Saw Year of the Rabbit again with S.O. the other night at Mercury Lounge. We stood right at the front and just smiled the whole time. Put simply: they're GREAT and play excellent rock and roll. It was fun seeing them after having heard the whole album. They opened their set with a cover of The Cure's "PLAIN SONG". That right there earns my respect. Afterwards, it was a quick stop at the Pub to catch up with Pater and then an Indian meal with my agent/lawyer/advisor/houseguest. Yes, I ate Indian food. S.O. is trying to make me more diverse. It's working...
Well the long awaited package arrived from Cracknation containing the next two Cracknation releases: Acumen Nation's "LORD OF THE CYNICS" and a final yet unmastered version of the (extremely) long awaited and anticipated Chemlab album "OXIDIZER", which as you may have read, I worked on a bit ;-)
Here are my brief thoughts:
"CYNICS" is the best written and produced Acumen record to date. The whole key to this album is Jason wisely making the most out of his new rythmn section, Dan and Eliot, and writing with them as a band. Their welcomed presence is very obvious in the material and the album is more akin to the live Acumen experience than any previous album. Also, Jason is finally singing more (something I had been nudging him to do for some time) and his grasp of melody is fantastic. the songs are catchier than the last album and the last song, CAPSULE, is a fantastic and soulful tune. Production is Cracknation standard, meaning its aces. I look forward to getting further into the album.
"OXIDIZER" is tougher to review because of my closeness to it. I co-wrote some of it, did a lot of sounds for it, and have been extremely passionate and vocal about this record for a long time. i can't review it. I am in love with 90% of the album and the other 10% I like but that mostly has to do with certain choices that were made for the album that I don't agree with, but thats real nitpicky stuff (i.e. "oh i would turn the guitar up here" etc) and thats what happens in a band. 90% is a super figure. My curiosity about public reaction to the album is quite strong. I'm sure some fans will love it and others will not, and probably for the wrong reasons. They have to accept that this is 2003 and not 1995. This album is a full success and the hidden track on OXIDIZER will make the old schoolers happy!
Meanwhile...
Last night, S.O. and I saw the film SWIMMING POOL, which was quite good. I feel a certain member of the aggression, known for his love of the part of the female anatomy called the BOOBS, would like this movie, as it has a young woman running around without a top on quite a bit. Anyhow, I'm glad we saw this instead of SWAT.
Ash is in Boston visiting relatives, but informs Brandt that he will have an mp3 arrangement of "THEME FROM PROPAGANDA" for us late tonight or tomorrow. Brandt intends to have some rough versions of the other songs for me on MP3 before I head back to LA tomorrow night. Hopefully this will happen and I will have a lot to study on the plane. What a great solo album? I'm home packing for LA and playing the new INDIANA JONES video game on mp3 while everyone else works on the songs. HAH! winner.
Seeing Saintface tonight...more later maybe.
F
9.8.03
7.8.03
PROPAGANDA
I spent the bulk of Tuesday knocking another song into shape. I did some weird stuff with it, and basically what has come out of it is that we now have what we think is the album opener...
Last night, B, Ash and I gathered, mostly so Ash could hear the current arrangements and we could toss around idea for the next batch of tunes. Ash likes the arrangements, and everyone's comments are more "the song needs..." and less "I hate this" (In fact that never comes up). Concepts, thoughts, etc. are thrown back and forth. Ash is going to take the more acoustic oriented stuff and really mess around with them a bit. I created some atmospheric stuff for "THEY'VE JUST..." and he will clean that up and build from there. I am confident in what he will come up with.
From the discussions recently, it has been my intention to do a song that was more dance oriented. I'm not saying techno, but something that was more loop based, more groovy, etc. Cerati has an uncanny ability to make great dance music that doesn't seem out of place on a rock album and this is really inspiring, especially since my roots in music are electronic. When in Russia, the MOGpac spent an evening in a house club called Propaganda, which was very inspirational for Ash and got me more interested in trying music of that type (and now infamous as being the place where Danny Boy Hamill lost his coat check ticket, thus keeping us in the club till they closed one night). Anyway, I think doing something like this has been in the back of my head as well as Ash's for some time now.
