All Else Fails - Notes
My second album, entitled “All Else Fails” is going to be released tomorrow. As I wait in anticipation and reflect upon the time I spent composing and producing the album, I thought it might be interesting to share some background information on each of the tracks.
Enjoy.
End Transmission
This was the first track to be completed - I had started working on it a couple of years before anything else on the album. To be honest, I struggled for years to find the time and mental focus to work on a second LP and, despite having a basic stylistic vision I wanted to pursue, all that I had to show for my efforts were a handful of undercooked demos and loops that I would occasionally play around with.
That all changed when the lockdowns started; I suddenly found myself with an overabundance of time on my hands, while the outside world abruptly halted and went quiet. Determined to utilise this (welcome) break in activity, I sought reclusion in my studio and began to wade through folder upon folder of projects and their variations, in search of something different. “End Transmission” was a 64 bar loop of ambient drones and harmonic washes at the time, accompanied by a rather generic “electronica” rhythm and percussion section.
Apart from establishing a melodic and thematic narrative, the other deliberate adjustments I made to my early draft concerned the instrumentation and arrangement. For example, the subtle change in time signature from 4/4 to 7/8 had a drastic impact on the phrasing of the lead melody as well as accentuating certain rhythmic patterns. Also, having decided early on that I’d like make good use of live instruments, I allowed myself plenty of time to set up my old guitar rig - properly amped, mic’ed up and tweakable - revelling in of all the magical unpredictability and nuance that’s inherent in this kind of recording process.
Too Little Too Late
Ever since I discovered William Basinski’s “The Disintegration Loops” in the mid 2000s, I’ve been fascinated by the simplicity and elegant minimalism of ambient music. These qualities can be misleading for the casual listener (or even producer!) which is why Basinski’s work is considered a landmark and “ambient electronica” on YouTube is so easily forgettable. Around the time I was writing material for the album, I came across an XLR8R interview with revered producer Rafael Anton Irisarri. There’s a very interesting section where he discusses the importance of sound sources in this genre of music and how, when properly treated and managed, they can constitute the foundations of composition.
Having modified my studio setup to be able to record everything from guitar feedback from a blasting 4x4 cabinet to the sound of the wind rustling through leaves outside my window, I made it a daily habit to capture, document, treat and store hours upon hours of recordings - the sound sources that comprise the elemental building blocks of tracks like “Too Little Too Late”.
A great deal of the arrangement and sonic architecture was a result of the feedback I would receive from Conor (Dalton), the amazing mastering engineer I worked with on this project. His comments and suggestions went a long way towards sculpting and crafting the tones, drones and textures in the track.
Ashes
Composers like John Cage and Steve Reich were frequently referenced in my classes at university (often to demonstrate unconventional or pioneering facets of modern composition) and the idea of prepared instruments had always piqued my curiosity. Sidestepping some of Cage’s more esoteric theoretical ideologies about music and upon hearing Aphex Twin’s “Drukqs”, I fell in love with the stylistic variations these sorts of techniques could add to a traditional instrument’s sound.
In more recent years, the rising popularity of contemporary classical/electronic composers such as Nils Frahm, Max Richter and Ólafur Arnalds (of whom I am an admirer) has done much to draw attention to this type of aesthetic, while inspiring a slew of like-minded artists (and inevitable imitators). At the time of writing (these notes), it seems like the norm that every self-respecting electronic music album feature at least a couple of intimate, organic-sounding piano pieces - complete with the obligatory felted hammers and pedal creaks - in keeping with the auditory earmarks of the genre. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Awareness of the (musical) zeitgeist is healthy, as long as it doesn’t influence key creative decisions.
Despite the fact that it’s been quite a while since I practised my piano chops, I’ve never stopped harbouring (secret) ambitions of writing music for the piano - a nocturne perhaps or maybe something resembling a sonata. This was my blueprint for “Ashes”, although there were various other ideas and forces that shaped the final recording. Apart from the ubiquitous ambient noises and glitches found everywhere on the album, this track prominently features nods to all sorts of influences of mine: from film soundtracks to The Cure to Johnny Marr (whose guitar style has had a massive impact on me).
