|
This past spring, my fiance and I decided to have a getaway to a cabin in the mountains just for a weekend; for her, to paint-- for me, to record an EP.
Now, unfortuntely due to my Casio CZ-101 (that I was simultaneously using as a synthesizer and MIDI controller) died
a day into the trip, so my plans to write and record a full release in the isolation of the snowy mountains were cut short.
I did the best I could given the circumstances, but only four tracks made it home. The Road Home consists of those four, and
a handful of other songs that date back to as early as 2018. Much like The Beach Boys' Smile The opener (New Beginnings), and the closer (The Road Home)
were originally part of a seperate project that will likely never come to fruitition in its original form; I think they still work really well.
There's an aire of bittersweetness to both of them, especially The Road Home.
Now, the Cabin Tracks(tm): "Concrete Carpet" is the first one to be written and is named after the smooth concrete floor of the modern
cabin we spent the weekend in. Don't spill anything on it, it stains real easy. I think most of the cabin tracks
are reminiscent of the Brixton Typewriter bedroom/dreampop days. Very Mac DeMarco inspired; I was also listening to Dummy by
Portishead and a lot of early Brian Eno and I think that's mostly noticable in March of April. "Icy Drive" is named so
because right after we arrived we were hit with an ice storm and any chance of us leaving and getting back up the long, steep road to the cabin
were long gone.
As for the older songs, Spring, Little Explorers, The Story of Your Neighborhood are all my attempts at emulating the kind of songs
Mark Mothersbaugh wrote for the Sims 2 soundtrack. That OST is burned into my brain, and is part of the reason why I love Mark's music so much. Its got such
an optimistic sound that makes me nostalgic for a simpler time of just being home and happy.
"The Line" is a song I wrote thinking about my time in Galway, Ireland; there's a railroad bridge that crosses a small bay into a residential area.
One night while my family was out on the town, I decided to go for a walk along the path as the sun was going down, and it was an extremely relaxing experience.
I regret not revisiting the journey on my last trip there.
The last thing I want to mention with this EP is the interludes, "Visions" and "Omens".
They were an experiment in playing with motifs and themes as a way of foreshadowing the final track. A sort of dark cloud
and a knot in your stomach. That concept played more into the original album idea but I think they still work to keep this EP cohesive.
Part of me thinks I rushed this EP; between the cabin trip and clawing at any reason to push out songs that had been finished long ago, I
just wanted to put something out. Unlike my past attempts (Human Resources), I think this one works.
|
mouse over to flip record
|