So the three of us formulate a plan that would involve Ash bringing lots of his gear into the studio and we would sort of "jam" a song out electronically. However, this is put on hold when Ash plays a series of loops out of his laptop that B and I go mental for. Immediately we pick up guitar and bass and start to jam along. And what do you know, a few hours later we have tons of parts for a new song. Instead of using the studio computer that runs Cubase, we recorded straight from the mixer into Ash's laptop, where he is running the program LIVE, which he swears by and is excellent for this kind of music.
This song is now called "THEME FROM PROPAGANDA" and will probably end up as the centerpiece of the album. It's the 7th song written thus far and we were lucky that the stars were aligned last night and we wrote a VERY cool song. Ash is going to arrange it as he would one of his club tracks and I have a vague idea for a vocal melody that might work in an Underworld/"THESE MILLION NIGHTS" kind of way.
We left the studio quite jazzed. Ash also has come up with a GREAT idea for a guest vocal spot. I'll be getting on that invite right away.
Tomorrow, I should be writing about the final Chemlab mixes and the new Acumen album should they actually arrive (JASON!)
F
Last night, B, Ash and I gathered, mostly so Ash could hear the current arrangements and we could toss around idea for the next batch of tunes. Ash likes the arrangements, and everyone's comments are more "the song needs..." and less "I hate this" (In fact that never comes up). Concepts, thoughts, etc. are thrown back and forth. Ash is going to take the more acoustic oriented stuff and really mess around with them a bit. I created some atmospheric stuff for "THEY'VE JUST..." and he will clean that up and build from there. I am confident in what he will come up with.
From the discussions recently, it has been my intention to do a song that was more dance oriented. I'm not saying techno, but something that was more loop based, more groovy, etc. Cerati has an uncanny ability to make great dance music that doesn't seem out of place on a rock album and this is really inspiring, especially since my roots in music are electronic. When in Russia, the MOGpac spent an evening in a house club called Propaganda, which was very inspirational for Ash and got me more interested in trying music of that type (and now infamous as being the place where Danny Boy Hamill lost his coat check ticket, thus keeping us in the club till they closed one night). Anyway, I think doing something like this has been in the back of my head as well as Ash's for some time now.
So the three of us formulate a plan that would involve Ash bringing lots of his gear into the studio and we would sort of "jam" a song out electronically. However, this is put on hold when Ash plays a series of loops out of his laptop that B and I go mental for. Immediately we pick up guitar and bass and start to jam along. And what do you know, a few hours later we have tons of parts for a new song. Instead of using the studio computer that runs Cubase, we recorded straight from the mixer into Ash's laptop, where he is running the program LIVE, which he swears by and is excellent for this kind of music.
This song is now called "THEME FROM PROPAGANDA" and will probably end up as the centerpiece of the album. It's the 7th song written thus far and we were lucky that the stars were aligned last night and we wrote a VERY cool song. Ash is going to arrange it as he would one of his club tracks and I have a vague idea for a vocal melody that might work in an Underworld/"THESE MILLION NIGHTS" kind of way.
We left the studio quite jazzed. Ash also has come up with a GREAT idea for a guest vocal spot. I'll be getting on that invite right away.
Tomorrow, I should be writing about the final Chemlab mixes and the new Acumen album should they actually arrive (JASON!)
F
5.8.03
CLEANED UP
Taking the streak even further, I cruised into the studio on Sunday to check on progress there. I played my new arrangements and received an enthusiastic thumbs up for the first four songs. B then played me some new guitar parts for a rocker called "Clean Up" (this is NOT the final title, I'm just sick of typing "the one where I play bass here and he plays guitar here", know what I mean?). I was dead into these guitars and demanded I'd be given the parts immediately to go arrange this tune. B complied and when trasnferring the songs from laptop to laptop, my powerbook takes ANOTHER DIVE!!!!!
