#this is mostly just a compliment to the soundscaping on this

[littletealights]

WHY IS HE IN MY EAR?? GET HIM THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME

[kookygranger]

Hi!

I'm so late!

But I'd love to know about HF!E

for the wip game!

Thank you, Betty! ✨

HF!E stands for High Fidelity!Eddie. It isn't a HF au it just takes place in a record store and I didn't have a name for it. It was an idea for a one-shot inspired by this playlist featuring gothic/spooky songs before goth was a genre.

It made me think about Eddie who just moved to Chicago with Corroded Coffin and is slowly being accepted by the scene. Reader works at a record store and is playing this mixtape over the speakers and Eddie very much falls in love.

I started writing it and then didn't really like it but here's a lil' snippet:

“What the fuck are you listening to anyway?”

“I made a pre-Halloween mix. Music that lead to goth before goth was a thing.” You frown as you try to unstick a bright red sticker from the price gun you’d been tapping on the pile of vinyl.

Eddie smiles to himself as he continues to pretend he’s browsing and not tuning into your conversation.

“Are you going to The Allied tonight? There’s some new band from Indiana or something playing, apparently they do a sick cover of Master of Puppets.”

Eddie pauses in his faux perusing for a second as he awaits your reply.

“I wasn’t really planning on it, no.”

The guy huffs, “No? What was your plan, going home to sulk to The Velvet Underground?”

“I don’t sulk–“

“You do when you listen to The Velvet Underground.”

“What do you want me to do? Pogo to Heroin? Anyway, I was gonna work on an article actually.”

“Why don’t you write about this band tonight? Tim says they’re pretty good. He saw them a couple of weeks ago at the Metro.”

“Tim said that about that god awful noise band that played at De Salle’s. It was the worst four hours of my life. I thought my ears were actually going to bleed.”

“Whatever, you say that like you’re not currently playing the most depressing German synth music that nobody in their right mind would listen to.” He points out the new song playing from the speakers behind you.

“First of all, this is David Bowie’s Low. And if you knew as much about music as you claim to, you’d know that this was his seminal work in his Berlin era and an ambient soundscape masterpiece. Secondly–“

“I like it.”

Both of your heads shoot up at Eddie’s interruption. He blushes and clears his throat as you catch his eye and the corner of your mouth quirks up. “Sorry, I just–it’s a good mixtape. I like the theme.” He frowns and shakes his head at himself, he doesn’t know what came over him. Who is this guy that’s bothering you, anyway? You have amazing taste and he’s pretty sure you’re the most angelic thing he’s ever seen. You gesture in his direction and look back at the guy that’s teasing you.

“The customer is always right, Simon.”

Eddie moves quickly to the B section and finds the album you were talking about before heading over to you.

“Did you find everything you need?” You smile at him sweetly as you hop off the counter and take the record from him. “I’m sorry, I should’ve asked before. Customer service isn’t exactly my strongest skill.”

The guy, Simon, snorted. Eddie couldn’t take his eyes off the way your face lit up quietly when you realised what album he picked.

“What are your strongest skills?” That was such a weird question Munson, what the hell?

You looked up at him a little taken aback, before a small smile crept up on your face.

“Talking about music…or” you shake your head in contemplation, “writing about it actually.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Maybe it’s not so much a skill, more like an obsession.”

“She’s actually kind of good.” Simon butts in with a shrug and you roll your eyes.

“Such a high compliment cuz.”

You were cousins. He still had a shot.

“You write for magazines?” Eddie asks.

“Zines mostly,” you point to a stack of xeroxed pamphlets on the counter, “but I’ve published a few reviews with Spin and The Face.”

Eddie raises his eyebrows, “That’s pretty cool.”

You breathe out a laugh and take the cash he hands you, collecting his change. “Thanks.”

“Wait, you're Eddie, right?” He turns to Simon, almost forgetting he was there. “Your band’s playing at The Allied tonight? I met your drummer Gareth at a show last week.”

“Uh yeah that’s me. We’re called Corroded Coffin.”

“Cool name.” You smirk and hand him his record wrapped in paper. Eddie tucks it under his arm, his dimples showing as he smiles back at you.

“Thanks.”

“You’re from Indiana then?” You call back to Simon’s earlier statement, as Eddie doesn’t make a move to immediately leave.

He rubs the back of his neck as he nods, “Yeah. Just moved here a couple of months ago with my band.”

“Welcome to Chicago, Eddie.” You smile and introduce yourself, “Let me know if there’s ever anything I can do for you…vinyl wise I mean.”

“Thanks,” he scratches the stubble on his jaw before stepping away from the counter. “Maybe I’ll see you tonight at the show?” He tries to keep his voice casual, but there’s a hint of hope in there.

You bite your lip and shrug, “Yeah, maybe you will.”

Eddie nods and takes his queue to leave, the bell jingling again as he steps back out into the cold.

“Yeah, maybe you will.” Simon mocks you in a breathy imitation and you roll your eyes. “So now that you know the singer is cute are you coming?”

“Obviously! You better get me on the door list, or I swear to god I’m telling Aunt Carol about the stash in your underwear drawer.”

