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Song: Mountainsick Mind
Session Date: Saturday December the 9th 2006
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII; Behringer C-1 condensator mic; semi-SM 58 mic; PC with Audacity
Music Gear: Yairi Spanish guitar with steel strings; Yamaha RY-10 drumcomputer
Log: .A hell of a lot of work to mix this bastard. Quite an absurdistic song. It needed a bit of rest every now and then, but fading out and in the drums was too tricky.
Lyrics: ..I will post the lyrics later...
Song: The Dead Pig of Fort Valerio
Session Date: Saturday December the 9th 2006
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII; PC with Audacity; Behringer C-1 condensator mic; SM-58 clone mic
Music Gear: Godin Radiator electric guitar; Squier bass; Yamaha RY-10 drumcomputer; Vox mini-amplifier
Log: I almost went nuts, so I decided recording a song was better. The singing is inspired by my dad's style of singing (or maybe it's genetical), which makes it genuinely underground.
Lyrics: I'm flying through the clouds of decay / With a smile of despair if I may / I'm getting used to bouts of pain on the way / Quite sure that I'm gonna reach another day / Hope's diffused / When you get used / To stayin' away from pain / I'm the proud owner of a brain / I take my toolbox and try to make it sane / When I find temporary peace I want more / But who's that ringing at my door
Song: Desynchronized Flubberwuckles
Session Date: somewhere in the end of November 2006
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, PC (Audacity)
Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings
Log: Either it was right after, but I think it was some days after the Friday Kitchen Improvisations, I recorded this jam with myself at the very end of the tape.
Lyrics: Instrumental..
Song: Beware of Dead Things
Session Date: Friday November the 17th
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, PC (Audacity)
Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings
Log: This is the last of the Friday Kitchen Improvisations. After recording this song I went to the 'Walk Inn' to eat fries with mayonaise.
Lyrics: Will you find your home at last / Are you digging in the past / You won't find it there / 'Cause dead things are a snare / Are you emperor of all / Will you fly or will you fall / You can't stand back and look / You'll have to answer that call / Oh, I'm amazed at how stupid we are / We're so far / Removed from the spring of our youth / Oh, I'm amazed at how stupid I am / I'm so far / Removed from the spring of my youth
News: The player doesn't seem to work for several days now. I don't know what's wrong - and I don't feel like diving into it. Also, there are quite some songs now that I haven't added to the player yet. But if it doesn't work anyway - ... Maybe I have to get a new player.
Another thing is that rumour has it that Blogger is going to force all it's members to move over to Blogger Beta or the new Blogger. The new Blogger uses templates with different codes which would mean that I would lose the lay-out I have now and would have to build it up from scratch again. Nice, eh? Well, we'll see...
Yet another thing is that I would like to find a small label that would be interested in my music. Perhaps Morc records is an option. But my music is probably to neat for them. If you have a better idea, mail me.
Song: Flourish
Session Date: Friday November the 17th
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, PC (Audacity)
Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings
Log: The third Friday-last-week-kitchen-song. I was happy while recording this song and the original biblical Sabbath had just begun.
Lyrics: I'm so glad / That I'm here / And I'm glowin' / And I'm near / To the life that you give to all / 'Cause you got life / You got a heart / You give away / You'll never depart from your creation / I'm so glad / That I own / What I've got / And I'm owned / By a God who's just and real / 'Cause you are truth / You are the lamb / I'm accused / But you have been damned so we could flourish
Song: Beyond the Age of 8-bit Computers
Session Date: Friday November the 17th
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, PC (Audacity)
Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings
Log: Another and the 2nd song I recorded Friday last week in the kitchen.
Lyrics: Will I ever turn around / When I'm on my way to bow down then / Low / In the future all is gold / When we leave the garbage mold, my friend / At last / Have we sunk like ship / Have we whored like a bitch / Our case's not strong / But the judge of heaven and earth has agreed to punish his son / He will never turn around / When he's on his way to strike down all / Power / Thirsty children they will drink / Mighty private parts will shrink down in / That hour / We will praise and be glad / When his gace shines in red / His anger's holy / But we must get offa this plane and be headed for Calvary's cross
Song: #2
Session Date: Friday November the 17th
Recording Gear:.Tascam 488 MKII, Behringer C-1 condensator mic, PC (Audacity)
Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings
Log: Yeah, got out of work Friday and put my stuff in the kitchen because of the great acoustics there. Recorded four songs in a row, improvizing. This is the first, logically called '#2'..
Lyrics: Somehow / I'm gonna do now / Nothin' special but / Sit like a bird on a lazy cow / And the sun pierces / The crown of my head / And I think of a rainbow in the middle of the desert where I try to find a bed / Oh no, not that sound again /I have no friends / When I'm missin' out on sleep and I have to work again / Oh no, not that smile again / I can't laugh 'cause / I have to be a brute and I have to be a man
Song: Obviating Obstacles
Session Date: Saturday 11th of November
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII; Behringer C-1 condensator mic
Music Gear: Yairi Spanish guitar with steel strings
Log: This song was built up as an 8-bit computer-tune. I started out with a 'bass'-line, and added some other voices. Then I wrote some lyrics and did the vocals, adding a second vocal that gets punched in at the choruses.
Lyrics: Immunize myself for my ill-judged choices / Lose my better half in a choir of voices / I seek completion but find nothing at all / Find a way to die, try to live a lie / I can't imagine that I'll wake up and fall / O, what a lonely place: the Purity Fair / I tried to make it but the cops cut my hair / Will I be blended into majestic grey / I just want a screen that says: 'simply OK' / I want to be in and I want to be out / I'm tired of being and I'm tired of these doubts
Song: Sunny Bird Up
Session Date: Friday November the third
Recording Gear: PC using Audacity; Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; Behringer C-1 condensator mic; SM 58 clone mic
Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings
Log: An improvisation based on a smooth bluesy riff. I added some string-bending, then wrote some lyrics. First I tried to sing loud and high-pitched. That didn't work out well, so I tried a more casual style, crooning a bit. I added a guitar solo and threw a Wah over it. There you are.
Lyrics: I wanna push away seas of pain / Walls are stained / With the blood of a long lost friend / I heard the sound of war / The silent scars of things that used to be / Can you understand me / When I mutter in the rain / Oh, the waves of the ways in which I try to escape / From life and the fire of God / Stand up, sonny bird up! / You must fly into the sun and die and be dyed from red to white / With the paint of his righteousness (2x)
Song: I Wished To Be Alone
Session Date: Saturday October the 28th 2006
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; Behringer C-1 condensator mic; PC - Audacity
Music Gear: Takamine Spanish guitar with steel strings
Log: A blurt. An improvisation. A heart that 'smacked like a stone' - is that English? Dunno. Whate4.
Lyrics: An unexpected visitor / Came waving at my window / The wind was howling like a baby / And I tried to hide my tears from the moon / What, what could I do for him / The house was empty / Could he fill it up for me / My heart was broken / Smacked like a stone / I wished to be alone
Song: Comfort Hell Session Date: Saturday October the 28th
Recording Gear: .Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; PC - Audacity; Behringer C-1 condensator mic
Music Gear: Godin Radiator electric guitar
Log: .What can I say? This is a processed piece of sound that began as an experimental jam with Dutch lyrics expressing misery.
Lyrics: Beyond recognition.
Song: Alone in the Silent Woods
Session Date: Sunday October the 22th 2006
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as mixer; PC with Audacity; Behringer C1 condensator mic; SM-58 clone mic
Music Gear: Yairi Spanish guitar; Takamine Spanish guitar (both with steel strings); Godin Radiator electric guitar; Vox mini-amp
Log: This song was based on a sample I created from a guitar track. I repeated the 'sample' over and over again and used it as the base for the song. It wasn't too hard to come up with a melody for the vocals. The bassy vocal creates a special effect. I tried to make a drum-track playing live on the drumcomputer, but that didn't work out. So I just added some guitar parts. I played around with some effects in Audacity. And when I had mixed the whole thing, I realised I forgot the bass. I've been trying to add a decent bass track, but somehow I can't find the perfect bassline and everything that isn't perfect seems to waste the song...
You can regard this song as a first experiment with repeating self-created samples. The song doesn't feel/sound finished yet. And it's got a bit of an eerie touch to it, doesn't it?
Lyrics: I'm so tired but I cannot sleep / I've been workin' like Barry Blue /I'm gonna dive into the poignant deep / I'm gonna walk on the oldest shoe / When I rise, when I fall and weep / I'm so full of her starlight eyes / I walk alone in the silent woods / Forever banned from this paradise
Song: Can't Sleep So Tired
Session Date: October the 20th 2006
Recording Gear: Tascam 488 MKII used as a mixer; Behringer C1 condensator mic; pc - Audacity
Music Gear: Yairi Spanish guitar; pc keyboard drum program
Log: This is not a song, but more like a musical fart. I've always shrunk back from recording large experimenting sessions. The idea of just letting the tape run and play and sing whatever comes to mind is of course to catch ideas or perhaps even find ready made diamonds among the junk. But I'm afraid I'm too much of a perfectionist for that. Anyway, I do think it's a good idea to force myself into doing this, because loads of good ideas have already gone to waste simply because I forgot them.
