hallelujah!”

this bit is a little less connected with this individual song over the album as a whole, with the overall themes of nature as religious experience. maybe it could also be interpreted as him feeling like this experience as a whole was holy, both in its setting and its content? not sure.

“We were in love, we were in love,

Palisades, Palisades

I can wait, I can wait”

oh god, the way this overlaps with the first vocal part just absolutely murders me. this right here is an undeniable declamation of the relationship between sufjan and his friend. it’s kind of like he’s saying “fuck you” to the wasp and making his love heard, but also intertwining it indelibly with the setting, with how it’s only halfway audible between all the other instrumentation going on. the way that this sole vocal line just comes bursting out of the background also just makes it feel like he was just so possessed by the beauty of his surroundings that he had to say it. also just- “i can wait”- like he knows that he’s not allowed this love now, but he can wait, he knows the palisades and his friend will still be there for him when he’s ready. around here is where the song really starts to feel dense and triumphant.

“Trail of Tears and Horseshoe Lake. Hallelujah!”

it’s interesting he chooses to bring up the trail of tears here, something terrible and heartbreaking that happened in Illinois, in the same breath as extolling the greatness of its land. perhaps this is his way of acknowledging the terrible things that can happen in beautiful places, how we can never quite separate the joy of a place without knowing that it was stolen from someone else.

then the vocals take a break for a second, to let the horns do the opposite of their line before, playing an ascending line, alongside some little xylophone twinkles and a woodwinds section. then returns the “we were in love, we were in love” line. this time it builds over that, with the guitars coming back in, the choral background, and more dramatic percussion.

“Lamb of god, we sound the horn. Hallelujah

Unto us your ghost is born. Hallelu-!”

okay, so lamb of god obviously refers to jesus christ. horns are a disputed symbol in christianity, simultaneously being used as symbols of strength or divine power and haughtiness or arrogance. in this case though, where the horn is being used as an instrument, i think that it’s being used as a call to action, or to battle, like in Psalm 81:3, “Sound the ram's horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival”. based on the second lyric, i think that this is reference to the birth of jesus, since “unto us your ghost is born” mirrors the Christmas hymn in Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.” however, it could also be talking about the love between sufjan and his friend, saying one should rejoice in it. Genius interprets the second line as God’s ghost being born, but seeing as the original line is talking about Jesus being born, I’m inclined to believe that this is Jesus’s ghost being born. i think that this is referencing the Transfiguration of Jesus, since for the most part Christians don’t believe in ghosts, but i’m not sure how it connects to the rest of the song. perhaps sufjan is saying that Jesus’s reincarnation was in the love between him and his friend? if anyone who’s more well-versed in interpreting religious imagery wants to pitch in, be my guest. this next verse is a little long, so i’m going to split it in two.

“I can’t explain the state that I’m in

The state of my heart, he was my best friend

Into the car, from the back seat

Oh, admiration in falling asleep”

here all the joyous instrumentation of before cuts out and it’s just sufjan and flutes. first there’s a nice little double entendre with “state” meaning both emotional state and physical geographical state. this verse i think he’s facing his own fear at loving someone he’s not supposed to love. It’s kind of like an argument with himself- we weren’t in love, we couldn’t have been because he’s my best friend. the next few lines are pretty vague, but to me they read like sufjan and his friend hooking up in the back of a car, and the tender moments in which he watches his friend sleep.

“All of my powers, day after day

I can tell you, we swaggered and swayed

Deep in the tower, the prairies below

I can tell you—the telling gets old”

the backing vocal harmonies come back in here on “i can tell you”, sort of giving it a holy feel, plus some piano gets added in here. once again, this is pretty vague. the way i see it, sufjan is saying that despite “all of my powers”, however much he wants to repress it, he still loves his friend. i’m not sure what sufjan means by “swaggered and swayed” but it does really remind me of that one scene from Call Me By Your Name. “deep in the tower, prairies below” could be more imagery, especially since sufjan describes this camp as a high up tower on a hill, but maybe it could also be a reference to the tower of babel, since that’s the most popular tower in christianity. the last line i like a lot, both repeating the line a couple lines before and juxtaposing it with “i can’t explain the state that i’m in”, sort of saying that it’s something that can’t really be explained except for in flashes of memories. then the “oh great sights upon this state” bit begins to repeat again, starting to build the drama.

“Terrible sting, and terrible storm

I can tell you the day we were born

My friend is gone, he ran away

I can tell you, I love him each day”

this first line implies that what they have feared has happened- something happened between them so that they suffered from the opinions of others as a result of their love. this is strengthened by the third line, which also calls back to his friend running after getting stung, as if the shame of this love has gotten to him. the second line seems to me to connect back to “unto us your ghost in born”, and it’s interesting that he says “we” here, and says to me that this is not a birth, per say, but a rebirth, through their love. there’s also again the double repetition of “i can tell you”, again making it feel like this is a confession, or a story being told. this verse just strengthens to me the fact that this is a love song, perhaps one that ends in tragedy, but a love song nonetheless.

“Though we have sparred, wrestled, and raged

I can tell you, I love him each day”

this first line i see multiple interpretations of. one is that “we” is him and the wasp, saying he’s literally struggled with his sexuality and how others might react to it. the second is that he is still talking about him and his friend, saying that they fought, but in a loving way only obvious to them. right after this the “we were in love, we were in love” line comes back in and the song reaches its final peak with three dueling vocal lines. but then, the song does something unexpected, the vocal lines fading out and ending mid “hallelujah”, just to be replaced by cymbal sounds and a droning guitar chord. this continues for a long 20 seconds, giving a very anxious feeling to the end of the song before just abruptly ending and going into They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!!.

in conclusion, this is a love song, told through the framing device of the wasp. this is the story of a love that couldn’t be, but it still exists, frozen in time in the palisades, something like a dream. this is everything we could not be, capsulized into tiny fragments that we can hold forever.

[soundrooms]

Soundrs: Iasos

My name is Iasos (pronounced ya’ sos). I am a music-creator. I specialize in heavenly, other-worldly, inter-dimensional, celestial music. Many in the New Age field consider me one of the original FOUNDERS of “New Age Music”, since I released my first such album in 1975.

Here is a “Celestial Soul Portrait” of me, created by the artist ➜ Erial Ali.

People can listen FOR FREE—to the FULL version of ANY of my songs, from ANY of my albums, by going to: ➜ iasos.bandcamp.com

People can see VIDEOS of me performing live by going to: ➜ iasos.com/videoclp/#performing

People can watch VIDEOS of me speaking (on various topics) by going to: ➜ iasos.com/articles/#talk

If people are curious about my live multi-media concerts, they can go here: ➜ iasos.com/public-concerts

What are your inspiration sources?

I have ONE inspiration source: A higher-dimensional being named Vista. He is an Elohim—a highly-evolved being from the Elemental Kingdom. I love him very much! At a certain point in my life, I had a FLASH-REVELATION-MEMORY, where I remembered that he and I had made an agreement to work together. We made this agreement before I was born. Basically, the agreement was: I would incarnate on earth. I would get up to speed on music. Then Vista would telepathically transmit musical visions into my mind. Then it was my job to RECEIVE these visions, and MANIFEST them (as actual air sound waves), and get them out publicly far and wide.

The whole PURPOSE of this collaboration, was to create and make publicly available, music that had a consciousness-raising, vibration-increasing, emotion-uplifting effect—for the purpose of helping people raise their vibrations, so they can stay with our planet, as it is also currently raising its vibrations. When I first started hearing this music in my mind, I originally thought of it as Paradise music. Now, I think of it as Inter-Dimensional music.

Tell us something about your workflow.

1. I receive (telepathically hear) a music vision from Vista.

2. I figure out the chords, melodies, etc.

3. Vista also gives me technical ideas on HOW to create the special-effects needed for that piece.

4. Vista also gives me a read-out on HOW this particular music will effect people in general (such as stimulate their 3rd eye, or open their heart chakra, etc.) His read-out on the effects on people ends up ALWAYS being 100 % accurate.