Okay, there were a lot more High Fidelity references than I remembered. Fun fact: I have read the book and watched the film and HBO reboot so many times I could quote word-for-word. I also dressed up as Zoe Kravitz's Rob for an office Halloween party once, complete with the Wings Over America live album that she talks about in that scene with the misogynistic cheater. Only one girl got it because she was a fan of Zoe Kravitz lol.

[a-moth-to-the-light]

Comeback Celebration: Giving Purplekiss An Album

Happy Purplekiss comeback to all of us! Though I've been a fan for a long time, I'm excited because this is my first comeback with Purplekiss officially on my list of favorite artists :)

if you want to see me talk about music that's actually by purplekiss: [my top ten purplekiss songs]

Okay, time for my made-up album!

Album Title: home.

As inspiration for the sound of this album, I'm thinking: liminal spaces & feelings of hollowness. I love the different ways Purplekiss invokes horror through pop music, and I think it would be cool to give them an album that expands on that idea! I'm not a huge visuals person, but I imagine the visual concept would be something like Red Velvet's "Psycho", that fragile, frilly kind of haunted. See also: Nicole Dollanganger, in general.

12 of the 13 tracks ended up being all-English songs, which wasn't intentional--I imagined this album to expand on their Korean discography, but it just happened that the songs I chose for this soundscape are mostly in English! (I actually think their English-language debut should be something more upbeat, in the vein of "Zombie".) In my made-up world, these songs would be translated & this would be a regular Korean release.

1. Soil -- Giriboy

Look, I just need an excuse to talk about Giriboy's album Novel ("Water" is so so good y'all, it's so so so so so so good). "Soil" is very rap-heavy, but there's a lot of space in the instrumental for vocal layering--so every member can add to the track! This is THE chill album opener, a little strange and unease-inducing, but overall pretty normal... right? I think it's a great starting point for my liminal-space sound to expand from.

2. goodnight n go -- Ariana Grande (TITLE TRACK)

Purplekiss makes, above all things, really solid pop music! "goodnight n go" has the same perfectly put-together feel as "Cast pearls before swine" and "Oh My Gosh", but it also has the spacey, empty atmospherics that I want for this album.

3. Atlantis - Extra Sped Up Version -- Seafret

This chorus is just REALLY awesome, so I think Purplekiss should sing it!

4. Easy -- Troye Sivan

I love this song; I love how it's hollow and echo-y, I love how it makes me feel submerged. I think this sound would really suit Purplekiss--it's a hazy sonic world to compliment their rough-around-the-edges vocal style, and there's plenty of space in the melody for the members to give us some really lovely riffs.

5. It'll All Work Out -- Phoebe Bridgers

I actually like the original Tom Petty version a lot more, but I think Bridgers' murky, downbeat take on "It'll All Work Out" fits this album's concept better!

6. Fire of Unknown Origin -- Blue Öyster Cult (PROMOTED B-SIDE)

A small break from the overall album aesthetic for some whimsical, upbeat 80's rock. I have a feeling this would be a huge hit for Purplekiss--it leans into the colorful, fun side of their discography, while also continuing with the tongue-in-cheek horror concept of songs like "Pretty Psycho" (these lyrics are perfect for their concept, truly). I would LOVE to see a choreography for this song, and the vocal lines in "Fire of Unknown Origin" are actually pretty slow, with plenty of space for the vocals of the Purplekiss members to shine through.

7. Sober -- P!nk

Wine-colored ballads are, I think, one of the defining traits of Purplekiss' musical style, and P!nk's "Sober" might just be my favorite example of that dusty maroon-ish feeling. I love the buzz of the guitar, I love the wailing strings; "Sober" is raw enough to fit in with Purplekiss' stripped-down ballads, but it's also dramatic enough to compliment the orchestral pop that's sprinkled throughout their discography.

8. DKLA -- Troye Sivan, Tkay Maidza

Oh hey, it's one of the few songs here with an actual rap section! Haunting production & a sharp beat perfectly suited to a cool choreo--this song is just begging to be a dark-concept kpop song. I think Purplekiss have the vocals to really warm this song up, too--it's about love, even if it's buried deep under pain, and I think the members could really bring that emotion closer to the surface, making their version a whole new kind of compelling.

9. Needed Me -- Rihanna

I love this instrumental so so so so so much, and I couldn't resist putting it alongside the Troye Sivan tracks I've included in this album, since they all have such creative ways of invoking desolation with their production. (And I hope this is obvious, but if this song is sung by non-Black artists, the n-word should be written out!)

10. Dreams -- Fleetwood Mac

A classic, and the queen of atmosphere. "Dreams" is wildly catchy, but also surprisingly hollow--it doesn't have a lot going on, and what is going on is this terribly exhausted kind of resignation. Though Stevie Nicks's voice is grittier than those of the Purplekiss ladies, they share these mournful, deep tones; I think a Stevie-fronted track is a perfect match for Purplekiss. (Also, I would LOVE to see them sell the hell out of that delightfully passive-aggressive "I keep my visions to myself...")

