'Technical Difficulties' - 1998

We all stand in line
Upload our minds
Sys-op grows each time
Just like man-kind
Disks just store your lives
We don't down-size
No-one lives or dies
No smiles, no cries
I just watch the sky
Blue fills my eyes
Space-man on your ship
Take me with you

Technical Difficulties - 1998

'The sound is urban, the growl of people and traffic, of machinery and life.  Suddenly you turn a corner and the noise is dimmed.  You look through a window to see a ballet lesson, or a choir rehearsing, the growl of the city still audible.  Turning another corner, you are back in the noise and the heat and the energy.' - Scobi

A collection of remixes hosted by Sony Creative via their Acidplanet community.  Jen Semrau's Wow Jones Mix was the grand prize winner, showcasing solid production and orchestration chops.  Saab's Retro Mix was the runner up because it reminded me of Haujobb in how it was completely rethought and sung in German and Russian.  The Lthrboots and Scobi mixes caught my ear so I felt I'd be doing a disservice by not including them.  


Delivered by <a href='http://www.label-worx.com'>Label Worx</a> on behalf of <a href='http://www.haloaskewent.com'>Halo Askew Entertainment</a>

ShapeTracer: Mixed The F#*% Up

Haunted Echo - ShapeTracer (Saab Retro Mix)

Haunted Echo - ShapeTracer (Scobi New York Mix)

Buy Links:
<a href="http://lwx.so/dRnu">The Singularity OST on Beatport</a>
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-singularity-ost/id1143393516">The Singularity OST on iTunes</a>

Original music for and inspired by the play, The Singularity.

VIRAGO THEATRE COMPANY presents THE SINGULARITY 
starring LAURA LUNDY-PAINE  DAN FAGAN  and  MICHAEL VEGA 
written by CRYSTAL JACKSON costume design BROOKE JENNINGS 
scenic design MIKEL GLASS sound design KRIS “HALO” PIERCE 
lighting design DUANE PAGANO 
production photography BREN COOMBS AMY FOWKES SAMANTHA BEDNARZ 
stage manager GARY QUINN directed by AMY FOWKES
presented at THE FLEA THEATER, NEW YORK july 15-august 30, 2015
Cover photo by Amy Fowkes and Kris 'Halo' Pierce

Delivered by <a href='http://www.label-worx.com'>Label Worx</a> on behalf of <a href='http://www.haloaskewent.com'>Halo Askew Entertainment</a>

The Singularity OST

Kris 'Halo' Pierce - Conceptione (Original Mix)

Electronic Saviors, Vol. 3: Remission

Biggest Fan

This is one of those happy accidents of the recording and mixing process. The original music tracks were recorded by Scott in early 1987 using a Korg DW-6000, a Casio SK-1 (on loan from the Fiber family), and recorded onto a Fostex X-15 Multitracker 4-Track Cassette Recorder.

Later in 1987, the infamous DSL sessions were recorded. For these mind altering sessions, Scott and I ended up using the other side of the cassette from the Idea H-2-12 recording.

Now, jump forward 2 years to the Summer of 1989 when I was mixing tracks for final release of The Secret Society project. Though most of the songs for The Secret Society release were recorded during the Summer of 1988 at Horse &amp; Buggy Highway Studios, I was looking for additional material to include on the final master. This is when I stumbled upon the cassette with Idea H-2-12. I popped the cassette in the X-15 and hit play.

Here's where the happy accident occurred...

The previous song that I had been mixing was a 4-track song and had all the levels wide open so, as the 2-tracks for Idea H-2-12 started to play, the 2-tracks from the other side of the tape were also audible. However, those 2-tracks from the DSL sessions were playing backwards! I thought it sounded "so cool" that I mixed it all together and we created our first (and only) backwards masking song.

Now you can be the judge of whether or not this song is as "cool" as I thought it was at the time and you'll also get bonus points if you can decipher the backwards masking vocals and sounds from the DSL sessions. But be warned, you may not want to know what the backwards masking vocals and sounds are!

The Secret Society

Idea H-2-12

During the Summer of 1989, affectionately referred to as "Vizator Summer" (more on that in future posts), I had a very uncertain future and was at a personal crossroads. I had just finished my first year of college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) where I was majoring in Music Education and I was in the process of transferring to West Chester University to continue my studies.