5. While I’m actually working on the piece, Vista is frequently whispering ideas into my mind, to help me manifest this music more effectively.

6. I create the music.

7. I get it out there—which, nowadays is easy, thanks to the internet.

How would creative rituals benefit your workflow?

No idea. I use no rituals in my work flow.  

I simply FOCUS on music, and WORK on it.

How do you get in the zone?

I simply FOCUS on music, and WORK on it. CONCENTRATION is very VERY helpful in this regard, and Vista has taught me MUCH about concentration.

How do you start a track?

In the beginning.

Have you ever encountered a creative block?

Yes, but only ONCE in my life.

How did you deal with it?

When I graduated from Cornell University,

and decided to skip my post-graduate scholarship in Anthropology,

and instead, focus my career on music,

I moved to California to begin my music career.

After the first two months, I had a most frightening creative block

where all my creativity came to a halting stop. Terrifying!

So I PRAYED FOR CREATIVITY.

With all my Soul, I PRAYED FOR CREATIVITY.

And boy or boy, did that prayer get answered!!!!!

I had SO MUCH CREATIVITY, that I had to develop and evolve

“traffic control” for “ideas over-flow”—where many great new ideas

were all hitting me at once, and I tried to not lose some GREAT ideas,

because of new GREAT ideas coming to me.

But I did manage to develop an internal TRAFFIC CONTROL

for IDEAS OVER-FLOW.

Since then, I have never experienced a creative block.

In fact, now, my creativity is “on tap”, like a water faucet in a sink:

I turn it on,

      when I want to receive creative ideas,

and I turn it off,

      when I want to FOCUS on IMPLEMENTING ideas that I have already received.

MOST convenient arrangement!

(It’s distracting to receive new ideas, when you are FOCUSED on manifesting already-received ideas.)

Have you ever tried singing or using a voice in general? Is there a message that’s better conveyed through words?

WORDS/LYRICS are a left-brain logical mental communication.

The TONE OF THE VOICE and singing (varying the pitch) is a right-brain intuitive emotional communication.

The sound of a voice has embedded within it,

the person’s EMOTIONAL STATE and SPIRITUAL STATE—at the moment

the voice sounds are being made.

So the sound of the voice is a profoundly useful and flexible sound source.

Also, the voice is THE MOST FLEXIBLE MONOPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT!

It can do portamento (sliding between notes).

It has an enormous dynamic range (softest to loudest).

It can do very flexible rate-changing & depth-changing Vibrato.

And (most unique of all) it can morph through timbre changes (tone changes).

         (Which is what happens when they sing words or change vowel sounds).

I personally do not have good voice control, so it’s rare for me to use my own voice.

But I have used my voice on two pieces:

I’ve used my voice throughout the entire piece ➜ “Lueena Coast - II”

from my ➜ “Inter-Dimensional Music” album.

On this piece I experimented with blending flute and voice together.

And, more recently, I used my voice (doing multi-tracked harmonies)

on one particular part (3:15-3:52) of ➜ “The Gates of Opal”

from my ➜ “Realms of Light” album.

I’ve also used two female singers - Sophia and Joie Favier -

on the second half (6:06 to end) of ➜ “The Diamond-Heart Center of  Creation” from my “Realms of Light” album.

Do you work exclusively solo (except for your collaboration with Vista)?

I typically/normally (about 99 % of the time) work alone.

However, there are two exceptions:

On my “Inter-Dimensional Music” album, I had Carl Schwindeman play electric guitar on ➜ “Maha-Splendor” and ➜ “Siren Shallows”. (This was all pre-1975)

Dear Carl is a MAGNIFICENT electric guitarist.

Vista typically guides me to steer clear of other musicians, since their influence usually tends to make the music more conventional and earth-like.

And so, WHY should I use other musicians when I can do it all myself?

(Analogy: Why should a great painter use another painter to help him paint his painting, when he can paint the whole painting himself?)

When multi-track recording became feasible, then working with other musicians became a preference, an option, but no longer a “necessity”.

So, the other exception happened more recently, when I was working on ➜ “The Diamond-Heart Center of Creation” from my “Realms of Light” album.

The basic idea, for the second half of this piece, is the idea of

EXTREME HARMONY amidst EXTREME DIVERSITY.

Well, I can create a lot of diversity all by myself, but Vista suggested that I actually use three other musicians for the second half of this piece, to further extend the “diversity”.

This was so unlikely Vista, that I responded:

          “Am I hearing you right ????!!!????”

Yup, I was hearing him right.

So, following Vista’s suggestion (never a command), this piece also became graced by the exquisite musicianship of:

· Steven Kindler (violin)

· Sophia (female voice)

· Joie Favier (female voice)

You can hear how nicely all four of us blended together in the second half of this piece, beginning at 5:58.

How would you ideally like people to listen to your music? Like describe the ideal scenario (in the disco, at home, with headphones in nature, …)

Listen in a quiet non-disturbing environment.

Listen with good headphones and eyes-closed.

NEVER listen with speakers (because this blurs the 3D hologram that could otherwise be created in your mind, from using headphones).

Yes, it can sound “nice” with speakers, but you’re really missing the “3-D-hologram-in-your-mind” show that way, and just getting stereo.

Which DAW or software environment do you work in?

Steinberg Nuendo (the more professional version of Cubase).

Can you recommend any audio soft- and/or hardware?

I could spend DAYS talking on this one. Let me just say that the most under-appreciated and under-used piece of hardware-or-software is the vocoder, since it allows ANY sound to morph its timbre (tone) as easily, effortlessly, intuitively, immediately, as you can change the vowel sounds with your voice.

You were talking about a music school in your videos, can you elaborate on that? I’ve read in an interview that one branch is situated above Luxor. I understand this is not really a place where one does literally ‘go’?

It’s not on the physical dimension. It’s on the etheric dimension (just slightly higher than physical), and it’s about two miles above the surface of the physical dimension. So, if you want to get there, easiest way is to INTENT it just before falling asleep. But those that are adept at out-of-body travel or remove-viewing can possibly also get there.

It sounds very special and exclusive. Could you describe the ambience there, the kind of knowledge that is taught, maybe you know of other scholars that attend?

This “art school” above Luxor is directed by Serapis Bey, who is now an Ascended Master, but he used to be a human being on the physical dimension as the High Priest of The Ascension Flame Temple in Luxor, Egypt. BELIEVE ME, Serapis Bey is the only scholar you need when you go there. And this temple is for ALL the arts—not just music. Even architecture and sculpting. In terms of “exclusive”, YES, there are CRITERIA to get here (and to stay here). 

CRITERIA to GET here:       Must be at least somewhat adept in whatever is your chosen art form.       Must be at least a bit psychically receptive, to receive ideas regarding this art form.       Must INTEND TO USE YOUR ART TO RAISE CONSCIOUSNESS and to BENEFIT/UPLIFT OTHERS !!!!! CRITERIA to STAY here:       They have LOADS of things to study when you get there. But if you just meander about, and don’t really                  exert yourself, and make a SOLID EFFORT to learn something, you will be asked to leave.       If you don’t have FOLLOW-THROUGH, you will be asked to leave: This means that if they manage to get some                   art “idea” into your physical mind here on earth, you won’t “drop the ball”, but instead you will stay FOCUSED on it until that “art idea” becomes manifest on the physical dimension.

What was the hardest thing to overcome in the beginning of your music career?

Your beliefs determine what you attract into your life.

So, in the beginning, I had the BELIEF that, initially it would be hard and an up-hill battle.

So, sure enough, I created for myself IMMENSE amounts of poverty and struggles of all kinds.

Eventually, I grew out of this (when my beliefs suggested that I had had enough of this).