11. I'll Wait for You to Call -- Nicole Dollanganger

I knew I had to include a Nicole Dollanganger song in this tracklist, since her music captures exactly the kind of liminal-space horror I wanted for this album. This wisp of a track is meant to break your heart, before we move into some brighter, more hopeful end-of-album tracks.

12. Rager teenager! -- Troye Sivan

Yeah, here's another Troye Sivan song (it's the last one, I promise!). It's a little eerie and hollow, like "Easy" and "DKLA", but "Rager teenager!" is gentler and sweeter overall--its production feels like the kind of magic you hear about in bedtime stories, a fluffy-pink color that hopefully pulls the album together by calling back to "goodnight n go".

13. Crystal Ball -- P!nk (PRE-RELEASE)

Another wine-colored ballad! This is a bittersweet, but uplifting overall, addition to that more mournful side of Purplekiss' discography, and it has these gorgeous melodic lines that I would love to hear the members sing (see: "love just needs a witness, and a little forgiveness, and a halo of patience, and a less sporadic pace, and..."). I think this would be a great pre-release to show off their vocal colors, which are pretty unique for their generation, and a nice album closer, since it isn't quite as depressing as some of the other tracks.

[thelensofyashunews]

ROC MARCIANO SHARES NEW ALBUM MARCIOLOGY

New York Hip-Hop multi-hyphenate Roc Marciano has just shared his highly-anticipated album Marciology, which includes features from Larry June, Flee Lord, CRIMEAPPLE, T.F, Knowledge the Pirate, and GREA8GAWD. While Roc’s latest offering is mostly self-produced, the album also boasts production credits from The Alchemist and Animoss, and is released in partnership with PIMPIRE RECORDS and Equity Distribution, the in-house distribution of Roc Nation. Marciology’s hypnotic lead single “Gold Crossbow” recently landed a spot on Pitchfork’s Selects playlist, and was hailed by BrooklynVegan as a track that finds Roc’s “eerie, post-boom bap style sounding as gripping as ever”. The Marciology rollout marks the start of a new era for the MC and producer, arriving alongside the recent announcement of a forthcoming multi-date North American and European tour. Roc Marciano is a storied emcee on the heels of a career-minting run of critically-acclaimed solo LPs, from his respective 2018 and 2019 albums Marcielago and Mt. Marci, to his 2020 instrumental project Pimpstrumentals, and The Elephant Man’s Bones in collaboration with The Alchemist. Roc Marciano has also spent the past few years sitting behind the boards, creating the soundscape for notable underground Hip-Hop projects like Stove God Cooks’ debut album Reasonable Drought and Flee Lord’s 2021 LP Delgado. Marciology serves as Roc Marci’s eleventh studio album, as he steps back into the booth and showcases why COMPLEX says he “continues to run New York’s underground scene” even at this point in his illustrious, decades-long career.

Tapping in with a crew of familiar favorites, Marciology boasts contributions from frequent collaborators Larry June, Jay Worthy, Flee Lord, CRIMEAPPLE, T.F, Knowledge the Pirate, and GREA8GAWD, as well as beats from The Alchemist and Animoss. Marciology’s recently-released lead single “Gold Crossbow” highlighted Roc’s signature razor-sharp bravado and clear-eyed realism – setting the grimy tone for the remainder of the album. With dark instrumentals to compliment his cold-blooded bar work, Marciology is proof that the legendary emcee continues to adapt to the times while only improving his imaginative storytelling. Highlighted by Roc Marciano’s signature urgent flow and contemplative raps splashed across a canvas of nostalgic, old-school production, the long-awaited Marciology marks his first solo album in nearly four years – a staunch reminder that the producer and emcee is as hungry as he’s ever been. Widely hailed as a godfather of underground Hip-Hop, Roc Marciano is continuing to shape the sound of the next generation, playing a key role in the resurgence of contemporary Hip-Hop.

[nicole-gasbarro]

Beyoncé's "Renaissance": a futuristic take on music of the past

Beyoncé is an iconic and well-renowned artist in the modern musical landscape. She is known for her incredible voice and bad bitch mentality. Her songs exude sheer confidence and her sexiness is undeniable. It would be unreasonable to discuss Beyoncé and not acknowledge her adoring and ginormous fanbase. Beyoncé has amassed millions of fans who have stayed dedicated to her and her music for years. I have always been a casual fan of Beyoncé and enjoy her music mostly for nostalgic entertainment purposes since I grew up with her music from the early 2000s and 2010s. I have always been impressed by the control she has over her voice and the talent and skill she has for singing. However, I have never been super intrigued by her occasional dip into rapping as I find her singing voice to be most intriguing.

On her latest album, Beyoncé explores topics ranging from sex, love, freedom, hard work, and taking on a new journey in life. The soundscape of this album lies mostly in dance hall music with a driving beat, taking inspiration from disco and electronic music of the 70s and 80s. Bey even makes direct reference to disco music of the 70s in "SUMMER RENAISSANCE" in which she interpolates Donna Summer's 1977 hit "I Feel Love".

"SUMMER RENAISSANCE" by Beyonce (1:05-1:27)

Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" (0:44-1:43)

We also see her reference the 1999 hit "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred on "ALIEN SUPERSTAR".

