German Electro Live Act & producer Shokh delivers his debut LP. Repetitive, hypnotic, uncanny. An eclectic ride through the enigmatic realms of the underground where tension and contrast are his forte.

The production of Jesus Christ Superstar and my participation in it remains one of the high points of my musical career. This took place during my first year of college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in February 1989.

Though I had been playing double bass or electric bass for almost every ensemble in the IUP Music Department, it was a honor to be chosen as the bass player for this "rock opera". I was the only freshman in the orchestra and the part I was to play was very high-profile and demanding.

I can still remember the first smaller "rock band" rehearsal with Chris Tackett (keyboards), Dave Foley (electric guitar), Tim Lutte (drums), and John DeStafano (percussion). They were all seniors and very accomplished musicians and there I was, the freshman new kid on the block. I was well aware that the rehearsal was really my "try out" and that I needed to prove my playing skills to them and to Gary Bird, the conductor.

From the first note of the opening Overture during that rehearsal, it became quickly apparent that I had "come to play". I could see their skeptic faces fade and, by the end of the rehearsal, I had allayed any fears they might have had. From that point on, the rehearsals went smoothly and all of our performances went well and were well-received by the public.

Some of my favorite memories of that production include all the jam sessions that the "rock band" would have before and after rehearsals. When we weren't doing free form improvisations, we would play covers of Frank Zappa songs or The Fish by Yes. In fact, it was Dave Foley that convinced us to do The Fish after he came into rehearsal one day with his typical glassy stare. He proceeded to hold up his keychain, which held a large (6"+) purple rubber fish, and declared, "We are going to play this!" How could we refuse??!!

However, my favorite memory is also the most esoteric and really has nothing to do with the production. It took place during one of the dress rehearsals in which IUP students were allowed to attend. It was during one of these rehearsals in Fisher Auditorium that Gary Bird (the conductor) took a moment between songs and asked the audience how everything sounded. Unbeknownst to me, my friend (and Associate) Everett (Rhett) Hammacher was in the balcony and took that opportunity to scream, "Turn up the bass!!!". Of course my bass didn't need to be turned up. It's one of those "you had to be there" or you had to know Rhett to know "why" that moment is so memorable and funny. I dedicate that little "flashback" to my fellow Associates - Ed Hartford, Rhett Hammacher, and James Hazen. Without them, my days at IUP would not have been so enlightened.

Enough of my ramblings. Here is the first 12 minutes of the 1989 IUP production of Jesus Christ Superstar. This recording was taped during a closed dress rehearsal and contains the following songs...

Synopsis
Overture

Act One
Prologue
Aria: Heaven On Their Minds

Friday .. Bethany
Scene: What's The Buzz?
Scene: Strange Thing Mystifying

IUP - Jesus Christ Superstar

Any Questions? - Darkness release from 1992 was the precursor to what eventually became our Imbued Vagary project. During this period, I spent a significant amount of time creating audio sculptures which reflected my increasingly bleak dystopian views.

You Have Nowhere To Go is a brooding and eerie soundscape which captures a very intimate journey into one of those darker places. It is the shortest of three songs which made it onto the final release and is the only one to feature movie dialogue samples. The other two songs, Ice Rift and Procession, are long, sprawling instrumentals.

So, wait for the Witching Hour, when all is still and silent, then follow the trail of bread crumbs I left behind...

FFS Web Site Audio

Any Questions? - You Have Nowhere To Go

***PARENTAL ADVISORY - EXPLICIT LYRICS***

For over 15 years, we have done studio consulting work for clients and friends. This work consists of anything from making equipment recommendations, installing computer and musical hardware and software, equipment and software training, wire installation, calibrations, and everything in between.

A long time client and friend of ours, Kevin "Curve" Young of Platinum Recording Studios, has us in quite frequently to help him. Curve is a well known R&B, Rap, and Gospel producer and artist and always has a fresh batch of songs to play for us every time that we visit.

