I present, for your listening pleasure: ELEKTROFILIAK. Written and recorded between February-August of 2008, this album represents my take on a "vision quest". The audio imagery of a Alice-In-Wonderland-like trip experiencem mixed with an audio-spiritual theme and capturing of the now historical moments immediately following the commencement of the first legal same-sex marriage ceremony at San Francisco City Hall in June, of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin (r.i.p), and followed by crowd and parade sounds of San Francisco GLBT Pride Weekend later that month.

Given the Election next week, and how our history may be shaped, I think it's the perfect time to put this out in the world. Over the next week, I will write various things about the making of this album or discuss some of the ideas behind certain tracks. For now, I suggest you click on the icon below and just let your mind go where it will. When you click on the icon, you'll be taken to a page that will have two options: stream and download - click "download" and enjoy!

Part 1:



Prelude - Found the Treasure 1:10
bitcrusher 4:02
Club Scrub 4:23
The Emerald Imp 1:07
Vibration in E 2:50
dustblue 5:31
Stop Start Star 1:49

Part 2:



Love Grows Back 1:46
Kotu Casuarina 3:01
Elektrofiliak 4:18
Orbitess 3:21
Plant the Best Seed 0:44
Serena Swirl 6:28

Part 3:



Get Purple 5:55
Waxing Proud 7:33
Pisces Eclipse 6:19

The first subject I'll bring up about the album is the meditative quality of songs, such as in Serena Swirl and Vibration in E. One of the techniques I utilized while making these songs (and the whole record really) was using unorthodox plug-ins. In the song Serena Swirl, for example, the main synth figure is the only figure used in the whole song, but through the magic of plug-ins, you can make any synth figure or loop sound like something completely different or unexpected, yet at the same time, it sticks to the wall better than spaghetti. Even in the times where I used a discordant harmony, it all comes together and makes a compelling sound.

Another important facet of the experience of the album is the "vision quest" factor. I wanted to take people on my version of an "Alice In Wonderland" adventure. The suggestion of a dream sequence first heard at the beginning of the 2nd song, "Club Scrub", and goes through what a person's average dream cycle might be. Since dreams can happen in a totally random fashion, when you hear the transition of "dustblue" to "Stop Start Star", or this is my interpretation of an example of just how wildly dreams can jump. The dream ends with the listener being awakened to the sounds of the marriage ceremony recording at the end of "Get Purple", and continues through "Waxing Proud."

As you can probably guess by other tracks I have linked to in other org posts, the groove is an essential element to many of my compositions. However, in the case of "Get Purple", the synth hook alters the balance of the whole track and gives it a bleaker sound, yet adds warmth to the track as well. "Serena Swirl" might be the inverse to "Get Purple" (but might not). If I could get away with it, I'd call this whole album my version of "Dark Side of the Moon"...

I was at the SF protest rally this evening, and it ended up in the Castro, where a group of about a hundred (surrounded by hundreds of others) had themselves a sit-in, right there in the four corners. I have been riding the roller coaster of emotions about Prop 8, and so may you. I was quite moved for the second time in a week, by the way the youth of America have stepped up and taken their place at the table, both with electing Obama, and for being the only group in CA that overwhelmingly supported marriage equality.

The story of the footage at the end of "Get Purple" is this: I was lucky enough to get there right before the first wedding was to take place. I made my way across to the steps of City Hall, to await the news of the announcement of the first couple to get married. Then, someone came out of the hall, shouted to the crowd, "hey everyone, they're married!" to which cheers erupted. But then he did something that I will always remember for the rest of my life.

He made the announcement, and as he ran down the steps, he stopped and hugged me.

I know anyone could have been in the spot where I was. I know he was just releasing pent up emotion when he did it. But still, it's something just so special to me. I'll never forget it as long as I live.

I am deeply humbled and honored to have been witness to history this year, first in being there when Phyllis and Del got married, and also tonight for the march sit-in.

pt.1

Are all the vocals you?