Beyonce's "ALIEN SUPERSTAR" (0:56-1:11)

Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" (0:25-0:40)

Overall, this album contains mainly dance hall and R&B music with infusions of 80s synth pop, 70s disco, and afrobeat music. The album cover and theme itself is that of afro-futurism and explores supernatural subjects and creatures such as unicorns and aliens. On this album, Beyonce also explores black joy in songs such as "CUFF IT" and "MOVE". She explores self love and body positivity on "COZY" and throughout the album.

My favorite tracks of this album include "BREAK MY SOUL", "SUMMER RENAISSANCE", "CUFF IT" and "ALIEN SUPERSTAR". My least favorite tracks were "THIQUE" and "I'M THAT GIRL". Songs I thought were just okay include "AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM", "ALL UP IN YOUR MIND", "HEATED", "MOVE", "VIRGO'S GROOVE", "CHURCH GIRL", "COZY", and "ENERGY".

Overall, I quite enjoyed this album and would rate it a 6.5/10. I thought that the genres of music she fused and experimented with were intriguing and the funkier, groovy R&B esque songs where her voice was on full display were my favorite. Unfortunately, on the songs that took on more of a club, dance hall music sound with clunky percussion and distorted wooziness, I felt as though this did not compliment her vocals in a harmonius way. I may be biased as someone who prefers traditional R&B rather than electronic dance music but I felt as though the songs on this album that took on this sound were pretty uninspired and only served the purpose of being a hit to play at a club. Additionally, I felt that the lyricism on this album was at times poor and explored the same subject matter over and over. On the song "THIQUE" in particular, Bey's confidence, sexuality, and wealth on the track were expressed through lyrics such as "Ass getting bigger, Cash getting bigger" and on "HEATED", "got a lot of bands, got a lot of Chanel on me". I didn't feel as though these lyrics were very complex or had a deeper meaning. They mainly felt as though Bey was flaunting her wealth and looks through braggadocio. I preferred the lyrics off of "PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA", "BREAK MY SOUL", "SUMMER RENAISSANCE" and "MOVE" the most. I am personally not a fan of lyrics that explore ego and wealth and instead enjoy lyrics that come from the heart. In the songs aforementioned, Bey discusses a long-standing relationship and all the little things she loves about her partner, how spending time with her girlfriends allows her to enjoy the sweeter moments in life, and how she feels liberated and motivated to live her most authentic life.

To conclude, this album had both its impressive and underwhelming moments but I do appreciate what Beyoncé is doing on this album. I love the futuristic theme and how each song can be read as a pep talk for living your life to the fullest and loving yourself. Beyoncé has always been a role model for women and black women in particular, to be who they are unapologetically. In my opinion, she pioneered the current female Hip Hop artists who explore the topic of confidence through sexual and suggestive lyrics in pop music such as Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat. This album really encapsulates the elements that the public loves most about Beyoncé; her infectious dance-worthy tunes, her incredible tone of voice and skillful vocal runs, as well as her freedom of sexuality and love of self. Though this is not my favorite Beyoncé album, there are certainly many interesting elements of electronic music and references to music of that past that I would like to her touch upon in future albums. She will continue to be her original self and there is no replicating her "unique" sound and personality.

[songsformonkeys]

A Tiny Piece of the World Called Home - (Ezra x reader) chapter 2

pairing: Ezra x reader

summary: "Just like the first of the Terras, Icarus had precisely one moon. It was a desolate and barren place, gray rocks and dust as far as the eye could see. It was cold and unwelcoming and you felt a certain kinship to it. It wasn't a hostile place but it gave you nothing for free. For as long as you could remember, you had wanted to go there."

Reader and Ezra end up as partners on a mining job and are forced to live together in close proximity on a small moon base.

rating: explicit

warnings: smut

notes: trying to post all my ao3 stories to tumblr as well so this isn’t a new story and some of you might have already read it. Chapter 1 is here

Chapter 2

While Ezra had been watching you from the very start, it was only now that you had started to actually watch him back. And the more you watched, the more details you discovered about your roommate and work partner. For example, he walked around barefoot in the base a disconcerting amount of time, he was ambidextrous, liked to take long showers, that sometimes left you without any hot water but with a strong urge to strangle him, and he snored when he slept on his stomach. That last bit you knew partly because Ezra liked to take a nap after lunch and partly because the small base offered very little in the way of privacy. You shared every living space and the only way to get away from each other was to hide in the bathroom. In the beginning, Ezra must have thought you suffered from terrible gastrointestinal problems considering how much time you'd spent in there.

Ezra had definitely noticed you watching, you had been able to tell by the way his mouth always curved into a smug smile when he caught your eyes lingering, but he hadn't said anything about it and so neither had you. Instead, the two of you danced around each other while Ezra kept up his usual out loud stream of consciousness.

“Do you enjoy art? I went to a museum once. Sculptures, paintings, VRs, soundscapes, and what have you. They had everything! Of course, I'd never been before so I had no idea. Anyway, I had just landed after a job and was looking for a way to spend my well-earned freedom. So I went. And let me tell you, Birdie, I came out of that establishment a changed man. Now, you know I'm a man of emotion, I ain't ashamed to admit that, but I wept like a small child in there. Did you ever get so moved by something that it consumes your whole being? It's part of the reason why I travel. I have the privilege of seeing the most wondrous of places. The majority of them try their very damned hardest to kill me but you have got to admit that there's a certain poetic beauty in that too. Something so beautiful doing their very best to keep people from seeing it...”