What are your thoughts of people being able to listen to music telepathically in the future?

As our planet is now raising in its frequencies, and as our local star cluster (including our solar system) is entering an area of our galaxy that has WAY MORE high-frequency energy particles, these effects are ENLIVENING all life on earth—including minerals, plants, animals, and humans.

So animals are becoming WAY more conscious (and some pet-owners will attest that their pets are down-right telepathic).

And humans are raising into all kinds of enhanced psychic abilities, including:

· telepathic hearing

· telepathic seeing

· telekinesis (moving things at a distance)

· remote-viewing

· bi-location

· out-of-body conscious experiences

and more.

Every day, these abilities are becoming more and more prevalent to more and more people of earth.

And this is increasingly evident in the amount of channeled videos now populating YouTube.

So, yes, of course, more and more people are getting sensitive every day to “hearing music telepathically”.

Are there other ways for people to raise their vibration other than listening to music?

Who ever said music was “the only way”? Not me!

There are INFINITE WAYS to raise your vibration!

And music is merely a humble ONE of those INFINITE possible ways.

Can you share anything that Vista has taught you about concentration? Focusing seems very hard these days with smartphones and the Internet.

I condensed what I learned about CONCENTRATION from Vista into this article: ➜ “Concentration”.

Do you have a special template?

No. Each piece is WAY TOO UNIQUE, for any template to be of any use.

What effects do you put on the master channel?

None, other than adjusting the over-all volume level throughout the piece.

I definitely do NOT use any compression or multi-band compression, or EQ on the Master channel.

How do you arrange and finish a track?

I let my Heart and Intuition guide me—from the beginning, to the middle, to the end. To be more precise, when I am recording any particular part, I might have to record it many times before I get it “just right”.

So HOW do I know when I get it “just right”?

I listen to my HEART while listening to this recent recording, and NOTICE how my Heart feels about it.

If my Heart has an uneasy feeling about it, I try once again to record it.

If my Heart has a comfortable relaxing “Ahhhh” feeling, then I know I got it, and I then proceed to the next part that needs to be recorded.

How do you deal with unfinished projects?

I have never experienced an “unfinished project”, so I have no idea.

How do you store and organize your projects?

In my computer, using a logical lay-out of folders and sub-folders. (Don’t all musicians do it this way?)

How do you take care of studio ergonomics?

Ah, ergonomics is an EXTREMELY important issue!!!

I FOCUS very strongly on MAXIMIZING the man/machine interface.

For example, many keyboardists optimize space (many keyboards on the same one keyboard rack) rather than optimizing ergonomics (having many foot pedals for just-ONE keyboard).

I’m not interested in optimizing space.

I’m interested in optimizing the man/machine interface:

For example, I might simultaneously have five channels of information between me and the keyboard:

      1. Left hand =>  mod wheel and other controllers

      2. Right hand =>  music notes on the keyboard

      3. Left foot =>  mod pedal -or- portamento on/off switch

      4. Right foot =>  volume pedal

      5. Mouth =>  breath controller (typically assigned to Vibrato-depth)

Tell us something about your daily routine, how is your day structured, how do you make room for creativity?

In the ancient Mystery Schools, they always did their important teachings at night. Why? Because the influence of the sun is to keep you grounded and earth-bound. Whereas, the night allows for consciousness to get much more spacey, out-there, and inter-dimensional.

So, in the morning,

I wash up.

I meditate.

I deal with emails.

I go out and do mundane business (like going to a food store or bank or post office).

Then, at night, I FOCUS on my music and WORK on it.

Share a quick producing tip.

For ANY type of complex project, it is extremely useful to use your mind

as a zoom-lens, where you can ZOOM-OUT to get the over-view,

and then ZOOM-IN to see the details on just one part of the project.

Creation Technique of “Cycling between Zooming Out and Zooming In”

With sufficient effort, self-control of your thoughts allows you to use your mind like a controllable zoom lens for your thoughts:

Zooming Out - (fish-eye lens)

   for the over-view,

        for seeing the inter-relations between all the parts,

             for grasping intuitively all the steps necessary &

                  the optimum order of their execution.

Zooming In - (telephoto lens)

   for seeing just one small part in tremendous living detail,

        for understanding in great detail what needs to be done for this part.

             For concentrating all your thoughts

                  to powerfully manifest & materialize just this one little part.

Manifesting any complex reality can occur most effectively, effortlessly, and quickly through this

  Technique of Cycling between Zooming Out and Zooming In:

To manifest or materialize any reality,

   First you Zoom-Out to get the over-view.

        To understand how all the parts fit together - their inter-relations.

             To understand what needs to be done and

                  the order in which these steps need to be done.

   After grasping the whole,

        you create a MANIFESTATION SEQUENCE -

        A Sequence of Steps - to materialize your project in the most logical & efficient manner.

        Then you determine the very next step that needs to be done -

             whether it is a momentous step or a casual simple one.

   Then, when you have clearly determined the next step in manifesting,

        you shift from Zooming Out to Zooming In (like switching from wide-angle to telephoto) - on this next step!

   You Zoom-In by concentrating all your thoughts only on

        the one next step that needs to be done!

   During this phase, you do not scatter your thoughts

        by considering the entire plan or by thinking about other steps.

   With the thought-force of all your mind focusing on just this next step,

        you begin to intuitively grasp and understand this reality in very great detail.

   You increasingly understand what needs to be done and the best order in which to do these things.  

        You are understanding the microcosm of how all the parts fit in—within this bubble of reality.

   With all your thoughts focused on just this next step,

        with the tremendous manifestation-thought-power this accumulates,

             you easily and quickly realize

                  what needs to be done and how to do it,

                       and then you do it!

   (Once again, Concentration does to thoughts what a lens does to light.)

Once all the steps within this microcosm are finished, you once again Zoom-Out—Ah yes, the over-view. It has changed now, because one step has been fulfilled since last time we viewed the over-pattern.

Again, while zoomed out on the whole,

   we quickly and irresistibly begin intuiting and understanding the full reality,

        noticing the interrelations between all the parts,

             realizing in great detail what needs to be done,

                  and then realizing what needs to be done next.

Once contemplation of the entire reality reaches a “ripe understanding”,

   the NEXT STEP becomes “crystal clear”.

Once this step has been determined, we Zoom-In once again, on this next step,

   and repeat this process of grasping, understanding, determining, and doing.

And when fully accomplished, we again Zoom-Out to see once again

   the full picture—seeing all the patterns and how they interact.

This contemplating eventually inevitably “ripens” your grasp

   of what needs to be done.

        And then your grasp of the next thing that needs to be done.

Once the NEXT STEP is clear, then we again Zoom-In

   with the conscious Intention to focus the full power of all our thoughts

        entirely on only the next step.

             This concentrated thought acts like a potent seed

                  quickly blooming and physicalizing its pattern,

                       by simply fulfilling that next step.

And so the cycle continues. Eventually, you Zoom-out to realize that

   your entire project is now exquisitely complete.

To manifest with the grace of effortless efficiency,

   cycle through zooming in and zooming out—

        zooming out to grasp the whole and determine the next logical step,

             and zooming in to do that next step.

Share a link to an interesting website (doesn’t have to be music related).

Here is some useful ➜ metaphysical wisdom.

If you could boil down your knowledge about metaphysical wisdom in a word or sentence, what would it be?

List ten sounds you are hearing right this moment : )

The purring of my cat Cheetah.   :)

                                                           MUCH LOVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                                                  ��         Iasos                                                                                         iasos.com

Thanks Iasos! If you want to get featured next, send a message here on tumblr or email soundrooms@icloud.com.

