Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Fleeting Fractals






It seems I'm always apologizing for how long it is between posts to this blog - after all, this is supposed to be my main site. But it seems as though it would be really obnoxious, and time consuming to post every little development. That's why I save the major events for You Have Failed Us. As you know, it's getting longer between releases. It's been almost two months since Counterbalance. This is partly due to a more regulated and binaural life rhythm, as well as trying to put enough original material onto a release to make it worthwhile. But I've also been putting a lot more work into each individual song. My work up to Elemental has been somewhat inexperienced and sloppy, and it shows. I used to think that recordings that were entirely done in a live take (not digitally altered) made my songs feel more organic, but I have to take into account that playing on a touch screen doesn't capture the intended volume or timing, and that going over each measure in the editing process can produce a more professional sound. I still play each riff by hand, but I polish it up as I go, trying to retain the organic sound that people are used to in my music, while also producing a product that would better impress radio stations and record labels, and that are just more pleasant to listen to.

I also continue to gain a better grasp of my tools. I know how to customize specific synths to produce a desired sound. I understand better what tools are available to me to assemble a song. It makes for an improved sound that can be glimpsed in "Signor Fancypants," "Fistfuls of Whimsy," and the entirely original material published on Counterbalance. This is leading to an album that has a more professional and polished sound for the songs that will be included on the upcoming album, which has the working title (that I think will stick) Dialectical Observations. I am currently undergoing dialectical behavioral therapy, which I considered for a title, but I didn't want it to sound like a sequel to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I wanted it to have a more individual identity. So I looked up what exactly "dialectical" means, which has nothing to do with variations in language due to geography. I'll save explaining the intention behind the title for its release article.

I blame my therapist and my meds for the more optimistic tone Dialectical Therapy is beginning to develop, though there is some sadness and fury injected into it, here and there. I'm excited about it. It's probably going to be a shorter album than people are used to; I'm not aiming to fill a sixteen-track quota, or making it a compilation of every song from the previous EPs, which has been my basic formula in the past. I'm not even sure if all of the new material - even songs that I have finished and mastered - will be included. The flow and tone are going to be much more intentional than past albums. This keeps in line with Elemental and Counterbalance, which also won't have all their original tracks on the album. I can tell you that the Alternate Spin of "Fistfuls of Whimsy," as well as "Signor Fancypants," "Movement," "Less Sinister Cousins," and (of course) this song will be included. As for the rest...I'm shaping it as organically as possible.

About this song: it was very much inspired by How To Destroy Angels' "Keep It Together." I focused on trying my hand at a similar heavy, sliding bass line, with trip-hop style beats, with subtle use of metallic guitar in the rhythm. I used a basic piano riff that I had recorded as a jumping-off point, which was complimented by a treble piano melody that came out of nowhere, infecting the song with its more optimistic vibe, and called for some psychedelic synths and electric lead guitar. It really wasn't meant to be so upbeat-downtempo, but it came out reflecting the vibe of much of the material that's being considered for the album, and I felt that it would be a fitting advance single as a teaser.

The title came from my trying to put into words the ways that veins, roots, trees, river systems, etc. have a similar structure, when looked at micro- or macrocosmically. All I could find was that Lichtenberg fractals can predict these systems, up to a point, where they become wild and erratic. I originally titled it "Fluttery Fractals," but I felt I was too close to a common theme with "Butterflies on Ganymede," another song I was working on at the time. Then, while I was listening to my progress on my studio's (car's) speakers, I was looking out the window and the thought "fleeting" came to mind, so the name became the current title. I almost didn't keep the "fleeting" to opt for simply "Fractals," but the eventual unpredictability of the natural systems I had in mind seemed to make sense for keeping "fleeting."

My intention was to publish this single first, at my Snail Tune store, at midnight (my time), but after a day spent creating artwork and ads, and uploading and tagging (all this takes a lot more time and effort than it sounds), I lulled myself into a sense of being done for the day. So I woke up this morning realizing that I was eight hours late in my publishing timeline, and by the time I pressed the button, it was already available on Google Play. I can't believe it; I had input on my distributor's upload page that it wasn't to be published until today, and it usually takes a day to a week to see it in stores. Oh well, I can't do anything about it now! But I will be posting links (watch for the highlights and underlines) at Apple Music and iTunes, Spotify, YouTube (meaning YouTube's The Lady anoNYMous page, not my official YouTube channel; remember, you can find The Lady anoNYMous in the YouTube Music app as well), Groove, Amazon, and TIDAL. Amazon is still slacking in making my music available on their Unlimited streaming service, so it will just be for the store, but why buy from them when I undercut them at Snail Tunes? Also, Snail Tunes offers unlimited streaming on Bandcamp and the Bandcamp app, along with a download offered in a variety of formats.

In closing: y'all should know by now that I like to whet the appetite by sharing a bonus song in these blog posts, so I'll leave you with the finished and mastered version of "Butterflies on Ganymede," which hasn't even been posted on Patreon yet (I'll be referring my Patrons to this post for them to hear it). I'm not if sure this will make it onto Dialectical Observations. It's certain, at least, to be a bonus track, but it seems as though it may be to0 ambient-classical for the public album. I'll have to see how well it fits into the final track list. But I want to keep the other new songs close to my vest. So here you go: