The Imperfect / Feb.08.2024
EMERGING
”EMERGING”: AVAILABLE FEB 9
on march 8 i’ve got a 3-song EP coming out via Nettwerk called Aer. it is the 2nd of a triptych of EPs that started last year with Eev and will conclude this summer with Ash.
the first track from Aer, titled “emerging,” will be out tomorrow (friday the 9th). looking forward to that i thought it would be interesting to share some of the individual tracks, in isolation, that make it up.
GTR VOLANTE
this is the main melodic element from the song. i’m not a very good guitar player but i can hobble along, especially when i can employ my favorite looper. in listening back to this track by itself i’m trying to figure out the source of the noises. i think this was my Martin acoustic guitar mic’d directly and the clicks are taps against the guitar body. you can also clearly hear bleed from speakers or headphones of the rest of the track in the background. that’s top engineering for you! embrace it.
MAY 07
when i have sounds in my sessions named by date they are typically from my annual archives of sounds that i create and save away for later. not sure, off the top of my head, what year this particular “may 07” is and, listening back to it, i can’t even say how it was created. i can’t decipher any dead give-away instruments in there. it could be from the modular… it could be the Strymon Volante again, like so much of my sounds go through.
the little slide/squalk/quack/squeak sound is interesting to me.
but this brings up something i always talk about which is that i tend to prefer my own music, or my own individual sounds, after i’ve forgotten how they were made. if i remember exactly what i did then i more easily allow myself to critique the process or find mistakes. when enough time has gone by that i’ve forgotten what went into it i can finally experience it more like an impartial listener.
MAY 07 DUP
the above sound is layered with a copy of itself gone through some fairly extreme high pass filtering. i do this often.. using resonant high pass filters to bring out noise and texture and using the layer quietly underneath. i’ve turned this sound up here for ease of hearing but it’s quite far back in the mix of the song.
if you’re interested in hearing me talk more about process or taking apart various songs, let me know.. it’s interesting to me to back and hear the individual elements… especially on much older pieces… because that time has passed and the mystery has taken over again.
i hope you enjoy Aer, that it slows down your day enough to take a breath.
and finally, as the first experiment and reach-out to my paid substack subscribers (thank you!) i will be sending out bandcamp codes for the entire Aer EP tomorrow so you can enjoy it a month early. (just bear with me as i figure out the best way to distribute separate codes to each of you).
if you haven’t considered becoming a paid supporter now may be the time and i look forward to sharing more content like this with you as the year goes on.
Thanks for the breakdown Taylor, very insightful! I was always impressed by the crispness of your high frequencies and will definitely try the resonant high pass filter copy technique. Curious what's the favorite looper you talk about?
I also enjoyed this breakdown. Very interesting, thanks!