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 102: Faint Waves

I have been wanting to write about the meditative exotica of Faint Waves (aka Justin Weems) for a while, but every time I get ready to do a write-up, I learn another release is imminent and so hold off. But now is the perfect time to look back at Faint Waves’ wonderful year, given that Justin has just issued his most accomplished and far-reaching sets of songs yet: the magically transportive and guitar-led Hideaways II EP (following up 2017′s standout Hideaways EP) and the jaw-dropping Paradise Lost on eclectics, featuring one of my favorite tracks all year in the Dream Chimney dub of the title track. One thing that stands out immediately from the entire Faint Waves catalog is the mastery of melody; almost every track Justin produces contains some sort of irresistible ear-worm hook that I’ll end up humming or whistling for days on end (see “Cherry Blossom” for perhaps the most potent example). And underneath the melodic magic, he synthesizes his varied interests in synth pop, new age, tropicalia, film soundtracks, chill out, and adult contemporary into an adventurous and narcotic balearic haze.

Faint Waves - The Night & The City (Self Released, 2018) “The Night & The City” is spread across three mixes, with the original’s intro marrying textured basslines to Steve Reich-ian idiophones. After a hushed pause, the beat drops alongside faux-brass melodies and epic string sadness, marching away until a beatless midtro sees trumpets wavering over chill-out bass. And after floating a while in this zoned out space, the propulsive rhythms return and transport us back to the late-night urban atmospheres. The “Big Chair Mix” sees the horn melodies of the original transposed to Mark Barrot-style new age vocal pads and accompanied by neon arpeggiations. The beat comes crashing in with a 90s ambient house flair…an echo smothered break-y rhythm ranking among Justin’s very best. And the original’s dramatic beatless section is made all the more powerful here, as heady vocal samples drift over Chromatics incantations. The “Fargo Mix” is more restrained, with harp patterns and vibrant mallet tones giving way to vintage vocal pads and bleary (french?) horns. The drums are now reduced to a heroin jazz sway, with deep natural kick and brushed snare work supporting the sundown ambiance. The remaining cut is “After Hours Dealing,” nailing the sound of rain soaked city streets late at night with its feverish house pads and bass synth comforts. Marimbas and brass weave twilight nostalgia over a snare, kick, and hi-hat pulse while cerebral noises flash in the ether and moments of cinematic ascendency rush in, with everything flowing upwards towards a turbulent sky and noir horns breaking through the clouds like streaks of moonlight.

Faint Waves - Rain Rhythms, Vol. 1 (Self Released, 2018) Gentle yet effected rainfall underlies every moment here, joining first the smooth e-pianos, drums, and soft basslines of “Rain Rhythms No. 1.” This one evokes wistful views of a calm and grey sea from a faraway window, with every sound filtered through delicate yet tripped out echo fx. For “Rain Rhythms No. 2,” sparse dubwise hand drums sit below pads swelling in angelic harmony. It’s like a warm glowing fog, with pitter-patter cymbals keeping time, glassy vibraphones decaying to the horizon, and a midsection of floating beatless reverie. Piano and synthetic woodblock drift on waves of sunshine in “Rain Rhythms No. 3,” with a far-reaching and emotional melody played on pads sounding like heavenly sirens. I’m reminded of Aeoliah’s Angel Love, with transportive ivory heartache flowing above hazy rainforest rhythmics and affecting new age spells. And as time progresses, I find “Rain Rhythms No. 4” more and more compelling. It’s a deep plod into the heart of a dark forest, with sparse tambourine sounds forming the only rhythm aside from occasional kick drums. Wavering and slightly dissonant pads intertwine with deliriously beautiful yet heavily compressed pianos, while marimbas fall like water dripping off leaves. This is one of the few times unsettling and ominous vibes peak their way into the Faint Waves soundworld and their presence is all the more effective and interesting given the sharp contrast with the flowing beauty of the preceding three pieces.

Faint Waves - Amarsi Un Po (Self Released, 2018) “Amarsi Un Po” is a slight detour into the world of old Italian film soundtracks and pop, with string synths swelling in an orchestral prelude for the mediterranean flow to come. An airy drum shuffle, organic and embellished by thunderous timpani drums, is accompanied by sprightly music box melodies and irresistible reed instruments. And at some point the beats drop out, giving way to a string and acoustic guitar interlude evoking springtide romances, with adventurous solo flourishes and the sounds of coastal sunshine. Even better is the “Island Mix”, with seabirds and oceanic samples underlying the building string atmospheres. The rhythms here have a hypnotic flow rather than a shuffling stutter and the mediterranean reeds are replaced by spacious flutes and tropical marimbas. The guitar interlude is still preset, only now the six-string is smothered in celestial reverb and mostly floats alone, aside from foggy string plucks and the ever present sounds of nature. The Sketches from an Island vibes are strong on this one.

Faint Waves - Paradise Lost (eclectics, 2018) “Paradise Lost” comes to life on a swaying hand percussion groove and blowing synth wind. Rainsticks and deep blue ocean chords sweep in alongside tropical chiming melodies and gleaming mallet instruments, their lilting descent recalling nothing so much as the seaside bliss outs of Bonnie & Klein. This is especially true as swelling cymbals lead to a moment of pure balearic wonder, with exotic acoustic guitar explorations over moving synth chord tidal waves. The Dream Chimney dub takes the magical template provided by Faints Waves and transforms it into some long lost Coyote jammer. The kick and double time cymbals flow hypnotically with massive dubbed out synthbass bouncing through space. New age chimes flow through the mix like some universal ether and the rattles of the rainsticks are every present, stretched and looped into a cosmic breath alongside the sunset pads. Glassy marimbas are locked into an otherworldly dance; a melancholic descent that I would be fine living in forever. And all the while, flashes of acoustic guitar are refracted through prismatic fx, hitting those prime Max Essa vibes. Wisely, the guitar-led beatless stretch is preserved, only now chimes fall like shooting stars and the guitar is heavily obscured by heady reverb and galactic synthesis.

For "Sea of Dreams,” seagulls fly and converse above washing waves. Cymbals swell and introduce a massive kick drum pulse, circled about by gentle bongos and melodious Angelo Badalamenti pads that wrap the body and soul in euphoric warmth. Mystical vibraphones dance in a playful jazz flow and at some point, the kick picks up steam to bring in a spellbinding trumpet solo, both incredibly surprising and masterfully played. Faint Waves has worked with brass before but never like this, with such naturalistic warmth in the impressive jazz runs, sounding as if Miles Davis was scoring a sunset on the adriatic. The Rollmottle mix sees skipping house rhythmics soaring over sparkling blue waves…percolating, hypnotizing, propulsive. And as deep house pads repeat in hallucinatory syncopation, a towering Italo bassline fades into focus, bring us right into that eclectics wonder zone of dark disco and slow motion future balearic. Rollmottle also takes the original marimbas and morphs them into balls of energy bouncing off the sides of the mix, while claps decay eternally over the vibing cymbal work. And after a crucial bass drum drop out leaving just soaring basslines and ocean ambiance, that amazing trumpet solo drops from the sky, now hovering in jazz majesty over the chugging rhythm storm.

Faint Waves - Hideaways II EP (Self Released, 2018) Hideaways II starts with one of the strongest Faint Waves tracks in “Bonita,” as woodblock introduces some truly stunning guitar work. My mouth was agape the first time I heard it, as nothing else in Justin’s catalog hinted at such romantic riffscapes and gorgeous moments of blue sky harmonization. It’s the kind of sonic addition that sweeps his music towards the upper echelons of balearica, referencing strongly Phil Mison, José Padilla, and especially the recent work of Blank & Jones in its mixing of vaguely Spanish six-string fantasies and placid tropical downtempo. And behind the sweeping acoustic layers, new age chimes splash like sea spray, hushed pads add stirring oceanic ambiance, and synth leads sparkle like golden starlight. If there is any justice, this one will appear on a future Milchbar // Seaside Season compilation. “Tanzania” follows with a powerful downbeat rhythm and chiming synths and flutey pads joining forest fauna, while rainsticks and jungle atmospheres background vocal pads shimmering with meditative new age splendor. But the actual melodies skew closer to downer 80s synth pop, resulting in a captivating mix as a new age/world music palette is used to craft something that would fit in an episode of Twin Peaks.