You had been tinkering with the temperature-settings on the water-boiler and had only half paid attention to what Ezra was saying. Something about arts and planets and wanting to kill him. You looked up when he went quiet. That was usually your cue to say something or hum or nod before he would continue but this time Ezra was watching you intently with the faintest of smiles on his lips. The scrutiny made you a little nervous and you wished you had listened more closely.

“...yes?” you guessed, hoping that it would be an appropriate response to what he'd just said. Ezra's smile widened and clearly seizing the opportunity of having your attention, he went on.

“Where's your favorite place in the world, Birdie?”

“Here,” you stated simply and returned your focus to the water boiler. Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Ezra turn and look out through the window of your small base. He wouldn't get it. No one else had.

“It is quite a marvelous place to behold, isn't it? The planes and the ridges over on that horizon. Never the same, no matter where you turn your eye to. And I know you prefer the sunsets and they are grand indeed but for me, it's the sunrises that does it. Those first rays of sunlight make the whole planet look like it's covered in silver. Takes my breath away every morning.”

You had stopped again to just look at Ezra as he described the planet he was watching outside the window. There was a fondness to his face when he spoke and it tugged on your heartstrings like it was part of you that he was complimenting. As the light from outside hit his face you found yourself thinking that Ezra was quite a wondrous sight to behold too. Rough and rugged, sure, but there was a certain beauty to him. In profile, the curve of his nose and the uneven spikes of his hair reminded you of those very same ridges he'd mentioned just a moment ago. Sharp and jagged. And yet other parts of him seemed way too soft, in comparison. His eyes which, once he'd gotten over the initial apprehension of you, held a sort of kindness that you had not often seen. The scars on his back and torso, that almost glowed like white lines when he undressed in the evening, and told a story of a vulnerability that his usual larger-than-life persona did its best to cover up.

Ezra caught you looking at him and you quickly looked away.

If you happened to wake up an hour earlier the next morning, it was pure coincidence. And when Ezra handed you a cup of coffee and opened his mouth to, no doubt, claim otherwise you glared at him so hard that he raised his hands in surrender before closing his mouth again and pouring himself some coffee.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Mining Ander was hard work. Much harder than what most people assumed. They only saw the finished product and figured that the delicate ore must be mined in an equally delicate manner. What they always failed to take into consideration was the several feet of stone and rock that you had to drill through to even get close to the Ander.

The big mechanic drill helped but it was still a grueling work, and you loved it. You loved feeling the strain in your muscles and the way they ached after a long day of work. The smell of sweat in an air-tight suit was something you definitely could have done without, although it did make the fresh air back at the base seem all the sweeter.

Ezra was a hard worker too, which was something you appreciated about him. He never shied away from the strenuous work, despite his occasional verbal complaints about the working conditions, and a couple of hours into the workday his grunts over the comms became a familiar background noise.

You took turns manning the drill while the other person carried the discarded bits of rock away from the hole in the ground and over to the pile which had been growing steadily larger over the duration of your shift.

Most days you paused for lunch but there were days when neither of you wanted to pause what you were doing and you ended up working way too late. Those were the very few days when Ezra stayed mostly silent before it was time for bed. In the beginning, you had cherished those moments like nobody's business but as time went on you found yourself almost missing his steady stream of words and comments.

This particular day was shaping up to be one of those days. Lunch was supposed to have happened some time ago but just as you had been about to call for a break, Ezra had cheered and declared that he'd discovered something purple and gleaming. So instead of stopping, you doubled your efforts the get the ore out.

The eagerness to get to the Ander as quickly as possible might have been what did it. Ezra pushed the drill a little too hard into the ground and suddenly there was a loud snap and you started.

It felt like someone had cracked a whip against your lower leg and you yelped. The pain was followed almost immediately by a whooshing sound and you met Ezra's widening eyes before both of you looked down at the tear in your suit, where oxygen was rapidly leaking out.

“Fuck!” you cursed loudly and quickly crouched to press your hands against the hole on the fabric. Ezra hurriedly jumped down from the driver's seat of the drill and ran over to you.

“We need to get you inside,” he stated, unnecessarily, and you had half a mind to make a rude remark about him stating the obvious. But you held your tongue. Maybe the quick decrease in oxygen was making you soft.

Keeping both of your hands wrapped around your calf, to keep the pressure on the wound and the integrity of your suit, made it impossible to walk. Ezra realized this too and wasted no time picking you up and carrying you. You felt grateful for the decreased gravity since it allowed him to sprint back to the airlock in no time, despite carrying a fully grown person in his arms. Your helmets bumped together in an uneven rhythm as he ran. You listened to his sharp breaths as he ran. They were faster than usual and you didn't think it was from the effort of carrying you. He was worried, you realized and you felt a bit touched that he cared this much. It was a bit excessive, of course. This wasn't the first injury you'd suffered during your shifts on the moon. There was plenty enough oxygen in the suit to get you back to the base and plenty enough blood in your body so that even if he'd sliced your whole leg of you were pretty sure you would have been fine. And since you very much felt your leg still being attached, there wasn't really any cause for alarm. You told Ezra as much but he didn't slow down and you could tell that he didn't quite trust your abilities to medically assess yourself.

