Dub Reggae version of Walk on By by Burt Bacharach

Walk on By - Pedestrian Dub Mix

Walk On By - Pedestrian Dub Mix

#deathmetal
#metal
#blackmetal
#rock
#punk
#pop
#screamo
#trending
#heavy
#thrash

Something to Cry About

Greetings and good afternoon to my SC friends. This is the 10th and final song intended for my upcoming album ‘What Color Is Your Paradox’. It is also my 7th mind-blowing collaboration with our dear friend Carlos Vivanco (https://soundcloud.com/carlosvivanco-1, https://carlosvivanco1.bandcamp.com). 

This piece was highly entertaining and challenging to work on. We started with clearly defined regions (mine being the more techno sounding stuff… Carlos building the traditional instrument sections). I then mangled the whole thing, and tried to blur the lines more as the song progresses, until both worlds felt fully merged by the end. At least, that was the goal. I’ll let you decide if the structure succeeds in that regard. :)

The title is also quite significant to me at this point in my life; based on the idea of ‘masking’, and our growing inability to do so. 

If you aren’t familiar with the term ‘masking’, one Mental Health Care website I found defines it this way: “Masking often involves suppressing or hiding true emotions, which can lead to a buildup of unresolved feelings and contribute to increased stress, anxiety, and emotional turmoil in the long-term. In the context of mental health and neurodivergence, masking refers to the actions or coping strategies that individuals use to conceal their genuine thoughts, emotions, or challenges.”

It didn’t really occur to me at first that I was masking when I was younger. I guess that idea doesn’t resonate when you’re deeply lost in the illusion; at least, until something makes it obvious. But in hindsight, I’ve worn many masks over the course of my life (Art Director, Technician, Pre-Press Specialist and Graphic Artist would be some of my professional masks. And I would even go so far as to include Husband, Father and Son, since I was on auto-pilot during the earliest stages of those as well). 

As my life progressed, I felt more and more insincere in those roles. I felt something was wrong. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Then COVID (something that actually required us to wear real masks. What irony!) came along, and miraculously changed that for all of us. We gained the necessary space we needed, to finally see the illusion more clearly. Now, that illusion grows more fragile and transparent by the day. So while I’m still in the early stages of trying to figure out the new paradigm… I suspect the really critical takeaway at this point is just recognizing when we’re being our genuine selves, and when we’re lost in a role; especially if that role is debilitating to our personal growth and well being.

Another thing I’m thinking a lot on these days…. Society is dependent on me playing those roles. And society doesn’t really care whether I’m happy or not (as long as I keep paying my bills, and buying their products, and believing their lies). So maybe, just maybe, society doesn’t have my best interests at heart (as I had originally hoped). Maybe… just maybe… we’re going to need to redefine who we are personally, as we stop playing along with this globally unconscious and ultimately destructive agenda.

Thick and chunky topic, I know. But that’s the way the world feels to me these days… like we needed a brisk slap across the face to wake us all up. COVID was that slap (and probably just the first of many still to come). It’s time to prioritize our own self interests; because if we don’t, they certainly won’t. So rip off those masks, and let your freak flag fly. It’s our life, and we’ll be the ones sitting on our deathbed, asking ourselves if we lived life true to ourselves…. or if we just fulfilled the role demanded by this illusion.

We hope you enjoy “Cracks In The Surface”; and it inspires you to think about what aspects of your reality are cracking. Keep in mind… if you still have a pulse, there is always time to change things up. :)

Paradox?

Cracks In The Surface | Carlos Vivanco & GrevusAnjl

Big thanks to my friend Ēla for making this incredible track for me to drop into in my 3rd genre mashing. Adding Darkfolk into trip-hop…killer beats…Check out Ēla’s amazing music here!

Guitar/Lyrics/Atmosphere by ðüşț

Drëamş-Ēla & ðüşț

A tightened up mix of my latest track with improved dynamics and crispy synth goodness.

Occam's Raygun - Milk Of Amnesia - Forget Me Not Mix

Trying to get a track right and then collapsing them with a vocal on top ..

Oyasumi

Disquiet Junto 0657 was an invitation to compose a pice out of overlapping tones that start and stop suddenly.

I created multiple layers of synth pads, each holding a single note of random duration in the key of Am. Next I bounced the audio, slowed it by 75%, and reversed it to create abrupt stops in each tone. I blended that audio back into the mix to provide a low aural foundation. On top of this I recorded a couple of additional pads with held tones, chopped up with a grain stutter plugin. To wrap it up, I improvised a couple of wandering leads with "broken" synths in Cmaj/Amin.

I worked hard on the spacial mix, so headphones or a good pair of stereo monitors are recommended.

More on this week's Disquiet Junto: https://disquiet.com/0657

Disquiet Junto

Tails on Tones (disquiet0657)

a8h1diag

For saxophone & electronics. Premiered by Michele Bianchini in July 2024 during the Contemporary Music Week orginised by the ensemble Il suono Giallo in Sansepolcro, Italy.

Songs to be burnt n°2

Made for Naviar Records' 590th Haiku Challenge

Stream without a name [naviarhaiku590]

Monophobia

William Elliott makes experimental synthesizer-based music under a number of aliases, including Phantom Oscillator, GASGIANTS, Interferenzmaschine, and Occam's Raygun. His uncompromising improvisational style has led him to embrace hardware synths such as the iconic Soma Laboratory Lyra-8 and Eurorack modular synths among others.