yesterday by beatles or: imagine by yoko ono as sung by john lennon slowed (+ 500 AURA)

Floating Fish Studios held its third in a series of Synth Jam Sessions at FFS II on 05/15/10. The small but efficient ensemble gathered included Dave Chandler (aka Thee Sub One Genius), M Scott McConnell (aka MC2P4), and Matt Norcross (aka Ttam Troll).

Though the theme of this session was '80s Style and our goal was to compose an '80s influenced dance track for an upcoming Julie L Myers produced music video, we managed to stray from that purpose on several occasions.

This improv, titled TR-10, is one such occasion and documents our journey into Trance.

Imbued Vagary - TR-10 (Live at FFS II 05/15/10)

The hits keep on coming from the FFS II Synth Jam 2010 - Punish Your Machine sessions which were held on 06/05/10. This piece of audio warfare is titled Stinky Pinky.

Contrary to the tongue-in-cheek (or pinky... ) song title, this is one of more aggressive tracks from the sessions. Matt Norcross' (aka Ttam Troll) programmed noise beat and Dave Chandler's (aka Thee Sub One Genius) staccato arpeggiations provided the rhythmic foundation for M Scott McConnell's (aka MC2P4) droning Alesis Micron synth bass line. With the groove in place, Matt Norcross interfaced with the Korg Z1 to add synth string melodies and dissonance.

At the 8 minute mark, the song starts to slowing fade leaving the listener wantonly yearning for more...

Imbued Vagary - Stinky Pinky (Live at FFS II 06/05/10)

The Summer of 1991 was another very fertile period for Any Questions? and for me personally. After purchasing our first computer (an Atari 1040STe) for music production in March of 1991, we had left hardware sequencing behind and been working almost extensively with Steinberg Cubase software for music sequencing. This software allowed us much more flexibility in music editing and song arrangements. It also allowed us to quickly and easier save and load our song ideas so we were no longer burdened with the arduous task of manually setting all of our instruments up for each song.

This previously unreleased demo of In The Pools Of Blood is a good example of how quickly it was to sequence the music for a song idea and then work on it. For this idea, I programmed a very basic 4 bar drum pattern. Next, I layered a synth bass line, some string pads, and a reverse cymbal effect. This 4 bar pattern was repeated ad infinitum.

What makes this song idea very unique in the Any Questions? canon is that it is the only one ever recorded that captures me completely improvising lyrics. Even to this day, all Any Questions? lyrics are written out (electronically or on paper) first and then rehearsed with the music. It was very early in the morning (around 3AM) at FFS II when I began to sing (term used loosely). As usual, my Korg A3 provided me with just the right vocal effect and set the mood for me to expel my dark, introverted thoughts. Some of the classic lines from this include... "Liquid tears from placid eyes mix tranquilly", "Slowly gnawing on your flesh", "Spiraling downward you and me", and "In the pools of blood".

The vocals were purposefully recorded farther back in the mix since they were just improvised ramblings. They may be hard to decipher but, if you're up to the task, write them out and e-mail them to me at troll@floatingfish.com. If they are correct, I'll send you a ***FREE*** autographed 18" x 24" Any Questions? - Prey For Death (Special Edition) poster. Act soon, this offer ends 10/31/10.

Any Questions? - In The Pools of Blood

As Dungeon Aire, we had quite an eclectic and adventurous set list for our first and only gig on 12/31/87 at "Number 9" in Shippensburg, PA.  It included such diverse songs as Led Zeppelin - Misty Mountain Hop, The Cult - Wildflower, The Suburbs - Monster Man, Mondo Rock - Primitive Love Rights, and even two original songs (Pung and Progressions) that we had written.  Somewhere between all of that, we also chose to perform INXS - Need You Tonight.

Here is a jam box recording from the show which features Brad Shaeffer - Vocals, Matt Skirpan - Guitar, Matt Norcross - Bass, Scott McConnell - Synthesizers, and Tim Harrell - Drum Machine.  It's the only song that Tim played the drum machine.

Dungeon Aire - Need You Tonight

It's a Floating Fish Studios tradition to record some live electronic warfare to herald in the New Year and in celebration of my birthday. That's right, I'm a New Year's baby born on 01/01/70.

The evening is young and we're just getting into the swing of things but I thought that I'd share a piece of FFS New Year's history with our 2001 Overture which was recorded on 01/01/01. Enjoy!

Any Questions? - 2001 Overture

This was the first time since 09/10 where all three core FFS II Synth Jam members convened and we wasted no time diving deep into the electronic plasma pool. The first audio to surface from FFS II Synth Jam 2011 - Troll Returns is this improvisation titled TR-2.

Dave Chandler (aka Thee Sub One Genius) provided the pulse in Ableton Live and rhythmic bass effects. Matt Norcross (aka Ttam Troll) added Roland RS-09 synth string soloing and Prophet 600 sound effects while M Scott McConnell's (aka MC2P4) Korg Z1 ambient washes glistened in between.

This was recorded on 04/16/11.

Imbued Vagary - TR-2 (Live at FFS II 04/16/11)

In January 1991, shortly after the start of the first Gulf War, we were very prolific with our musical output.  The deluge of 24/7 war footage and chemically-fueled all night recording sessions garnered many new song ideas.

Though many of those ideas never progressed further than the cassettes they were recorded on, a few like this one, GB+VX, ended up being produced more and recorded on our Tascam 38 1/2" 8-track reel-to-reel machine.

This one started out simply with a very repetitive drum beat and synth parts.  After adding a round of Gulf War audio samples, MC2P4 delivered his apocalyptic vocals and then I spent the rest of the night (and into the morning) recording multiple effected, electric bass parts before mixing the final song that we share with you now.

Enjoy...

Any Questions? - GB+VX

Today marks the 5 year anniversary of the original new era FFS Synth Jam.  The fruits of which are still being enjoyed today.  From these sessions, the latest incarnation of Imbued Vagary was born.  To celebrate this, we have a series of CD releases coming out this year.  The first, titled Captured Moments, is being mastered now and will be available soon.

Here's a track from our inaugural Synth Jam.  Enjoy!

Imbued Vagary - TR-6 (Live at FFS II 02/20/10)

We start off the Floating Fish Studios Holy Grail Week with some absolutely "classic" raw video studio footage. Only the FFS inner circle will realize the full "classic" nature of this but, hopefully, everyone else will at least be entertained and amused by it.

This chemical-fueled video studio footage was shot at FFS II shortly after the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. MC2P4's lyrics for this song were inspired by the fiery oil rigs that littered the Kuwait desert and sprayed their precious crude all over everything and everyone. His one-man, one take performance was captured by Brian "Who" Black and has long been hidden in the FFS vaults.

The audio for this song was recorded shortly before the video shoot and was our first (and last) attempt at multi-track recording using the Ensoniq ESQ-1 tape sync feature. As you can hear, the angular and disjointed music has a visceral, jerking quality that can't be blamed solely on the "altered" sub-humans that recorded it.

For the collectors out there, here is the original never-before-released audio recording for Any Questions? - Oil In The Gulf. Enjoy...

Any Questions? - Oil in the Gulf

Requested by one of our long time fans, Douglas Shields, here is another This Mistress track saved from oblivion from a long lost tape.  It’s our cover version of INXS - Don’t Change.  The quality of this boom box recording from early 1988 is very sub par.  It also sounds as if we were still learning the song or should I say, I was still learning the song.  Enjoy!

This Mistress - Don't Change

First mutant to ascend from the plasma pool after the Cy-Tech Wars. Skilled in cybernetics and data manipulation. Exhibits an extreme appetite for blood and kills for his own pleasure.

Any Questions? - GB+VX

Ttam Troll

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