New Stuff

In an unprecedented turn of events, I am resurrecting Flat Battery for a couple more records. One is a remaster of some more obscure Flat Battery tracks  from yonks back(ETA whenevs), and the other is happening with a more specific intention:

One of the main reasons Flat Battery started is because people shared awesome free loops, samples and plugins online, and any time I struggled to find a sound or move a track forward, the internet was so generous in its assistance. On later albums I egotistically tried to move away from content I didn't make myself but I still always ended up using a cheeky sample or loop somewhere.

I want to celebrate the people who share random and cool things on the internet with an album intentionally made out of those sounds. A lot of it people just dump and never think about again but honestly to me, these people are unsung heroes and deserve celebration.

On this track I used the following awesome free things:

Guitar: https://freesound.org/people/4barrelcarb/sounds/362832/

Drums: https://freesound.org/people/mojomills/sounds/101121/

Synths: Synth1 - https://www.kvraudio.com/product/synth1-by-ichiro-toda

Lyrics:

My world is filling up so quickly
And there is so much hurt and noise
It's hard to see what is important
Whether or not I have a choice

Or a voice...

And I don't know where to go
Got lost somewhere on the road
But I don't mind if you come too
We got many things to do

And I don't want to waste away
I'll keep moving every day
When we finally leave the ride
I hope you had a good time

I get so wound up trying to find words
For all the things I want to say
They always seem to find the airlock
And then they all make their escape

But hey...

I don't know where to go
Got lost somewhere on the road
But I don't mind if you come too
We got many things to do

And I don't want to waste away
I'll keep moving every day
When we finally leave the ride
I hope you had a good time

Good Time

Another offering from the new Flat Battery project.

Quite challenging writing lyrics at 200 BPM!

This time, the back track was nearly completely comprised of other people's edited recordings:

Main background synth: https://freesound.org/people/arseniiv/sounds/240102/

First layer of drums: https://freesound.org/people/YSJ_Sounds/sounds/171604/

Plugin used to make fills with the first layer of drums: http://illformed.org/

Bass: http://www.yohng.com/software/bass.html

Second layer of drums (all the loops on this page): https://freesound.org/people/eardeer/packs/24169/?page=2#sound

Lyrics:

It's said that youth is wasted on the young
That may be true, at least in my case
Always things to do that never get done
I know that it wasn't all a waste, but I
Can't help it

Thinking of the many things to come
Thinking about everything I've done
4 AM again and I'm still here
A place made out of old regrets and fears
I try to let it go and fall asleep
But my brain won't co-operate with me

And let me dream...

D'you ever think about what things could be like
If you did just one thing differently or right?
D'you ever wonder what you would say
If I was here, in front of you today?

Thinking of the many things to come
Thinking about everything I've done
4 AM it's happening again
Found a place that never seems to end
There's so much I've got to do today
But I can't seem to lock it all away

And be more brave...

Thinking of the many things to come
Thinking about everything I've done
4AM is that time of the day
When all my hurt and hope comes out to play
I'm so tired but I can't go to sleep
Not until these thoughts are done with me

Please give me peace...

4 AM Melancholy

Slow sad thing I did about a year ago while on the tail end of a deep depression following my father's death. Don't see myself working on it more and I've sat on it long enough, so here it is.

Lyrics:

I found out a way
To keep the bad thoughts away, but I
Did not realise
What I would be giving in trade

I found out too late
While I watched cherished things fade
Right before my eyes
Now I'm alone and afraid

Wrapped around me is the silence I've made
And no one is near me, they're all far away
When creatures and demons are good friends to make
And there surely is hell to pay

The loss and the ache
In time, gets easier to take, but it
Does not go away
You just learn to live with the pain

No more easy escapes
Bill is due, it's time to pay, I hope
It's not all in vain
As I crawl back up to the day

Wrapped around me is the silence I've made
And no one is near me, they're all far away
When creatures and demons are good friends to make
And there surely is hell to pay

Hell To Pay

Track I made during a really rough period for me mental health-wise last year. Had some lyrics that I never recorded, but I can't connect to them emotionally nowadays. Can't see myself redoing the lyrics now and the instrumental track's pretty cool so here you go.

Oh

Also

Every sound apart from the drums was done with the free VSTi plugin Synth1: https://www.kvraudio.com/product/synth1-by-daichi-laboratory-ichiro-toda

Emerald Eyes

Cute little cheerful funky thing I put together using loops and samples off Freesound.org. I don't have the original files any more so I'd have to go hunting to find the list of loops when I'm not feeling so lazy.

Funked Up

Check out the album section! Lots to discover.

The current catalogue is available for purchase (or free download) through this link: https://flatbattery.bandcamp.com

Liam's new project Rectifier can be found on Bandcamp through this link: https://rectifire.bandcamp.com

A few demos from Liam's upcoming rock/metal project Tricky Slave are also available for listening on this page. The Bandcamp page will be available once the first record is completed.

Flat Battery was formed by Robert Rumney and Liam Wiser in 2005. They made one album together (Liam on vocals/guitar and Rob on programming/sampling/production), entitled "Hello, I am an ashtray", and Robert contributed to the tracks "Stone" and "Pu$y" on the second unfinished album "Ikonoklazm". "Stone" eventually found its way onto "Intermission", a short collection of works done at random intervals.

(Additional credits on "Hello, I am an ashtray" on the track "E-Malgamate" go to Ariel Wertlen Spilkin [guitars], Marco Mario Belloni [vocals in the second verse] and Robert Rumney [ending rap])

After producing his last track "Stone" with Flat Battery, Rob moved on in 2006 to later become well-known in SA acts such as Twelv & Thesis, LSD Influence, Biscope and of course his own solo act Twelv.

Liam continues on the project Flat Battery solo with the occasional collaboration. It's mainly a "just for fun, when there's time" sort of project. Always up for a collaboration with fun, creative people!