Angry beyond belief, I dropped everything and ran to Apple. Got soaked in the rain as well. So I get to Apple and lo and behold all I did was hit one wrong button and everything was fine. But man was I pissed. But man was I happy to learn nothing was messed up and I was able to go spend a nice evening with S.O. and the nice people who raised me.
We have the agent/lawyer/advisor staying with us, but while she is off doing legal things and S.O. is working, I was able to arrange "Clean Up" and E it over to the studio, where B sang its praises. He would tell me if it was crap, so I am quite pleased.
Note that Hypefactor.com is now running with news and the "Making Of The Distracted Lover". Worthy reads. Pictures soon I think. I gotta get this beard on film, you know.
Ash and I talk via IM yesterday. He was messaging me from an airport in Florida, where he was able to wirelessly connect. How I don't know, cause i don't think it was via his cel phone. I am kinda scared of how he did that, yet I am impressed and ponder all the time I could save at LAX and Newark with that ability. Ash is into the HF2 material and we plot some new ideas based on things I have discussed previously with him and B. MP3's are exchanged for inspiration and reference. I am still scared of his ability to connect to the net in the airport...
I will try to maybe get to one more song today, if I feel it, and we might gather The HF Corp. this week to review what we have at this point and maybe work on new stuff.
Chemlab is being mastered this week by Dave Suycott of Machines of Loving Grace and Stabbing Westward. He's got some good ears on him, so I am confident the final product will sound massive. The label has the artwork and hopefully this will be in production quite soon. I can't wait to hear the final mixes! I'm sure you can't either...it's worth the wait!
F
Angry beyond belief, I dropped everything and ran to Apple. Got soaked in the rain as well. So I get to Apple and lo and behold all I did was hit one wrong button and everything was fine. But man was I pissed. But man was I happy to learn nothing was messed up and I was able to go spend a nice evening with S.O. and the nice people who raised me.
We have the agent/lawyer/advisor staying with us, but while she is off doing legal things and S.O. is working, I was able to arrange "Clean Up" and E it over to the studio, where B sang its praises. He would tell me if it was crap, so I am quite pleased.
Note that Hypefactor.com is now running with news and the "Making Of The Distracted Lover". Worthy reads. Pictures soon I think. I gotta get this beard on film, you know.
Ash and I talk via IM yesterday. He was messaging me from an airport in Florida, where he was able to wirelessly connect. How I don't know, cause i don't think it was via his cel phone. I am kinda scared of how he did that, yet I am impressed and ponder all the time I could save at LAX and Newark with that ability. Ash is into the HF2 material and we plot some new ideas based on things I have discussed previously with him and B. MP3's are exchanged for inspiration and reference. I am still scared of his ability to connect to the net in the airport...
I will try to maybe get to one more song today, if I feel it, and we might gather The HF Corp. this week to review what we have at this point and maybe work on new stuff.
Chemlab is being mastered this week by Dave Suycott of Machines of Loving Grace and Stabbing Westward. He's got some good ears on him, so I am confident the final product will sound massive. The label has the artwork and hopefully this will be in production quite soon. I can't wait to hear the final mixes! I'm sure you can't either...it's worth the wait!
F
3.8.03
"So, wait, Hypefactor is ONE word?"
During my recent West Coast jaunt, I couldn't get focused on the HF2 material, mostly because the Chemlab mixes were rolling in and it was hard to switch gears. I've written music long enough to know not to force myself into doing anything or it's just gonna suck... I usually have to wait for the songs to call out to me...
Well, today I got that call and finally got my ass in gear. I started at 8am with the intention of doing the Audio Warfare remix, but the next time I looked, it was 3pm and I had arranged four HF2 songs. I'm REALLY happy with what I've put together. The bulk of the time was spent filtering through what's been played and picking out the best takes to use. Luckily, the talented people who have been playing on this record have given me a lot to choose from and work with.