While trying to make sure that my transfer went through, I continued to play in a band called Vizator which was located in Pittsburgh, I was looking for an apartment with Scott in the West Chester/Philadelphia area, and, in between, I would unpack my car for a day or two every week in Shippensburg where I was "officially" calling home for the summer. I was also struggling to keep a long distance relationship alive with Mitzi Moyer (my girlfriend whom I met at IUP). I even managed a trip to Meadville, PA during that time to visit her.

Needless to say, I was stretched very thin, on the edge, essentially living out of my car with the last of my student loan money, and trying to pull it all together. Luckily, while in Pittsburgh, I was able to crash with Dave Irish (Vizator) and his mother and, while looking for a place to live with Scott in the Philadelphia area, Jackey's (Scott's future wife) parents (Pat and Gloria Dickey) gave me a place to stay and food to eat. This was pretty remarkable considering the fact that, at that time, I was really only a friend of Jackey's boyfriend. I owe them many thanks for what they did for me that summer and for the years that have followed!

Now, since the backdrop for this tumultuous time has been laid, I'll get to the song that I want to share. While staying with Scott, Jackey, and her parents sporadically over the summer, I was working on mixing the final release of The Secret Society cassette. In between mixing sessions, I created my very first complete song. Up until this point, I had worked on song ideas and completed songs as part of a group effort but never had I completed a song from start to finish on my own. It was done entirely on an Ensoniq ESQ-1 and was the first time that I had ever used a keyboard for sequencing. My previous sequencing experience was limited to my Korg DDD-5 drum machine.

The song that I created was simply called "Untitled Song". Though it is very raw and, obviously by listening to it, I didn't know how to quantize on the ESQ-1, it probably remains the most "emotional" and "personal" song that I have ever written. The crescendo of choir strings, Minimoog lead, and analog drums which is reached during the chorus of the song still evokes very vivid memories of this time in my life.

I wish to thank everyone that I mentioned above for helping me through my "Vizator Summer" and, as cheesy and clichéd as it may sound, this song was for Mitzi though I don't think that she ever had a chance to hear it. Maybe she'll stumble upon it now...

Unreleased

Untitled Song

In honor of Dirk Frey's birthday yesterday, I'd like to share a song that he recorded back in 1988(?). This gem from the FFS Vaults features Dirk on guitar and playing a Roland SH-09.

Dirk and I have both come a long way since playing air guitar to our favorite Heavy Metal records (Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Saxon, Accept, and many others) in his parent's basement while we were in 7th Grade. It was during one of those sessions that we decided to buy real instruments and form a band.

The rest, as they say, is history!

Dirk Frey - Experimental 1

This previously unreleased audio recording of Any Questions? - Dance For The Future is the original 10+ minute improvised version which was taken from the final day of recording at 1 Gold Street (otherwise known as Der Palast des Goldes) in the Summer of 1990. A reworked final version appeared on our Illegitimate Release 1990 product.

As with the other music recorded that day, MC2P4 and I were in almost perfect sync and pushed our digital synths to their sonic limits while sometimes overdriving our Fostex X-15 Multitracker 4-Track Cassette Recorder during the process.

MC2P4 laid the groundwork for this song by playing a sparse but deliberate synth bass line and contrapuntal synth string melody to accompany the drum rhythm I programmed. Meanwhile, I had free reign to solo endlessly over the progressions he played. I started with an improvised electric bass part which I quickly abandoned for an all out digital synth assault. The Korg DW-8000 and DW-6000 were my synths of choice for the session and I very liberally mutated every patch I encountered.

As if all of that wasn't enough, MC2P4 provides a vocal performance to accompany the sonic experiment. His lyrics warn us not to squander our present lives by living in the past or dreaming of the future. A struggle that we all battle with every day!

Any Questions? - Dance For The Future

Piano Tribute To Lefty The Outdoorian.  I'm not a "pianist" but I felt compelled to sit down at the piano, hit record on Apple Music Memos, and compose an improvisation tribute to my friend's outdoor cat that now plays at Rainbow Bridge.

Piano Tribute To Lefty The Outdoorian

This was the first song written for the album 'New Ghost'. So, it's pretty old. We recently adjusted the recipe to taste more like violence.

"Better Days"

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.

Idea H-2-12

Ttam Troll

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