Mother
Labels like Mo Wax and Ninja Tune played a big part in developing my appreciation for electronic music - I still love the abstract hip-hop and turntablism from that era. DJ Krush, in particular, epitomised an aesthetic and inimitable style that I’ve admired for over 20 years, ever since I first listened to “Meiso”, back in the late 90s.
That’s where I wanted to start off with “Mother” - a sparse, crisp beat with minimal instrumentation and a a distinctive ambience. Along the way and after hours of trial and error, I felt the track was seriously lacking dynamics (I guess I’m too self conscious to be a minimalist!) and so I took it into more familiar and comfortable territories by adding the melodic lines from the sauntur and bansuri.
Neon Dream
I like the idea of having “break” tracks on albums - not every idea needs to be a fully formed arrangement that’s dragged out over 5-10 minutes. Apart from providing the listener with a brief reprieve, I think there’s a certain art to creating short pieces within certain parameters.
“Neon Dream” was intended to be just that - the whole arrangement is based around dense harmonic washes coming from filtering and oscillations. The moving bass line and abstract melodic phrases create the harmonic content, but in a more subtle and nebulous way.
White Cells
I desperately wanted to find space on the album for some broken beat, intelligent electronica, so I went deep into my HD folder of loops and jams to look for something I’d have fun working on. One of the coolest things about the juxtaposition of beats and rhythmic patterns in (electronic) music is the creation of polyrhythms - particularly when they’re executed properly and feel natural.
“White Cells” was just a basic, funky groove in 5/4 that I had and it quickly came alive once the bells and synths were added on top. As is often the case with these types of tracks, the chord changes and bass miraculously anchored the melodic motifs as well as adding some sense of urgency - I think this effect becomes apparent in the excellent remix by Yui Onodera, in which he has stripped everything down to the basics and focused on the harmonic content.
Avissos
“Avissos” is probably the most deceptively simple ambient track on the album - it’s basically one long jam between 3 guitars moving around suspended chords in different voicings. The challenge in sound design was to capture and give enough room for all the overtones and subtle transients to ring out clearly without creating awful resonances or clashes in frequency.
Obviously, all the guitar recordings have been heavily treated and processed to achieve a homogenous and continuous ambience while the haunting lead sound was achieved with an e-bow.
I find it really difficult to name my tracks but on this occasion the title practically leapt out at me during the first writing session. “Avissos” means “Abyss” in greek and I think the sounds are pretty evocative of one.
Womb
There have been so many different versions of this track - it’s difficult to remember which parts came from where and how they managed to all tie together. That being said, the most significant alteration that was pivotal in the development was to change the tempo to half time. This - quite expectedly - had a dramatic effect on the rhythm section and the way the existing elements felt.
In terms of style, it’s possibly the boldest track on the entire album and it really forced me to work outside of my comfort zone. For example, the (heavily processed) guitar solo at the halfway mark is the last thing I’d imagine myself recording for one of own songs. However, I fell in love with the tone that I dialled into my guitar amp and ended up using it extensively - to dramatic effect - all over the remainder of the track.
All Else Fails
This was the last track to make it on to the album and actually began life as a very different project. The majority of the sounds and samples in the recording have been taken from a sample pack I constructed a couple of years ago. At the time, my project was to create an intro track for a streaming DJ set I had been invited to perform, so I compiled a collection of atmospheric textures, pads, glitches and drones - hoping to arrange them in a manner that made sense.
With the addition of some melodic lines from a heavily effected acoustic guitar and some basic chord changes courtesy of the bass tones, what started off as a functional DJ tool, ended up taking on a new life as an arranged piece of music. I intentionally kept the arrangement linear and simple. I wanted the focus to be on the development of dynamics and the interplay between the repetitive melodic patterns - a lot like a club track (minus the more obvious rhythmic elements).
Time To Die
A lot of the music on this album was inspired by my great love of cinema - I often find that films whose stories provoke thought and explore certain themes end up resonating with me and having profound effect on my creativity.
Fans of Philip K. Dick and/or Ridley Scott will recognise the source of the titular line of dialogue and be aware of the symbolism and subtext in these works. Of course, I had absolutely no intention of referencing either or writing music that could be in any way related to the lore of “Blade Runner”, but some crucial aesthetic and musical choices are likely informed by the existential, religious and philosophical messages I’ve interpreted from the film and book.