I then went out for a stroll that ended up being several hours. I had to force myself to get something to eat, find out what's going on in the world, and listen to new CD purchases without distraction. Some of my time was spent with Peter Saintface, who I always have time for. We caught up on all things HF and SF. They are far along with the recording of their new EP, however, after their gig this coming weekend, Peter is off for 2 weeks in Paris. Poor guy ;-) Of course, the lightbulb went off in my head to steal some of his bandmates to come write with us while he is away. He likes that idea. When he returns, he's going to come into the studio to hear what we have.
I went back home and went at it a few more hours, mostly polishing what I had done today and starting the arragement for one more song. Unlike the old days, this would normally be declared as the final arrangements, but this stage is more for us to figure out what else is needed in each song and what we have to do to flesh everything out. It's a true work in progress. Also, I'm taking into account that live drums are going to go over these songs as well. Thank God I have an amazing drummer...
I might go into the studio to hear what Brandt has done with some of the guitars and to give him a feel for what progress I have made here at MOGworld. There's no deadline yet, so we can really take our time and do it right. This evening I finally explained to the label that Hypefactor is ONE word, not two. What a productive day!
Oh and I cooked too!
F
Well, today I got that call and finally got my ass in gear. I started at 8am with the intention of doing the Audio Warfare remix, but the next time I looked, it was 3pm and I had arranged four HF2 songs. I'm REALLY happy with what I've put together. The bulk of the time was spent filtering through what's been played and picking out the best takes to use. Luckily, the talented people who have been playing on this record have given me a lot to choose from and work with.
I then went out for a stroll that ended up being several hours. I had to force myself to get something to eat, find out what's going on in the world, and listen to new CD purchases without distraction. Some of my time was spent with Peter Saintface, who I always have time for. We caught up on all things HF and SF. They are far along with the recording of their new EP, however, after their gig this coming weekend, Peter is off for 2 weeks in Paris. Poor guy ;-) Of course, the lightbulb went off in my head to steal some of his bandmates to come write with us while he is away. He likes that idea. When he returns, he's going to come into the studio to hear what we have.
I went back home and went at it a few more hours, mostly polishing what I had done today and starting the arragement for one more song. Unlike the old days, this would normally be declared as the final arrangements, but this stage is more for us to figure out what else is needed in each song and what we have to do to flesh everything out. It's a true work in progress. Also, I'm taking into account that live drums are going to go over these songs as well. Thank God I have an amazing drummer...
I might go into the studio to hear what Brandt has done with some of the guitars and to give him a feel for what progress I have made here at MOGworld. There's no deadline yet, so we can really take our time and do it right. This evening I finally explained to the label that Hypefactor is ONE word, not two. What a productive day!
Oh and I cooked too!
F
2.8.03
BE-MUSIC?
After seeing a really good film called DIRTY PRETTY THINGS, starring Audrey "My eyes are bigger than your head" Tataou, the S.O. and popped into Kim's (her fave record store) for some late night CD shopping. Usually Kim's is a bit hipster for my taste, but last time we were there I found a flyer for the Cerati gig, so I thought maybe lightning would strike twice and I would discover something interesting. And sure enough i did, and I picked this up, which they had just gotten in:
"BE-MUSIC: COOL AS ICE: LTM are proud to present a compilation of stone classic old school 80's electro and dance cuts produced by Be Music, the tag used by all four members of New Order. The tracks were largely produced between 1983 and 1984 for release on Factory Records and Factory Benelux. Some tracks marked were co-produced by Be Music (Bernard Sumner) and DoJo (Donald Johnson, of A Certain Ratio). Nyam Nyam and the Be Music Theme were produced by Peter Hook, and Life and Thick Pigeon by Steve Morris and Gillian Gilbert. Several of the tracks, including Love Tempo, Looking From A Hilltop and Cool As Ice remain influential club classics, and have been extensively sampled and bootlegged. Several years before the great house explosion, with their own Hacienda club still empty every single night, yet way (too far?) ahead of their time, four guys and a girl from Manchester produced a whole bunch of pure sonic magic which made waves worldwide. The album has been digitally remastered and runs for 74 minutes. The set will be available both on CD and as a limited DJ friendly double vinyl set. The vinyl version will be limited to just 1000"
Well I'd be lying if I told I had ANY clue as to what the hell this was so I snagged it and am listening to it now. It sounds a bit dated, but is quite good and it all comes across as a testing ground for New Order's music around this time. There are tons of sounds and programming nuances that later appear in some of New Order's classic material from this period. It's all very electro, very 80's club friendly and very very influential. It's a fascinating document of a lost yet important period of a legendary band's career. Plus there is a cool tune at the end that Peter Hook did. Also, according to the liner notes, Johhny Marr makes an uncredited cameo on one the Sumner-produced songs, hence the early stages of Electronic!