Yuppers. It's all me, bay-bee. LOL (btw, I have shipped out a little somthin' somethin' to ya...you may get it as early as tomorrow.)

tony23k said:

Vibration In E is the first of two signatures on this album. It is here where the main character in the tale "goes through the little keyhole", so to speak, and once on the other side, he hears the sounds with his eyes (clock ticking, wind chimes, soft thunder). The wind chimes I recorded one windy winter night earlier this year - they didn't stay up for long afterward. The haunting sound of these (flanging) chimes still gets to me as much as when I first put them in the track. I decided to put in the repeated chant of "it's goin' right to my head" along with the breathing to make for easier digesting of the album.

eaglebear4839 said:

I'm impressed with the different character voices you used in the narrative.





:gettingearphonesready:

This is what makes the tools I work with so much fun, is that I can do anything I want to my voice (or any loop or instrument that I put in the sequencer). I can take a bass synth and make it into a fuzztone. It's all about plugging things in where they conventionally don't belong (now if only the Prop 8 supporters could think this way, huh?)

tony23k said:

eaglebear4839 said:

I listened to part 1 last week sometime....I love the ticking clock,
wind chimes, and thunder

I also like the second to last drum piece, which must have been "dust blue"?

Indeed it is dustblue. But I suggest you go check out pt. 2 and 3. I would have posted all three parts as a single track like they're supposed to be, but it ended up being easier.

obsessed said:

Interesting pic. Is it in response to the musica?

tony23k said:

eaglebear4839 said:

This is really evident on the funky, "Club Scrub".
::::: this track .....
&
agreed with the bold

eaglebear4839 said:

Yes.




lifted

Stop Start Star also features plug-in experimentation. Notice how the drum sounds seem to get thicker and almost murky? That's all done through working the plug-ins (one of the plug-ins used is called "overdrive".) One of the reasons I like this album like I do is because I was able to let the setlist coalesce as much as possible, but I think it still has an organic feel to it.

tony23k said:

This is where the meat of the album is, and by now you are (ideally) feeling its pull. Starting with the chant "Love Grows Back", which is haunting and elegiac, and pulling into Kotu..., the listener is led to an underwater rave atmosphere, which is captured by the title track and Orbitess, which for all intents and purposes is being played by a band of dolphins. Plant the Best Seed is a brief interlude and leads to Serena Swirl, which is where the listener swims up to meet the air.

Part 2:



Love Grows Back 1:46
Kotu Casuarina 3:01
Elektrofiliak 4:18
Orbitess 3:21
Plant the Best Seed 0:44
Serena Swirl 6:28

Hhmmm...a hidden track.
nice drums,synth and bells...nice touch Eric.
It has an excellent fade.

What's it called?

That would be Serena Swirl, but the hidden track, if you will, is actually at the end of Get Purple, where the crowd sounds outside of SF City Hall were recorded.

tony23k said:

eaglebear4839 said:

Oh,..ok!

Upon closer inspection,i can see the dot between Epilogue and Pisces Eclipse.

standout tracks-----6&12

track 6, for it's cold sinister feel.
especially the kettle? drums.





track 12,for it's dreammmy floatability.You can put this on repeat and fall asleep to it...and wake up refreshed to it.

the cd is a wonderful addition to my dance/electronic collection.



a not e
[Edited 12/14/08 12:53pm]

Who is your target audience?
What creative things have you done to saturate that market?

Tracks 6 and 12, deserve videos..... if they don't already exist...

I don't know if I have a target audience in mind for this one. I can't think of any one group that needs to hear this over another, and I don't I could get away with answering "everyone". Still, I know that my music would be best if it were niche marketed. Maybe people who listen to most music with headphones or something...

eaglebear4839 said:

There are a few songs on "Elektrofiliak",that benefit from the use of headphones.

The majority of the cd is best when it engulfs the entire room.

I'm not sure where the music industry is headed.But i can see the benefits of independent artist/musicians finding their niche.
There's a whole generation of people that won't deal with mp3's.
Yet,.. another generation that seems to not need anything tangible to go with their music memories.

And the music keeps coming....