So, yesterday I pressed 'record' in Audacity and played whatever came to mind. The cool thing about recording with a pc is of course that you can save loads of recordings to harddisk. Anyway, I picked out a short piece of guitar and vocals, added a stupid pc keyboard drum, put a wahwah over that drum, duplicated the guitar and vocals track and added distortion to the dup. Et voilà .
Lyrics: (Just wanna do something and see what comes..) / I, I don't know what to say now / 'Cause I'm so tired / Well, I can't sleep / 'Cause it's still light
Song: Split Second Killer Hook (1st mix)
Split Second Killer Hook (2nd mix)
Session Date: Thursday October 5 2006ssion
Recording Gear: rTascam 488 MKII, pc (Audacity), Behringer C-1 condensator mic, SM-58 clone mic
Music Gear: mTakamine C-128 acoustic guitar, uGodin Radiator electric guitar, Squier bass, percussion
Log: Worked like a dog this week, so when I got home I wanted to record a song. Taped some simple guitar parts on the Tascam, added bass, electric guitar parts, and then wrote some lyrics and recorded some vocal parts. Filled up my 8 tracks already, so recorded it on my pc in Audacity and added some percussion and the guitar solo in Audacity, using the Tascam as a mixer. And there we are.
..........
Worked on a second mix, added wah to the guitar solo, compressed stuff..
Lyrics: Putting sensors in the lion's den / Saving bugs for dynamite / Fencing in the danger area / Wish this time I get it right / I'm a brand new musketeer / I lift my thumb to the world / But now there's noone waving back / I don't know what I'm doing here / Guess only myself can only get help from heaven / I feel so lonely / I pray that you fill my heart with your love / I need your light so badly / Being fragile is like surgery / How it hurts to be myself /I know I have to leave the nursery / Get on my way to Galilee / I will impress you like an open book / But turn the page and I am closed / I want a split second killer hook / I want the truth exposed
Song: Happy Shalom Searching
Session Date: Saturday, September the 30th 2006
Recording Gear: Fostex X-12 fourtrack, SM-58 clone mic, PC (Audacity)
Music Gear: Takamine spanish guitar
Log: This is another song made on the couch. Really, literally. I take my fourtrack downstairs, put it on the couch, and record a song. I put the mic on some big books to capture the guitar. Improvized a little something a couple of times. Lo-fi charm. You can hear some household-sounds in the background, and in the end you can hear my eight year old foster-sister whistling.
Lyrics: The day outside is beautiful / Inside the struggle lingers on / The children and the butterflies / Are paintings that have come alive / Oh, lord creator you are great / You show yourself in what you've made / Oh, teach me on this seventh day / To be a humble jar of clay / Your love is not an artefact / You know the pain of being cheated on / You are the greatest lover
Song: Lester, Lester
Session Date: Sept. 8th, 2006
Recording Gear: Victory LT-200P MP3-player; PC - Audacity; headset-mic
Music Gear: Takamine and Yairi acoustic guitar
Log: Got out of bed and recorded this song on my MP3-player. A program that I used for converting my MP3-player-wavs to normal wavs had expired, so I looked for free similar programs on the web; couldn't find anything. Finally, it dawned on me that I could just play the song with quicktime (which recognizes rare wav-formats) and then record the audio in Audacity. In Audacity, I just duplicated the track and had the second track begin a fraction later, thereby creating an echo-effect. I also added second and third voices with the headset-mic on the second and fourth strophe. Finally, I added one chord at the end.
Lyrics: Lester, Lester / Where have you gone / Missed out on the mustard /Struck a son /Whereby, whereby / Oh, will you survive / Together with baby /Fire and a knife / A new day broke / Too late.. / Lester, Lester / Why don't you come back / Life's not just a tester / Free to try / Somehow, somehow / You will be renewed / By the power of him who's / The A and the Z / A new day breaks / Step in!
Song: I Need Your Love in Dangerland
Session Date: Friday Sept. the 1st 2006
Recording Gear: PC; Audacity; Tascam 488 MKII 8-track used as a mixer; Behringer C-1 condensator mic
Music Gear: Yairi Spanish guitar; Squier bass
Log: 15.36: I've composed a new song - guitar and vocals, lyrics need to be written still - about an hour ago. Got an idea while playing my guitar and worked it out, recording it with a headset-mic in Audacity so I wouldn't forget it. Now I've just created a drumtrack in Tuareg. Cool program. I've exported the drumtrack as a wav-file and gonna import it in Audacity now...