However, this is for hardcore New Order fans or 80's club kids only. So keep that in mind...
Meanwhile, work continues on the HF website. The news section should be going up soon and we've written a very extensive "Making of THE DISTRACTED LOVER", similar to my "Making of FLOOD" over at the aggression site. I had to admit to slacking on the tunes a bit, but fear not, I'm getting back into the swing of things. Also, I have to start work on the Audio Warfare remix, and I'm happy to say, unlike most songs I remix, I quite like this tune and there is a lot of fun material in it to mess around with.
Jared is probably just back in London as I type. I don't know the results of the final day, but everything seemed to be going well. I think the artwork went into Caroline yesterday and the music has to be in on Monday. I'm going to try and call over to Cracknation this weekend for an update.
Ok, time for tea and remixing...
F
"BE-MUSIC: COOL AS ICE: LTM are proud to present a compilation of stone classic old school 80's electro and dance cuts produced by Be Music, the tag used by all four members of New Order. The tracks were largely produced between 1983 and 1984 for release on Factory Records and Factory Benelux. Some tracks marked were co-produced by Be Music (Bernard Sumner) and DoJo (Donald Johnson, of A Certain Ratio). Nyam Nyam and the Be Music Theme were produced by Peter Hook, and Life and Thick Pigeon by Steve Morris and Gillian Gilbert. Several of the tracks, including Love Tempo, Looking From A Hilltop and Cool As Ice remain influential club classics, and have been extensively sampled and bootlegged. Several years before the great house explosion, with their own Hacienda club still empty every single night, yet way (too far?) ahead of their time, four guys and a girl from Manchester produced a whole bunch of pure sonic magic which made waves worldwide. The album has been digitally remastered and runs for 74 minutes. The set will be available both on CD and as a limited DJ friendly double vinyl set. The vinyl version will be limited to just 1000"
Well I'd be lying if I told I had ANY clue as to what the hell this was so I snagged it and am listening to it now. It sounds a bit dated, but is quite good and it all comes across as a testing ground for New Order's music around this time. There are tons of sounds and programming nuances that later appear in some of New Order's classic material from this period. It's all very electro, very 80's club friendly and very very influential. It's a fascinating document of a lost yet important period of a legendary band's career. Plus there is a cool tune at the end that Peter Hook did. Also, according to the liner notes, Johhny Marr makes an uncredited cameo on one the Sumner-produced songs, hence the early stages of Electronic!
However, this is for hardcore New Order fans or 80's club kids only. So keep that in mind...
Meanwhile, work continues on the HF website. The news section should be going up soon and we've written a very extensive "Making of THE DISTRACTED LOVER", similar to my "Making of FLOOD" over at the aggression site. I had to admit to slacking on the tunes a bit, but fear not, I'm getting back into the swing of things. Also, I have to start work on the Audio Warfare remix, and I'm happy to say, unlike most songs I remix, I quite like this tune and there is a lot of fun material in it to mess around with.
Jared is probably just back in London as I type. I don't know the results of the final day, but everything seemed to be going well. I think the artwork went into Caroline yesterday and the music has to be in on Monday. I'm going to try and call over to Cracknation this weekend for an update.
Ok, time for tea and remixing...
F