At our last visit (on 02/28/10), he contracted us to test and optimize his Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 audio interface for use with his Apple Logic Pro Studio music software. To do this, I loaded a new R&B flavored song that Curve had been working on into his Logic Pro 9 sequencer software and began testing.  After configuring his interface software settings, I asked Scott to go into the live room and improvise some lyrics over the music track that I had loaded so I could test the inputs of the audio interface.

Here's where things get interesting... As most of our friends know, we have the habit of replacing serious songs lyrics with "comedic" and sometimes vulgar ones.  On this occasion, there were no lyrics to replace but Scott chose to improvise some lewd ones anyway.  No one in the studio could believe or contain their laughter at what Scott was singing/rappin'.  Afterwards, I just had to edit and mix the track so we could "share" it.  After all, some of our early hits like Baby, Please Suck Me and the infamous Come Fudge My Brown were never recorded.  I was determined not to let this one slip away.  

So, here it is...  Scott singing and rappin' to a R&B groove that we've titled Stink On My Hang Low.

mC2p4 - Stink On My Hang Low

Extinction was one of the final songs composed for Any Questions? - Mutation release in 2000. After completing several harsh and aggressive Industrial tracks, I felt the need to slow things down, retreat inwards, and create a dark, sinister electronic soundscape to compliment the other songs on the release.

The result was an ominously bleak sounding instrumental. Birthed during one late night recording session as I watched John Carpenter's 1994 film, In The Mouth Of Madness, I truly felt as if I was spiraling deeper and deeper into an abyss of Lovecraftian despair. A sample from the film, "Every species can smell its own extinction", exemplifies this mood and provided the impetus for the song.

MC2P4 and LTJTHC came in during a later recording session and added to the horror I created. LTJTHC's tribal-like electronic percussion urges the song forward while MC2P4's eerie synthetic leads fill the listener with a sense of total futility.

Come join us on this descent downward...

Mutation

Any Questions? - Extinction

Procession is an audio sculpture culled from Any Questions? - Darkness. This rare 1992 release offered an early glimpse into our Imbued Vagary project and an example of the synthetic tapestries that we would weave into our future film work.

Like the other songs from Darkness, this electronic soundscape invites the listener to follow me as I delve into my own dark psyche. Created during solitary late night recording sessions at FFS II, I would work through the night until the first rays of the dawn burned my skin. At that time, I would retreat until Darkness, once again, ruled the night.

Darkness

Any Questions? - Procession

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

In 2000, we began recording songs for the first Obomatic CD. The first song completed was a song idea I had originally sketched together while on vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC in 1997 using only a Roland MC-303. Steve O took that rough sketch of an idea and turned it into a more complete song. Scottologic and I added some additional parts and the song, T3, was born. I mention this song creation process because it was anomalous to the rest of the CD.

The second song we recorded was a Steve O track called Antidote. As with the rest of the tracks for the CD, Holy Uncontrollio!!!, Steve O would bring in his rather complete song demos and then the rest of the band would add their parts to them. Here's a previously unreleased early mix for Antidote which is essentially the Steve O demo with a rough vocal track and some additional synth parts added.

Obomatic - Antidote (Early Mix)

The sessions for our 1992 release, Any Questions? - Prey For Death, produced many song ideas which were never fully developed. Terminal was one such idea. With it's up tempo, driving beat, it was quite different than the other tracks which ended up on the original, official product. It's sound is really more reminiscent of the style we'd explore on our follow up effort, Any Questions? - Death.

When I was compiling tracks in the Fall of 2001 for the 10th Anniversary Special Edition CD release of Any Questions? - Prey For Death, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit this once cast aside song idea and include it as a bonus track.

There wasn't much to do to bring this song to life and complete it. All of the musical elements are exactly as they were back in '92. I had the MIDI data and all of the original sounds sources so I loaded up the song and recorded it onto our 24-track ADAT system. From there, we did have to come up with lyrics for it. The original song idea had never evolved to that point so MC2P4 penned a rough draft of the lyrics from which I then added to and refined to fit my vocal style. The result is what I share with you now. Enjoy!

Prey For Death (Special Edition)

Any Questions? - Terminal

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.

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

Ttam Troll

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