We then find ourselves afloat on the “Mystic River” as cymbal swells bring with them a melody that is hard to describe, causing me to choke up, tears to well, but also a sense of warmth…vivid nostalgia, fond memories of old, wistful romances. The track features Amparo and sits somewhere in that Tommy Awards and Farbror Resande Mac zone, with glacial downtempo married to cold glowing space atmospherics. The cymbals occasional skip in cerebral patterns and there are these soft narcotic guitar riffs, evoking Cocteau Twins, Talk Talk, and other classic examples of moving post-rock. Following this trip, we find ourselves in some clearing in the jungle, as the starlight of “Wind Whisper” shines down in overwhelming brilliance. The track sees Maricopa leaning synth work swirling together with understated yet affecting mallet instruments, all over a classy downtempo rhythm with hints of blissed out jazz in the swelling basslines and marching cymbals and shakers. The journey ends with a reprise of “Bonita” and synthetic waves and solitary woodblock underlying the deeply cinematic guitar playing. Its beauty is brought into sharp focus here, untethered as it is to any rhythms or synth atmospheres, with the delicate yet confident runs and harmonies floating out to that magical realm where the sea meets the sky.

(all images from the artist’s and label’s Bandcamps)

[noiseartists]

BLANKENBERGE: The sound of infinite space from Russia

"Shoegaze itself is described generally as music with a large dream-like wall of sound. Something that feels like a cosmic wave of noise that you can ride and float along with, carrying you through nostalgia and memories of life both good and bad. It’s always felt like a dynamic balance between happiness and sadness. The group Blankenberge seems to have mastered this craft of striking those tonal emotions. Hailing from Russia, they have spread their sound throughout the airwaves of the world. It brims with so much life that it can’t help but traverse across the lands. Guitars shimmer and seem to sparkle like a star shooting out of the ocean, while vocals soar like a bird gliding between the cusps of clouds, and a solid beat that helps carry and keep the dream grounded into a direction nothing but beauty. Drawing from multiple sources of inspiration such as drone, ambient, and shoegaze, they seem to have perfectly melded all of them into one cohesive sound. Their EP Radiogaze, which was released in 2017, is one of the most endearing sonic journey’s that ones ear ultimately will seem destined to have heard. There is something that can be said about Radiogaze in terms of how pure it feels. Each track drips with a love for what is being reflected. The passion is undeniably audible and immediately pulls the listener in without a question. If there were ever a sound of music that makes me picture myself flying through a pink sky with a smile and tears flowing like a river of happiness, it would be Blankenberge’s. Blankenberge have solidified themselves into the scene immediately and have made it obvious that their future is bright, loud, and beautiful. It’s bands like this that are helping keep the scene alive in such brilliant and refreshing ways. As much as they wear their influence on their sleeves, their sound is carved into their own niche and gives them a shining light that is begging for the worlds eyes to see. Below you can read about how their recording process works and a little bit of background into who they are in this big old world. We’re lucky and honored to have them on Noise Artists. Do yourself a favor: lay down in bed, turn out the lights, put on Blankenberge’s Radiogaze, and maximize the volume. You will find yourself falling in love like when you were in high school for the first time. Also, I think they and Pinkshinyultrablast need to tour together, but that’s just my opinion. "  -- Corey Philpot - Outward

But Before anything else, a little taster:

BIOGRAPHY (by Peter Pires, Elusive Sound Records)

Blankenberge is a Shoegaze/Dream Pop band based in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. The band consisting of Yana Guselnikova (vocals), Daniil Levshin (guitar, synth), Dmitriy Marakov (bass), Daian Aiziatov (guitar) and Sergey Vorontsov (drums), came together in 2015 to create dream-weaving and warm reverb-drenched, drone raging songs that swell into soaring ethereal harmonies.

The story of Blankenberge started in early 2015 in Barnaul, a small city in the south of Siberia. Daniil and Yana having returned from an inspiring trip around Europe, started composing several songs with some local friends some of which were later released on their first EP. They decided to name their band Blankenberge, in honour of a little town on the North Sea coast of Belgium which had really impressed them.

That very same year, Daniil and Yana decided to move to Saint Petersburg in search of more opportunities to develop their music. They not only found a beautiful and inspiring city but also the other three members of the band – Dmitriy, Daian and Sergey – who would help them evolve and refine their sound. Blankenberge performed regularly in Saint Petersburg and released their first self-titled EP on 12 March, 2016. The EP’s free-formed post-rock compositions with intensely melodic passages, heavy droning and a pure shoegaze sound, immediately drew in very enthusiastic reviews from shoegaze blogs from all around the world.

In July 2016, they were involved in a cover project «The Cure in other voices» where they presented a dark and noisy shoegaze version of «Pictures of you». Shows in Saint Petersburg and Moscow followed and the band immediately started composing new songs. The writing and recording process would take another year and a half. After unveiling a first single “We” on 12 March, 2017, Blankenberge finally released their debut full-length album “Radiogaze” digitally on 30 June, 2017. The album instantly won over the ears of shoegaze listeners worldwide with Yana’s swooning, soft vocals serenely ascending and sweeping the skies, unveiling an afterglow, lacing emotion through a blazing, hazy swirl of loud droning guitars that swell and subside in an all-embracing ocean of sound.

On july 18, 2017, Blankenberge officially signed to Elusive Sound. “Blankenberge create warm reverb-drenched, drone-raging songs that swell into soaring ethereal harmonies. We are thrilled to announce that we will be releasing their wondrous full-length debut album “Radiogaze” on vinyl in 2018”.

On September 10, 2017, Blankenberge were invited to film and record Radiogaze Live in session at a converted Lutheran church called Melody Studio.

On March 14, 2018 Blankenberge announced a Spring Tour of 2018 which will see them play nine shows in nine different countries. The tour will kick off in their hometown of Saint-Petersburg and then cover most of Eastern Europe with an additional show in Vienna. This Spring Tour will end in Minsk on 20 April.

On April 10, 2019 the band released their sophomore album, ‘More��� a more gritty music, while staying into their pristine soundscapes.

In the summer 2019, they toured in Europe with one of Noise Artists’ favorite band, Life on Venus.

MUSIC WORK

Here are some of the songs we love to discover the band:

The band’s music work to date, released on the always tasteful Elusive Sound Records, is:

2016: Blankenberge, EP; Picture of you (Cure cover), single

2017: We, single; Radiogaze, LP

2019: Right now (single); More, LP

INTERVIEW

Where are you from? Where are you living now?

All our members come from different cities of Russia, but we all live now in St. Petersburg.

What did you study?

We all have technical educations. Only Yana has a music education.

What is your day job at present if any?

Daniil is an Engineer. Dima, Yana and Vova are working in programming and computers. Sergey works in the marketing sector.

Do you dream to live from your music or is it a passion you do not want to spend your full time on?

Daniil: I do music whenever I want and how much I want, and that's enough to make me happy.

Could you tell us more about your beginning?

Daniil: Our story began in 2015, when Yana and Daniil gathered a group in a small city in Siberia. After several months, the group moved to St. Petersburg and started again. Back in Barnaul, Yana and I recorded the demo songs “Seagulls” and “Feel alive” on iPAD and began searching for musicians in St. Petersburg.

Could you tell me how the band meet and decided to do music together?

Daniil: After moving to St. Petersburg in September 2015, I began searching for muses and quickly found guitarist Dayan and bass player Dima. We got to know each other around a common hobby: collecting guitar effects.

I met with Dayan at the concert of The Fall of Troy.

We held the first rehearsal in an old wagon. I did not know the city and therefore I found only this shady rehearsal place. As I remember, it was very cold and rainwater was dripping from the ceiling. But we had a good time. After the rehearsal, we did not want to pay as it was so bad.