“Let me remind you that it took you almost a full day to confess that you'd cut yourself on the kitchen knife when we first got here,” Ezra reminded you, and fine, that was a somewhat fair point but you hadn't known him back then and in your defense, you probably would have been fine even if he hadn't discovered the cut and forced you to let him redress it. You said nothing more. If he wanted to run himself tired for no reason then he was, by all means, welcome to do so.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Once inside, he set you down and instructed you to strip. For once in your life, you did what you were told without arguing and as Ezra rummaged around in one of the cupboards for a medkit, you shrugged out of your spacesuit. Your lower leg and foot felt wet and as you pulled it out of the leg of the suit you winced with pain. There was more blood than you had anticipated and you suddenly felt a little light-headed. You weren't afraid of blood but you weren't exposed to bloody injuries all that often either and you preferred your own body parts without them.

You wiggled out of your pants as well and flopped down on a chair. Ezra had struck gold with his search and returned to your side a second later. You gripped his shoulder as he knelt in front of you. A warning for him not to set his knee down in the small puddle of blood that had formed on the floor in front of you. Ezra not only missed the warning but also interpreted your gesture in a completely different manner.

“Don't you worry, Little Bird,” he assured you, as if you were the one who needed comforting, “We'll have you patched up and in tip-top condition again in no time.” He began wiping the skin around the wound clean. You winced a little in anticipation of the pain that never really came. Ezra's hands were surprisingly gentle as he cleaned away the blood. Ezra always surprised you with that. For some reason you always expected him to be rough, but he never was. Whether he was preparing food, reading one your books that he'd stolen or helping you into your suit every morning, he always did everything with a gentleness like he was handling something precious.

His brow was furrowed as he worked, though more from concentration than from worry, you noted and was pleased that he seemed to have reached the same conclusion that you had on the way to the base; that there was no immediate danger to your life. Once he'd cleaned the blood away it turned out that the cut wasn't very deep at all. It was about three inches long but shallow enough that Ezra could simply tape it shut before sealing it with a big anti-bacterial bandaid. He wiped your blood from his hands as best he could and let out a slow breath.

“You gave me quite a fright there, Little Bird,” he confessed and looked up from where he was still sitting at your feet. One of his arms was resting against your bare leg.

“I told you I would be fine,” you reminded him.

“Well, you down-play things and therefore are not to be trusted on matters like this.”

“I do not!” you protested. Ezra cleared his throat and held up his index finger to begin counting.

“It's just a short walk from here, Ezra. Took us three hours. I just nicked my finger. I cleaned that wound too and I'm fairly certain I saw bone. The coffee is a little bit hot. I couldn't taste anything for two days afterwards. I'm not that cold. Your lips matched the Ander... do you wish for me to continue? Because I've got more examples if you need 'em, Birdie”

You were watching Ezra with indignation and coughed out a laugh. You could hardly be held responsible for him taking every comment you made quite so literally.

“Says the man who exaggerates just about everything,” you countered

Ezra raised his eyebrows in confusion, as if this was the most preposterous accusation he'd ever heard. You were pretty sure he was faking it but you still took the bite.

“You beg me to shoot you every afternoon when I wake you up from your nap. You almost cry every time we strike Ander and how many times have you had the finest meal of your life since you got here?”

Ezra shook his head but you could see the small smile he was trying to hide.

“I am an appreciative man, Birdie. What can I say...” he said with a shrug and yes, he was definitely trying to rile you up.

“Well, appreciate this,” you said and jokingly flipped him off.

“I would appreciate every last part of you if you weren't so damn stubborn.”

You opened your mouth to toss another semi-insult back at him before the words fully registered, making you blink and stutter out a “W-what?” instead.

“I believe you heard me perfectly well,” Ezra answered, holding his ground. You felt your cheeks flush from the boldness of his comment. Even if he didn't realize how unprofessional that joke was, you certainly did and you were at a loss for words. Your usually so sharp tongue had, for once and with the worst timing, failed you. Every witty retort you began to come up with were instantly interrupted by mental images of Ezra making good on the comment he'd made. So what if you had entertained the thought previously? You and he were two people stuck in a small space which allowed little or no room for any sort of release in that department. The mind was bound to go a little crazy after a while. It had happened with previous work partners too. And it was understood by everyone that it wasn't anything to act or even comment upon. Understood by everyone except Ezra that was.

“You have been watching me. There are many things about you which are subtle, but that has not been one of them,” he said. There was something curious in his eyes as he watched you. He was searching your face for any indication whether he was reading the situation right or not. You weren't sure at all what expression you face did show but you were quite certain it wasn't disgust or revulsion, partly because those weren't the emotions you were actually feeling right now but more importantly because you were 100% certain that Ezra would have backed off if he'd detected any aversion on your part. And Ezra remained firmly where he was, on his knees in front of you, looking up at your face with a look on his face that you vaguely recognized.