19.28: OK.. The song is ready! I recorded the guitar track two times and panned them a bit. Then I recorded the bass - I really had a good time playing this track until it was good enough. After that, I did the vocals: I quickly wrote some lyrics and then recorded the vocal track two times standing in front of the condensator mic. After that, I started mixing... It was a hell of a job, as usual, and in the end I dedided not to use any reverb on any of the tracks. I 'endorphinized' the guitars (that's basically pumping them up a bit) and used compression on all tracks except the drums. And here it is! I think I like it, but I've been mxing too long to be able to listen to it objectively.
Lyrics: But now dangerland appears / And I don't know what to do / Should I welcome back my fears? / Or should I try to steal the clue? / Completely lost anew / I need your love in the middle / Of crazy goings-on / 'At least I have some fun' / But that's just me on the fiddle / And I come back to your heart / I don't need to leave my room / Will you please rip me apart / And reassemble me in your womb / (You're) the sacred supergroom / We need your love in the middle / Of crazy goings-on / 'At least we have some fun' / But that's just us on the fiddle
Shabbat shalom!
Song: Sentimentally Yours
Session Date: a couple of afternoons in summer 2006
Recording Gear: PC, Audacity, Tascam 488 MKII used as mixer, guitar directly plugged into Tascam
Music Gear: Godin Radiator electric guitar
Log: This recording took me hours and hours.. It was done in Audacity, using the Tascam 8-track as a mixer. It was meant to grow out into a song, but the recording and mixing process didn't work out as I hoped it would, so I forgot about it. Today I incidentally stumbled upon it.
Lyrics: -
Song: Tired Head
Session Date: somewhere in 2002
Recording Gear: Korg D12
Music Gear: Yairi Spanish guitar, Stagg condensator mic, Yamaha RY-10 drumcomputer
Log: This is one of the 'Korg D12 sessions'-songs. The original mix contained the sound of a car claxon that was incidentally caught on 'tape' and that I repeated using the 'scene'-function of the D12 ('scene'-programming was really horrible and extremely time-absorbing). This mix hasn't been retrieved yet, and this version was mixed by my friend Temme Sikkema, who borrowed me the Korg D12. In the words of a retired rock-journalist:
"The original mix entices the audience to come back every time and push that rewind button, because it contains a really beautifully captured honking car [no sampling devices used]. This story ofcourse reminds the reader of the Rolling Stones track Country Honk on the Let It Bleed album. However, a not so talented technician apparently cut this "version" of the track, explaining the omission of the honking car. A not-so-subtle pan shift in the vocal track sadly reminds one of the first stereo mixes that were done in the early sixties, when it was more used as an "effect" and not as a spatial concept. For fans only."
Lyrics: Into outer space / Flying like a lady-bird / I know I can't keep pace / With a universe / This absurd / Come home / Wait no more / Wipe the gore / From your tired head / From your tired head / Look down at the earth / That is where / You are / Come home / That is where you are /Look up at the stars / That is where you'll be / Into streets unknown / Hovering like spacedogshit / I know I'm on my own / And I still rehearse: / 'I have been hit' / Come home / Wait no more / Wipe the gore / From your tired head / From your tired head..
Song: Chaos Blues
Session Date: August 18th 2006
Recording Gear: Victory LT-200 mp3 player
Music Gear: Yairi spanish guitar
Log: I'm amazed how well my new ultracheap mp3-player records. OK, it's got a 8 Khz sample rate, but the mic is quite OK! It does a better job than the headsetmic we bought a while ago.
This blues improvisation was edited in Audacity. Basically, I added iZotope Vinyl. As a kid I listened a lot to 'Tupalo Blues', one of the early records of John Lee Hooker. That was before they took him to the city and gave him an electric guitar. All acoustic and magnificently idiomatic and spontaneous. And oh, that deep, dark, warm voice..Well, too bad I'm a white boy. For a long time I have been dreaming of playing the blues like early John Lee Hooker. I find it hardest to sing the blues, in sync with my guitar. And I find it hard to improvize and switch between strumming and soloing and keeping the rhythm up. But this small afford inspires me to perhaps give it a try again and record some old school blues songs one day.
Lyrics: It is a chaos in my life / Chaos, chaos, chaos.. / How am I ever / Gonna order / All the chaos / All the chaos in my room, in my house, in my mind..
News: I've launched a new blog. It's gonna be an allround blog, but probably focused on (personal) life, theology and music ('cause Meite U is a listener too). I've been working for ages on the template and I think it's pretty neat. So go have a look at DOCTERBLOG.
really nice to see you experiment with sampling. allow me to interfere a little, with a couple of wild ideas
> why don't you play the sample way below the original pitch, thus slowing down the whole thing
> lose the bluesy guitar lines you added later, or reverse them like you do at the end of the track. the whole thing sort of oozes "c&w" now
> add some really heavy slap bass line, played in a totally different groove
> put in an amen break
see what happens!