The first time we played with electronic drums, as it was difficult to find a drummer. But about a month, we managed to find Sergey. This is a great step for us.

I had material for EP and we began to prepare for the record.

Sergey: When Danya invited me to the project, I first answered that I already have several bands. But then I listened to the recordings that he sent me, and thought it was good music and agreed to join.

Can you tell me the inspiration behind your band? You can detect the influences of shoegaze and indie rock. You took all these influences to make your own music, your own sound, which is not easy. Could you tell more?

I was influenced a lot by the Post-Rock scene from 1997 to 2005 with bands like Mogwai, This will destroy you, Sigur Ros and many others. I always liked the noise component and the approach to the structure of tracks and melodies. Later I got acquainted with Shoegaze and bands like MBV. I also discovered ambient and drone bands such as Nadja, Angellic Process, Star of the Lid. I liked to find melodies in the noise of the guitar that actually aren't necesarily there. These melodies were created by distortions. And I realized that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to create musical canvases out of noise.

I composed the first track of Seagulls inspired by listening to EP Jesu - Silver.

Was there a vision of sorts or did you know what you wanted to do when you started up?

Daniil: Yes, there was a vision. Without it, it is difficult to start working on the tracks. But sometimes it turns out differently that what was planned.

I tried to compose energetic Dream Pop, but I always got only post-rock :-D

Do you have any other musical side projects apart from this band?

Daniil: I had several projects that I have abandoned. Currently Blankenberge is my main project. But I also have the project to put together a minimal duet with Vova. We play 40 minutes tracks over a drum machine.

Dima: In addition to Blankenberge, I play in a project called "Knight of Wild Apples". The genre is something between Twee Pop and Post-Punk.

Could you tell me more on the band composition? Do you have plans to add new members, or is there possible departure scheduled from existing band members?

Yana: This year our line-up has changed. Dayan, our guitarist moved to another country and we were forced to look for another guitarist. Our good friend,Vladimir Luchansky, joined us.

Daniil: We have known him for a long time as he is also from Siberia. He performed with us in Barnaul and Novosibirsk. He is a multi-instrumentalist and it is possible that new instruments will be in our new album.

I am not a fan of changing the group. Several years ago I played in a band where we had 17 bass players! This is very bad for the morale. And in the end, we froze the project. It was my main group at that time. Soon after I created Blankenberge.

Can you tell us more how you came to have the band’s name?

Yana: We don't like to make up names. We thought on how to name the group. The first option was Blankenberge, as it was a place we have very warm memories of, and then they tried to find something else without success . But in the end came back to this name.

Daniil: Some options were «Youth.Loud», «Spring Youth». But I thought that it was too snobbish. Blankenberge really makes our heart beat harder.

Who writes the song and the music and how do you get to the final song? Is it a community process, do you have leaders in composing or arranging music?

Daniil: I write most of the music at home improvising or during rehearsals. Often we record the improvisations on a dictaphone, and then I listen at home everything we played. I build on some parts, I cut some out or can add it. back later in a rehearsal. Everyone also add something of their own it turns into a new track!

Do you listen to the advice of your band mates? What would you do if they said a song was shit but you liked it?

Daniil: Yes, we are discussing the tracks. But I do not remember any songs that someone would strongly dislike. There was a track, ‘Out Loud’, that Yana didn’t like, but we managed to make it attractive.

Talking about the lyrics: who write them? Is there a common thread in them, a theme?

Daniil: All lyrics and vocal melodies are written by Yana. Yana can turn lifeless music into a live and aerial song. Often, after a vocal melody is created, something new appears in the music.

Yana: Texts about nature, dreams and freedom. I am very inspired by nature.

Do you have a message that you want to get across in your music? If so, what are some of the messages you want to spread?

Yana: No, we only create sounds.

Daniil: I don’t try to convey an idea through music. The best music will help convey someone else's idea, for example, as just a soundtrack. The only common idea in my music that I can think of is love. If I listen to my track and feel love, that means the track is ready. Love for everything, like Bolkonsky in ‘War and Peace’.

How is your recognition going in the US and Abroad? Is it growing? Are you happy with it?

Yana: We are very happy to have listeners all over the world. It really means a lot to us.

Daniil: When I go to the post office to send tapes or discs to another country - it is like a holiday for me. For me, this is still a fantastic story. I imagine how someone, for example, in New Zealand, picks up a package from the box office, and our music creates vibrations there - this is wonderful!.

Is it easy to find producers and studios where you lived for indie-rock?

Is it about Barnaul? There are several studios in Barnaul and there is no need to choose, just go and record in any, because nowhere better to do it.

In St. Petersburg, a lot of studios and the choice was difficult. But for RadioGaze, we quickly chose the studio Melody, because we had heard about it before and were impressed by its halls.

Your recorded sound is very good, which is not easy. Did you engineer the sound yourself, or did you have a sound engineer with you? If yes could you tell us more about him/her?

We do not have a sound engineer. Usually we ask for help in recording with people those recommended by our friends.

On the last album we worked with Mikhail Kurochkin - the recording and the mixing will remain with him, we unconditionally trust him with this process. Misha listened to all our previous works and also loves noisy music (even louder than ours), so the recording process goes very fast with him. He doesn't need to be explained anything, he knows everything.

We also had the pleasure worked with Vladimir Nosyrev, who previously did some work with Pinkshauliultrablast. Vladimir has a lot of experience recording musicians of various levels. When we were recording at his studio, we felt like we were on Ebi Road.

Daniil: I was completely easygoing about the quality of the recording. For me, the main task was to get the sound I needed from the guitar dynamics.

Was it a community work to try to have the best sounding music possible or mainly driven by the sound engineer or by the band?

During the recording, Vladimir Nosyrev was completely in charge of the recording process, and I can say that I really liked it. He did the feedback for all the guitar speakers.

Can you tell us how the recording process was?

The process of recording Radiogaze was quite complicated and lengthy. We started recording the album in November 2016. We recorded drums for half the tracks.

Then the process slowed down due to personal problems. We went back recording after the new year, in January.

In February I had to leave for work in Moscow and the recording process stopped again. When I returned to St. Petersburg, we had big sessions. Then I left again, and there was a other pause in the record. We managed to record all the material only in April.

Then there was a very difficult stage of mixing. Every evening for two months I listened to the results of the recording. Overall, the recording of the album was very difficult. But I was pleased with the result.

Dima: We unfortunately do not have any cool stories related to the recording of the album. Everything was pretty standard. At the studio where we recorded, there was a good guitar and bass equipment, but the guys still dragged something of their own and this is very cool.

Could you let us know some important technical tricks you learnt during the process that could help other musicians not as experienced?

I am not an expert in this matter, but I discovered some things.

There is not too much reverb, delay, fuzz, or length on some part, and it is never too loud or quiet. If the heart requires you to make it louder or something, then you need to do it and not think about anything else.

If there is a track ready and you can hear that there is a place in which it seems to be possible to do better, no need to redo it. It is better to write a new track in which there will be a similar place, which will be changed, as needed. If you go back on the past all the time, development stops. You need to see the finished result to move on.

Any interesting anecdotes on some recording session you would like to share?

Dayan: Several times, when we recorded a song, we accidentally turned on two rovers simultaneously - Cosmos and the Big Sky. We did not immediately notice that something was wrong. In the end, a few doubles recorded with a huge amount of reverb. We liked it and in some places we left these doubles.

Did getting the live experience across on record create any pressure for your selves in the recording process?

Each new concert gives us more of experience.

Instruments: are you mainly a Fender band? Could you tell me what inspire you to use fenders rather than other brands?

Dima: I have four basses at the moment. It is not necessary, but this is kind of my hobby.