You had gotten quite good at reading Ezra during your time on the base. This look was something you'd only seen in fleeting glances when he thought you weren't looking and when you both undressed for bed in the evenings. It was a look you hadn't quite been able to read. But now he was looking you dead in the eye and it was clear as day; Ezra wanted you. The realization made heat pool low in your stomach and if truth were to be told, you wanted Ezra too. Had for a while, now that you allowed yourself to admit it.

“I have,” you admitted and Ezra let out a breath you hadn't noticed he was holding.

“And did all that watching reward you with any new insights, Little Bird?” he asked, sitting up a little straighter and placing his other hand on your thigh. Your skin felt like it was buzzing where his hand was resting. His thumb began rubbing small circles against the skin of the inside of your thigh, just above the knee. It felt wonderful but was nowhere near enough and if Ezra was gonna give another monologue right now, you were pretty sure you wouldn't be able to handle it.

“For Kevva's sake, Ezra, can we save this conversation for later and just... do something!” You weren't necessarily proud of the shrill note of desperation to your voice but a dangerous smile spread across Ezra's face and his grip on you tightened. In a torturously slow movement, he pushed your legs further apart and you had to grip the edge of your seat hard to keep yourself from yanking him forward. He moved closer, hands running up the outside of your thighs, and he leaned down to place a kiss halfway up your thigh. Then another one, slightly higher. Then, because he was Ezra and of course he just couldn't help himself, he stopped and looked up at you.

“I must confess that thoughts of this have crossed my mind more than once,” he said, voice rough like sandpaper and utterly delicious. But there were so many better things for that mouth to be doing right now, other than talking.

“Ezra, please,” you groaned, more out of frustration than arousal, but from the smile Ezra gave you he definitely interpreted it as the latter. You didn't care because it had the intended effect regardless and a moment later Ezra's mouth was back on your skin, kissing its way higher and higher up on your thigh.

When his lips finally brushed, feather-light, over the fabric of your underwear it almost had you shooting off your chair. Luckily Ezra had anticipated this and his hands were now firmly placed on your hips, holding you in place. Your first instinct had been to close your legs, the jolt of sensation almost being too much, but Ezra's broad shoulders made that impossible and as he pressed his lips against the fabric a second time at was all you could do to hold back the needy whimpers that threatened to spill out with every breath. Ezra glanced up at you and you could feel the bastard smiling against you.

He pulled back and you were ready to make loud complaints about this lousy decision before you realized that he'd only pulled back in order to get you out of your underwear. You let him slide the piece of clothing down your legs then yelped a little in surprise as he promptly lifted both your legs and hooked them over his shoulders. Any comments on the manhandling died in your throat a moment later when his mouth found its way back to the prize and he licked a broad stripe across your folds. It had been quite some time since anyone had touched you in this way. Maybe that was it, or maybe it was just that Ezra really knew what he was doing, but as his mouth continued to explore, alternating between licking and kissing and sucking, your entire body felt like it was shaking. Your knuckles were white from how hard you were gripping the chair and your breaths escaped you in ragged huffs of air, mingled with the occasional whimpers that you had given up on holding back. The vocal feedback only seemed to encourage Ezra and he doubled his efforts.

It was too much and not enough at the same time. You felt like you would slap him if he stopped but, at the same time, you weren't sure you could handle this much longer. All your higher brain functioning had gone out the window and flown off into space. Your whole world had narrowed down to the sensations of your body and, even more specifically, the place between your legs where Ezra's clever tongue had all your nerve-endings going off like fireworks. And Ezra showed no signs of stopping until he'd made you come apart completely. Something which was rapidly approaching.

You tried warning him, managed to grip his forearm and push a little while stuttering out his name, but he only held you tighter and flicked his tongue over your clit in a way that turned the last vowel of his name into a cry of pleasure as you came. Ezra continued his ministrations and his tongue carried you through the pulsating waves of your orgasm.

When he finally pulled back and met your gaze, you were speechless. Ezra, true to form, was the first to comment.

“You truly are a vision like this, Birdie,” he said with awe in his voice and you gave him a weak laugh. Vision, you suspected, was hardly the most fitting description for you right now. Mess, more likely. You could feel how flushed your cheeks were and your lips must be bitten raw by this point. But Ezra was watching you with a mix of lust and wonder and as his gaze wandered lower he looked like he was ready for another round. You suspected that you might actually die this time if he did.

So, on legs that felt like jelly, you slid off the chair and onto his lap. The taped wound on your calf smarted but Ezra caught you before your knees slammed against the floor. His breath hitched in his throat as your weight pressed against the hardness in his pants and his hips bucked slightly, seemingly out of their own accord.

You wrapped your arms around Ezra's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. You could taste yourself on his tongue and lips and you greedily licked into his mouth, wanting to taste more, taste him. Rolling your hips against him earned you another stuttered breath and a moan from Ezra. He mumbled something against your lips and you had every intention of ignoring it in favor of continued kissing but Ezra pulled back and broke the kiss. You made a noise of complaint, which made him laugh.

