Moment in Time

This recording was built using 20 virtual tracks. It began with me trying to play simplistic bass lines over a complex drum track. Simple sustaining whole notes allowed for a lot of growth both forward and backwards in time from my starting point. Fender Rhodes midi voicings allowed me to thicken up the chordal structure while not interfering with the delicacies of the mix. Although played like a piano, it doesn't occupy the same space in a mix and isn't designed to be a solo instrument like a piano. 

There's two harmonizing guitars that kick in and add some intensity. They drag on purposefully to leave a lot of room for cinematic exploration. They reach a climax and the floor falls out from them leading into a plateau and a curious ending.

This is "Conquest" which might evolve a bit but it will be the first installment of a four part series based on the four horseman of the apocalypse.

Conquest

Prior to developing this highly experimental tune, I introduced myself to some new post-production techniques like reversing verses, creative tempo tweaking and timestretching. In regards to percussion, I had Pat Mastelatto’s drumming in mind. He works on and off with progressive rock legends King Crimson and mixes electronic drum samples with his acoustic kit.

I call it “Beating Psycho Mantis” after the video game character that required revolutionary explorations to conquer in Metal Gear Solid, a 1998 release for the original Playstation. To date, this is my favorite experimental recording from my collection.

Beating Psycho Mantis

At the moment, this track is my baby. I actually started recording portions of it in 2008 and trashed most of that project. The only portion that I kept was the introductory guitar harmonics that were done on my acoustic. There are knife-muted Hammond B3 voices as well as electric piano, baritone sitar (vibrato tweaked), cello, viola, chamber symphony and maybe some other stuff.

All of the glitch effects in the percussion were done in Logic using this new program called Artillery. When set up correctly, you can automate effects using a midi keyboard and do it on-the-fly. Without artillery, I wouldn’t have been inspired to develop the video for this. When I started working the glitch effects in there, it immediately made me want to cut some footage at the same “machine gun” speed. 

Spirit Finds Fresh Mournings

This is one of those tracks that I cut a long time ago but I can still listen to it without it making me crazy. I was proud of it when it all came together because it was only three tracks (drums, bass guitar, bass guitar). Rarely do I ever finger tap or utilize showboat techniques but tapping out the rhythm worked out well and it gave me a lot of headroom to play around with the melody bass track.

A Hippo is a Pointless Rhino

This was the largest music-related project I have worked on to date. Starting with a few Luke Flowers inspired drum patterns, I used every gun in my arsenal. The arpeggiated synth lines were dialed in on my Korg Vocoder (R.I.P) and I used both fretted and fretless basses, acoustic guitar and electric piano voices.

After the completion of the music, I decided to exercise my video editing capabilities and began gathering copyright free footage from various sources in the Prelinger Archives. It was a long but exciting journey writing this piece and putting it to video and I am very happy with the result of my efforts.

The Score

The Haddinger Gunship is an American recording project by Darren Thomas Clark. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Clark is soley responsible for the direction of the music.

The music combines traditional recording techniques with digital manipulation and heavy use of modified drum loops to create a human-like feel. All of the instruments are either played and recorded by myself or simulated and orchestrated in the digital space.