Oddly enough, but for the records, I dreamed about the Rickenbacker 4003 sound for a very long time and this was my first serious bass,. I went on tour with the Fender AVRI 62 Jazz Bass, for several reasons. It is lighter, it is less whimsical in maintenance, and it always fits perfectly into the mix, so we could really be called the "Fender band", considering that Daniil played on the Fender Telecaster, and Dayan on the Fender Jazzmaster Thurston Moore. Now it's completely different, I play with a Gibson RD Artist bass, and Daniil got himself a Gibson Midtown Custom, so now we have a little Gibson band.

Daniil: For a long time I played on the television broadcaster, which my great-grandmother gave me. I will never part with it. Now I got a Gibson Midtown bush and I, too, am satisfied.

A question for a future paper I have in mind: if you use often a Fender Jaguar, could you tell me more about what makes it good to play (sound, neck, …). I find there are lot of noise artists that are using this guitar and I am interested to know why.

Dima: I was the owner of the Fender AVRI 62 Jaguar for a long time and I can say that it was a lead guitar. First of all, I would like to say that the Jaguar / Jazzmaster Floating tremolo is the best tremolo that you could think of. Yes, it is capricious for setting, but it performs its function with 10/10. The Jaguar is very convenient due to its size 24.75 and I am madly in love with its sound, especially on some pickup setupa.

Daniil: I once had a Japanese Jaguar. It was one of the best guitars.

Do you have one favorite instrument or do you change often?

Dima: I do not have a favorite instrument. All the instruments that I have at this moment are cool in their own way, I can not give someone preference. This is both bad and good at the same time.

Daniil: Telecaster is my favorite tool. Was, is and will be.

Tell us what you are looking when trying to achieve your sounds? Do you experiment a lot or have a clear idea of what you want?

As I said, I love to create canvases of sounds. I like to keep rehearsals on a recorder. My voice recorder has a sound of poor quality and basically I hear only noise. But this noise helps me create tracks. Also, often I hear sounds on the street or in the subway from the ambient noise that give me ideas for a new track.

Who is the more knowledgeable with pedals? You use them a lot, to great effect.

Dima: I'm even afraid to imagine how many pedals we had through the years. Dayan one time led the list, I remember that the count has long passed for 100, then I no longer followed this list. Daney and I met, exchanging pedals. As I remember, we exchanged the Boss RE-20 with a Supa Puss.

Daniil: we all love new devices. But I have the same pedals - the boss dd20 and bigskay.

How many concerts a year would you do on average and what would be the size of the venue?

Last year we gave a few concerts. The spring tour was a serious test for us, and we did loads of performances.

Daniil: Each performance is a release of energy and often I experience a lot of stress, after which the body requires recovery. Therefore, now we are planning concerts only if we have prepared new material and want to show it to the audience.

Would you mind sharing some good anecdotes from your concerts/touring?

Dima: One case comes to mind, it was at a concert in Vienna. We played with very cool guys from the Snow Crystal band. And here in the dressing room one guy talked to me, already quite cheerfully, because we had a beer fridge in the dressing room and asked: "Dmitry, what style do you play?"

Of course, I quite seriously answer him: “We are playing Shoegaze".

And here he is: "Uuuuuuuu, is it not supposed to be such garbage?"

I knew from his expression that it was necessary to find an easier description.

And I say: "Rock, we play Rock!".

He immediately rejoiced, patted me on the shoulder and said: "Daaaaaa, Dmitry rock is cool. ROCK!"

Then we often recalled this funny story with the band, parodying that guy a little.

What are some places around the world that you hope to take your band? Do you have any plans at present to tour in other countries?

Dima: I dream to go and play in Japan one day.

Daniil: I dream to perform in Iceland.

Is there any reason in particular that you want to go to these places? Is there something about dream pop/shoegaze in those places that makes you want to go there?

Dima: First of all, I am very attracted to the culture of Japan and its dissimilarity to everything that we are used to in Russia or Europe.

Daniil: Iceland was for me one of the inspiring countries. Our music is inspired by the Northern seas and the atmosphere of the North inspires me.

Russian Shoegazing is not very well known internationally. Could you tell us more about it?

Dima: In Russia, this genre is not very popular, although now more and more musicians try Shoegaze and I must say quite successfully.

Of course, everyone knows Pinkshinyultrablast and Aerofall. Besides them, there are still a lot of cool bands, of my favorites, probably Life on Venus and My friends Polymers (Editor’s: our favourtie too with Blankenberge. See our collaborations with the bands in the links and also our Russian Shoegaze, Dream & Noise pop guide volume 1 and volume 2).

Is it easy for a Russian indie bands to be known internationally? Do you have any example?

Dima: I think that now with this as it is easier. Streaming platforms, Spotify, etc., which make selections based on your tastes, are very developed. I used to use LastFM a lot to find out about some unknown groups that are similar to my current idols.

Although the persistence and hard work for becoming famous is the equally true for a band from any country.

From the example I do not think that Pinkshinyultrablast, woke up one day already famous.

Has the scene changed since you began, and if so how?

Dima: Yes, it has changed and definitely for the better. I like that now we have no problems with the fact that a new band can make their first concert easily, I think this is very important in order not to lose heart and not spend all their time in rehearsals playing by ourselves.

What is the next album due?

In the new album, we tried to do what we didn’t have time to do in Radiogaze, developed things that we wanted to do before.

Any other project (ie movies soundtrack, …) or plans

Dima: I play the Twee Pop / Post-Punk project “Knight of the Wild Apples”, these are simple, kind and naive songs.

Do you plan to continue music for a long time or are you tired of it?

We plan to continue the music while there are ideas. In any case, we can always play music in the form of pedal trading and become sofa musicians: D

THE BAND IN THE (SOCIAL) MEDIA

Some good videos

There some nice video on the web in addition the one posted on the band’s YouTube Channel.

First from the Radiogaze session (on their channel). It was recorded and filmed in a large empty classic building. It is a perfect fit with their sound, vast and pristine. There are other songs from the same session on YouTube.

A 30 minutes live session

From their 2019 summer tour

And an outdoor acoustic session

Where to find their music

Bandcamp

Elusive Sound Records

Spotify

Their social media:

Facebook

Instagram

VK

OUTRO

A big thank you to Corey Philpot from Outward (Somewherecold Records) for the interview and Peter from Elusive Sound Records for his help all the way. And of course a million thank you to the band for their kindness confidence and patience.

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 375: Katherine de Rosset

Katherine de Rosset’s music is born of experiences of profound change, and of the courage it takes to dive into the unknown in search of self-actualization. As explained on her Bandcamp page, the artist moved from Portland to LA, only to have her living situation fall apart almost immediately. Against the tides of uncertainty, de Rosset turned to the guidance of tarot and the art of meditation–while also focusing more deeply on her musical work–and in a moment of inspiration, decided to move to Austin, TX…a place where the healing process could fully complete its cycle. Indeed, within the arms of this strange haven, de Rosset reconnected with the natural world and found solace in the ever-changing flow of energy that comprises existence, and as her soul flourished, so did her music, a result of which is The Tower. Self-released by de Rosset, the album is a mystifying musical adventure that simultaneously explores exotic landscapes of magical fantasy, and the vast zones of the inner self. And while listening, there is a sense that The Tower is meant not just as an artistic rendering of de Rosset’s own experiences of love, restoration, and growth, but also as a guide for others…as a set of sonic and poetic rituals which are intended to help the spirit shed that which is no longer needed, in order to create a “sacred ground for the journey of coming home to oneself.”

