So many wires.
I need to get a bigger room.
music
the economic benefits of individual contraction
So far there haven’t been too many elongated track titles on this collaborative jaunt, so the time is right; the time is now.
Delay Trees are a ‘dream-pop’ foursome from Helsinki, Finland. They have all the delicate nature and sing-songy delight of the rather good Iain Archer, and they provide the ambient background to the latest track. There’s an interesting mix of Gameboys, mandolin and other effects to be found. Drums come courtesy of Keith Grantham, who’s already been introduced.
You can find more of Delay Trees at their Soundcloud.
the economic benefits of individual contraction by unexpectedbowtie
It’s transpired that I may be coming up with some music for the short-film style series Polis in the near future.
Take a look at the video for a preview. More info will come along as it appears.
(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
Collaboration Preview – Track 3 – ‘marks for effort’
with Burning Buildings
This track is a much softer, less grizzly track than the last one that involved Pulco. It comes with a piano melody courtesy of Manchester’s Burning Buildings. They’re awfully nice chaps, and probably slightly unhinged… but the end product is one that I’m really personally pleased with. Sometimes there are melodies that just fit your vocal-style to a tee, and for me this is one of them. Hopefully you might like it too.
You can find some of their tracks for free over at Bandcamp, tweets on Twitter, and a review over at Artrocker.
It was only a week or two ago that we posted introducing Ash Cooke aka Pulco, with the news that he’d be contributing some specially recorded samples to be mashed up (i.e. destroyed) in the name of art… and contribute he did, with a whole stash of bizarre loops and rumblings. In true Pulco style, the ‘misery poet’ utilised everyday objects like a wheelbarrow, and chucked rocks at it till it became aurally pleasing.
You can preview the product below; it’s a dark, grungey affair.
For more info on Pulco, check out the interview from Artrocker that went online today.
You’re either really out of time there, or you’re doing something completely brilliant.
– Keith, as we recorded drums for some tracks today.
Okay, so we’ve learned that in future where I want percussion to be added in later I should record with a click track.
As weird as it seems to be announcing the release of one record whilst having worked on a totally different one for the past few weeks, that’s the way it goes in the life-cycle of things.
This is an awesome split EP of the 8-bit inspired chiptune electronic variety, with The Wet Dreams taking the first half of the record; myself the second. We took a basic melody for one of the tracks, and wrote our own versions (tracks 3 and 4) which made it all the more interesting.
Click through to the music page for the relevant links and all that.
For those of you not so enamoured with the chiptune side of things, watch this space – there’s other creations in the works.
It’s funny how you can release music all day every day, but have people only listen when you make a video and stick it on Youtube. As a result of the ‘be suspicious…’ video a pile of people have commented on it in real life. I’ve gotten used to only those directly involved in the whole musical world knowing about the whole bowtie project and interacting with it, so it’s strange to have it bleed out into other areas. It’s something I’m not sure I’m entirely comfortable with, as as soon as that happens, inherently all of the criticisms and harsh scrutiny come along for the ride as well. I’m not entirely sure that it’s what any of this was designed for, so who knows how it’ll unfold or what it’ll withstand. It seems a stupid thing to say when writing on a public blog about songs posted on public sharing sites, but I’m sure there are those of you out there that will understand and see through the seeming duplicity.
Contemplations aside, the collaborative idea is beginning to take some sort of semi-tangible shape in the form of actual, proper recorded songs from all the bits and pieces that I’ve been sent so far. The first full track is almost finished, and has some awesome drums from Ally Craig of Bug Prentice, and nice synthy electronic blips from the legendary Does It Offend You Yeah?
I’ve realised that the whole thing is going to be a big mish-mash of different genres and feels, with each track totally different to the others… I hope that the bowtie can bring some sort of common thread to the whole thing. That’ll be the challenge.
Introducing Pulco
Sticking to the same subject, I’m really chuffed to announce that the wonderful Pulco is sending stuff over for inclusion. Since coming up with the whole thing, I’ve wanted to get him on board. He’s a perfect fit – recording things DIY on a whole host of strange and wonderful everyday household items and keyboards.
His own latest album is out this very month of June, so check out the link above, and get a flavour of what’s possibly to come by watching the awesome video below.
Those times where you desperately don’t want to sleep even though your body’s crying out for it, and you simply want to create… to write or sing, or strum, or pluck, or do something… but you can’t cos everyone’s asleep. One of those times where you feel like you could just speak to a long lost friend and have all and every issue fixed without actually saying a word. One of those times where time and work and money and the past and present all seem to collide into one big nothingness. That’s just now.
I had a big interview a few weeks ago. They saw the music and photos and other stuff I do and after saying how it was a good thing, went on to ask what I saw my career as… when really it seems like the question was actually about dedication and commitment to a single purpose; to check you aren’t going to run away halfway through a lifetime deal for some other ‘fleeting’ dream. There seems to be no middle ground because nobody lets there be one.
More importantly, it’s amazing how a musical saw can sound so wonderful one minute, and so awful and out of tune when played with headphones on. Clearly there’s a dark art to be mastered.
Or maybe I just need to turn the volume up.
unexpectedbowtie 