Magenta (2020) is an electronic music album presented as a continuous mix of 10 cohesive but eclectic tracks. Originally inspired by impromptu bedtime fairytales, listeners are taken through a weaving journey between dark worlds and euphoric dreamscapes. The album was produced and meant be played continuously through, but listeners are encouraged to scroll through and discover passages that fit their current mood and mind state.

The instrumentation used throughout the album include Eurorack systems; analogue and digital synthesizers; and software instruments, running through Ableton. For more information, please contact: info@wunderfish.com

Magenta

‘Meissa’ means “the shining one” in Arabic and is represented as the ‘head’ of the constellation, Orion. It features granular samples of my niece and nephew as toddlers with sequenced baselines sprinkled with acid leads, dreamy woodwinds, and randomized percussions. This, the album’s final track, was a late addition but needed to be included as it was inspired by that time period late at night just before falling asleep.

Meissa

One of my personal favorite tracks on the album, Blue Dream was originally sketched on an iPad using the Fugue Machine (https://alexandernaut.com/fuguemachine/), a multi-playhead sequencer made by Alexandernaut. This machine uses composition techniques from Baroque music and Serialism and it was cool to program different sequences that would start, end, and loop at different intervals. The music evolves in unexpected ways but maintains its overall feel of hope and optimism - much like how we may dream in the early hours before we wake.

Blue Dream

This retro sci-fi inspired downtempo track was originally produced as a DAW-less jam with my trusty Eurorack system. ‘Indigenous Planets’ is a chance for reflection about our state on planet earth, and is consequently where the album morphs into a more dreamlike state.

Indigenous Planets

Tides was inspired by a recent summer spent in Alaska. Native populations there have several different words for "tide" - and I used a sample of a woman reciting some of these words and phrases. Also have a quick sample of my niece, Ada on this track. Acid bass is at the forefront of this track to go along with deep pulsing kicks and quirky analogue noises as ‘Tides’ rise and fall.

Tides

Pure analogue fun. This track was produced primarily messing around with a Eurorack system and recording the resulting experiments into Ableton. There’s something to be said about the sound of hardware. DAW-less jams rock.

Odd Numbers

The album’s journey continues with ‘Illuminated,’ a hard-hitting tech-house track. The driving baseline nearly overloads your senses before granular samples, reversed plucks, and calming strings lure the listener to a different direction. By the end, the following track’s (‘Odd Numbers’) more analogue sensibilities begin to kick in.

Illuminated

As the most energetically uplifting track on the album, this track is a throwback dance anthem. Marrying Vince Clarke-styled synth pop and 90s progressive house, the mood starts dark but evolves to express pure joy. This track is a slight contrast to the rest of the album, but I decided to indulge my love of epic-sounding dance pop and nu disco themes.

The Western Front

Shimmery synths quickly evolve into an energetic, driving four-on-the-floor beat and somber, but uplifting analogue synth strings reminiscent of 90s Berlin techno. Two concurrent bass lines introduce a touch of acid to a track that is perfect for a late night drive along a dark stretch of highway.

Decades

Go! We are suddenly thrusted into the album’s world with a track filled with driving rhythms, dynamically filtered synth plucks, dark wave bass synths, and sinister strings. The listener will also encounter crunchy vocal samples sprinkled throughout as the track evolves from dark wave to dark techno (the album’s next track, ‘Decades’). This track starts abruptly as a continuation of the opening track so I recommend pairing this with the previous track, ‘Dark Soliel’, together on a playlist.  This is Depeche Mode meets Orbital.

Storm Grains

This opening track serves as the intro to the album with dark and hypnotic themes. Made primarily with Eurorack synths and carried through with samples from recent travels through Europe and Asia (songs from Siena’s famed Palio are prominently featured). We are then lead into the album’s universe.

Magenta

Wunderfish