A collection of 12 of the 14 songs I created demos for in February 2025.

FAWM 2025 Demos

Demo #15 for February Album Writing Month 2022

all who wander

Production Notes

Modular Stuff

Started with the baseline pattern, sequenced that and spent a few hours at the rig trying to dial in the perfect patch for it. Ended up MIDI into WM Eloquencer / EME out to MN ST0.  Did a take clean and then a few takes going through MI Blades (dual filter).  Did some modulations on Blades with the IJ Planar2, my Black Friday present to myself.  Planar2 is great because it has a joystick and allows you to basically “draw” and record modulation, so you can play it back as a one-shot or loop it.  This time, I just did a few very slight (but very effective imho) tweaks in the center of the XY space to produce some V/Oct swells on both filters on Blades.  I struggled with how much to EQ out the harshness because that’s kind of what makes it as aggressive and special as it is.  I’ve vowed to spend more time mixing and mastering this year, and I tried to do that, and this is the result for better or for worse.

Also had MI Stages doing some unblocked modulations on resonance on one filter and mode on the other. Did the same bass line in a higher octave on MI Plaits with a little modulation from MI Tides going through the “morph” CV.

Finally, the Matriarch came in to do a filtered, delayed note a couple of times near the end of the track.

Everything else is in Reason 12.  The rhythmic line through the piece is a multi-gated effect triggered on each 16th note.  Drums are from the trusty REDRUM, and the arpeggiated line is using Thor and a Dual Arpeggio device.  The pad is straight Thor.  Did the whole thing on the fourth and let it marinate for a bit while I went down to Carrboro, NC to catch my wife’s favorite act at Haw River Ballroom. 

Wrote lyrics that I didn't use.

Legend:

WM = Winter Modular
EME = MIDI expander for Eloquencer
MI = Mutable Instruments
MN = Make Noise
IJ = Intellijel
CV = “control voltage”

race to the grave

Demo #5 for February Album Writing Month 2023.  Photo by Insky. https://www.instagram.com/insky__/

liquid smoke

Sketchpad Sensation (you ain't heard it)

offering number nine

luminal

e pluribus luigi

A hundred thousand lifetimes
Couldn’t match his yields
All we’ll ever be to them
Is an offering to energize the fields

the fields

blue zones

this will kill me

black smoke

false flags

ghosts of Paros

let it burn

fire dance

Not really done-done but none of these are.  Hell I wrote them all in four weeks what do you want from me lol?

just below the surface

after the fever breaks

sleep through this

Making dark electronic music since 2000.  This year’s projects include Blue Zones and An Offering To Energize the Fields.

Influences are too many to list but here are a few:

Boards of Canada, My Bloody Valentine, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Everything But the Girl, UNKLE, Lamb, BANKS, Trentemøller, Portishead, Björk, Radiohead, Wye Oak, The Orb, The Cure, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Nick Warren, Andy Stott, Sasha & John Digweed, Tim Hecker, Tortoise, Massive Attack, Joy Division, The Knife / Fever Ray, Antony and the Johnsons, A Place to Bury Strangers, Kraftwerk

looprication

Pinned to spotlight

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