These themes of metamorphosis of the self, of the magical forces of nature, and of the “joy of impermanence” are all threaded into de Rosset’s lyrics throughout The Tower, and her vocals inhabit zones similar to those of White Poppy and Grouper in their alchemical merging of dream pop and acid folk. At her most powerful and abstract, de Rosset even calls to mind an early Christina Carter, especially in moments where voices swell to an ecstatic howl amidst layers of ghostly drone. As for the underlying instrumentation, almost everything is sourced from sparse rhythms and spiritual keyboard playing, which often aligns in vibe, if not totally in sound, with the work of Beverly Glenn-Copeland, as well as with more recent sign posts like Nailah Hunter and Katya Yonder. Diving deeper still, de Rosset concocts a bewitching sonic world wherein brushed and hushed jazz drums anchor fluttering strings and warming brass pads while baroque vocal incantations intersperse with spells of springtide romance. Toms pound in triumph beneath poetic affirmations and shades of shoegaze diva bliss, crystalline lutes and gemstone harpsichords play a sort of medieval folk psychedelia, submarine basslines waltz through fairytale forests, and reed organs from outerspace work through passages of funereal minimalism…all while beatific breaths of reverb and delay caress every single sound. 

Katherine de Rosset - The Tower (Self Released, 2021) “Flowing Into Joy” introduces starlight drones and a machine drum shuffle overlaid by ecclesiastical keyboard magic. de Rosset sings softly while dancing gemstones move in counterpoint…the whole thing awash in a joyous energy, and evoking visages of satyrs and nymphs dancing around maypoles. Washed out keys and ethereal vocal hazes coalesce as de Rosset’s lyricisms dash romantically across the mix, with everything building towards a climactic chorus. Then, as the track reduces to plucked harp tones and squarewave synth sparkles, de Rosset locks into a mantric lullaby repetition of “Here I am / I want to show you”…like the voice of a mysterious spirit guiding the soul towards realms of joy. “The Star” follows with harpsichords and crystalline tones waltzing through a dew-soaked forest clearing, while splashes of metal shimmer in the distance. de Rosset swoons overhead, her voice subtly double tracked to add further hints of baroque folk mysticism, and her vocal poetics weaving together autobiography, spiritual guidance, and affirmations concerning the presence of a divine light within us all. Cascades of vibrating glass descend as jazz pop drums hold a skeletal structure, with rides tapping and snares smacking through a stereo field overflowing with panning drones and galactic swells of spectral harmony. “In the World and Yet Above” sees polysynthetic keys moving through baths of reverb and angelic voices guiding a splattered kick drum as it slowly structures into a beat. Radiant psych folk melodies are sourced from futuristic electronics, cymbal shadows move in the background, and ebowed guitars sing dolphin songs until everything seems to disperse, only for multi-tracked vocal mirages to emerge amidst feathery pad accents…as if strands of nacreous cotton are stretching out and surrounding de Rosset’s voice. The bass drum slowly builds back and tapped triangles give off sparkles of gold glitter while tom toms roll and hi-hats tick beneath layers of smoke–and over it all, a glorious call and response emerges between de Rosset’s singing and new age synthesizer themes colored in hues of silvery starlight.

A bongo-led downbeat anchors “Do You See What I Am?” and funereal organs call out amidst layers of shadowy haze as de Rosset’s voice lets loose darkly enchanting spells of reassurance, and of recognition of the light within the soul. The rest of the track builds around the singing, with billowing pads climbing ladders of starlight and whooshes of oceanic atmosphere moving all around. The drums work into a barely-there pulse, mysterious whispers pan back and forth, and the song’s structure holds together while ever-threatening to vaporize…all as bewitching vocals affirm the magic of the inner self, with de Rosset’s voice staying low before rushing towards an exploding sky, supported by bashing toms and slow cyclical synth arps. In “Her Body Made of Stars,” minimalist organ patterns are repurposed for an esoteric elegy, and gothic prog rock keyboards are overlaid by beating bongos and witchy vocalizations. de Rosset’s voice is close–yet hard to grasp–as it flits around the mix, and her breathy coos transition at times towards feathery falsetto. There is a touch of downer flower folk to the poetic phrases and mysterious melodies, and at some point, de Rosset sings: “there is magic in your blood / hear our breath as we are one / feel the magic in your blood / do you know how strong we are?”. Strummed zithers move over the doom-inflected jazz rhythms and as sonars ping and crystals glimmer, the minimalist keyboard patterns wash out completely, leaving behind an ocean of voice to float the spirit. Multiple layers circulate in round and reverb and delay patterns create counterpoint movements while synthesizers float through the stereo field, and as swells of solar brass seek the sky, they portend hope of a radiant dawn.

Side B begins with “The Eclipse” and its hopeful chord patterns and dancing pixie melodies. Wheezing organs sit above a sparse jazz beat and de Rosset sings through it all, weaving cosmic allegories and explorations of inner space that pull my mind to Will Cullen Hart and Circulatory System. Drums devolve to tapped cymbals as pads play majestic themes for fantasy kingdoms, with voice washing back and forth as it repeats “I’ll be there in your heart.” When the infectious jazz beats return, synths blur into clouds of cold comfort, while new age woodwinds sing ethereal songs through star oceans. Airy fills and pounding toms intersperse the rhythms and at some point, lyrics are abandoned as de Rosset drifts off into pure wordless wonderment…all while hopeful keyboard melodies ascend in support. The heart overflows with feelings of spiritual affirmation while the mind gazes upon scenes of impossible beauty, and as the track progresses, evocations of Beverly Glenn-Copeland begin shining through with pronounced strength. “91818” comes to life on reed organ drones and thunderclaps, while ghostly voices and bowed metals evoke early Charalambides. Pulses of smoldering static pan across the spectrum and a mesmerizing dreamscape emerges from bodies of orchestral murk, with blurred melodies dancing across the length of the keyboard, heavenly chord fogs hovering in place, and de Rosset whispering up above, her voice sweeping and reversing through arcs of resonant beauty. Sighing strings flutter in and out of view and seafloor crystals sparkle–though their glimmer is barely discernible through layers of washing water–and during one of de Rosset’s wondrous call and respond sections, a voice asks “Is this what you wanted for us?,” and in reply, another whipsers “I know I am ready,” Dazzling melodies slowly rise then recede before fully resolving and eventually, the song blurs into whooshing waves of darkened ambiance. Then comes multi-tracked fantasy dance supported by quivering staccato choirs and time-lag echo accumulations…as if Terry Riley had composed a baroque-tinged new age incantation.

Church organs pulse in “Sacred” as de Rosset floats overhead, with sparse tom hits panning side to side and sparkling seascape melodies meeting wavefronts of cosmic atmosphere. Plucked tones of tropical warmth bring a balearic touch while coral colorations swirl around the stereo field, and as we back down into a horizontal paradise–one replete with mermaid pads and idiophones made of seafloor crystal–de Rosset asks “what if my love is your love / is the truth then discovered?” only to answer, “no, not in words you can speak of / but in her radiant darkness.” The drums reduce to a brushed whisper against an ecstatic run of vocal poetics, and dreamy island melodies mix with new age diamond clusters. Toms beat anthemically as de Rosset moves into repetitions of “what you want will be yours now” and eventually, everything fades into a cloud of lullaby melodics and hopeful hazes. Droning reed organs return in closing track “Resonate”…the sound like an electrified harmonium wheezing from the center of the cosmos...before the vibe turns towards dream folk bewitchment. Treble tones pierce the mind, organs seek the sky, and billowing voices thread around the heart while sleepy-eyed serenades radiate dark sunset hues. A rush of celestial sound brings in multi-tracked whispers that cascade over themselves, with webs of lyrical wonderment threading together and resulting in an entrancing passage of dueling vocal flows…like a round, but not quite…wherein heavenly voices sing certain phrases in one ear, while a whispered falsetto speaks in the other. Joyous clouds of ambiance swell in support and radiant sunbeams refract as de Rosset says “I’ll follow deeper still,” and during a gorgeous coda, cloudform vortices and hymn-like keyboard patterns surround plucked strings while the body walks through a forest of restorative light…a place where waves of springtide soul energy transform existence into a paradise of everlasting optimism.

(images from my personal copy)