“Sincerest apologies, Little Bird, but if I am to make good on my promise to appreciate every part of you we are going to have to pace ourselves, just a fraction...”

You were about to protest. To hell with pacing yourselves when you had Ezra's mouth only inches from yours! Perhaps sensing your usual stubbornness and unwillingness to cooperate returning, Ezra played dirty and reached down to press the tip of his finger gently against your opening.

“Fuck...” you shuddered, unsure if the next word was gonna be you, me or just fuck in general.

“That is what I am arguing for here, beautiful. But you and I are both still way too dressed for what I'm hoping comes next and, for the sake of your knees and my back, perhaps we could relocate ourselves to the relative comfort of my bed?”

As much as it pained you to admit, Ezra did have a point and, in a move that required more energy and coordination that it usually did, you climbed off him and stood up. Ezra got to his feet as well. He took your hand and kissed each of your fingers softly in a way that somehow felt more intimate than the place he'd been kissing a minute or two ago.

“Allow me to take you to bed?” he asked, even though you were under the impression that this had already been established as the next destination. You nodded impatiently and pushed him slowly backwards towards the bedroom.

“Take me to the bed or the kitchen table or back to the floor, Ezra. I don't care, I just... I just need you.”

Ezra's eyes darkened with lust and a moment later he was the one dragging you towards the beds. The two of you stopped just before you crashed onto Ezra's bunk, realizing that undressing might be a slightly easier endeavor before you were both tangled up on the small bed.

Ezra was quicker getting to your clothes than you were at getting to his and he pulled your shirt and then your sports bra over your head and tossed it to the side. You were fully naked now, while he was still fully dressed, if a little disheveled-looking. The contrast made you feel all the more undressed. Ezra watched you, with that same appreciation as before.

“I have imagined this. What you would look like... so gorgeous. Even in that spacesuit, you managed to drive me up the walls crazy. Can barely keep my hands off you,” he mumbled.

“So how about you don't,” you suggested. You were more than ready for this, it was just Ezra that needed to get with the program. He didn't need to compliment and woo you. He just needed to touch you.

You reached for his shirt, made quick work of getting rid of it before you made equally quick work of his pants and underwear. Now you were both naked and you took a moment to appreciate the newly revealed areas of skin. Ezra twitched as if it had been your hands and not your eyes which were caressing his body. You took a step closer.

“I want you to fuck me, Ezra,” you stated, perhaps a tad too matter-of-factly but Ezra made a noise that could only be described as a growl and crashed your mouths together again. Without the layers of clothes between you, your hands were free to roam and you tried touching every bit of skin that you could reach, slowly circling lower and lower, towards where you knew he wanted your touch the most. Ezra was giving as good as he was getting and when it was his impatience's turn to take hold, he grabbed your ass and pulled you fully against himself with a moan. You pushed him back and finally onto the bed. He laid down and watched, with almost pitch-black eyes, as you crawled on top of him and straddled his thighs.

He began talking again, nothing coherent this time, and you leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips, effectively silencing him. Ezra seized the opportunity to grab your hips and pull you a little higher. You both moaned into each other's mouths as your folds dragged along his length.

“In me,” you whispered and Ezra reached down to position himself against your opening. In the slowest pace you could bring yourself to, you began lowering yourself onto him. Ezra's eyes looked like they were about to roll back in their sockets and he said your name, followed by a whole string of curses, some of which you had never heard before.

You stilled for a moment once he was fully inside you, letting yourself adjust slightly to the sensation, then you rose up to let him slide almost all the way out before lowering yourself again. The pace was much slower than what either of you wanted but if he was feeling anywhere near as needy for more as you did, then it would be worth it.

It seemed that he was because the very next thing out of Ezra's mouth was a begging plea.

“Please, Birdie,” he said and he sounded wrecked. You took pity on him, both for his sake and for your own. You couldn't handle this slow pace for a second longer either. Speeding up, you heard the relief in Ezra's breathing and he placed his hands on your hips again to help guide you into a quicker pace.

The sensation wasn't quite as overwhelming when you were the one in control but you could still feel your pleasure building every time Ezra slid back into you. His moans were becoming more and more ragged and you weren't sure how much longer he was gonna last. Just as you were about to ask, he wrapped his arms around your torso and pulled you down for a kiss. The move gave him a little more leverage to move his hips and you gasped as he snapped his hips up, making him hit a whole new spot inside you. He did it again. And again. And you had to take back the thought you'd just had about the sensation not being overwhelming. You met his thrusts as best you could, your rhythm becoming more and more sloppy the closer the two of you got to climax.

In the end, you cracked first. Pushed over the edge by the surprise of Ezra latching onto the skin of your neck and sucking, hard enough to leave a mark. As your second orgasm rushed through you, you felt Ezra follow and he moaned loudly as he came, still inside you. He continued thrusting a few more times before he slowed down to a stop.

The stillness that followed, as you had untangled slightly before pulling each other close again, was interrupted only by your panting breaths...and of course...

“If I were to die now, I'd die a happy and content man,” Ezra mumbled, his hand drawing patterns against your back.

“Dying now would be a breach of contract,” you informed him, with a small smile, “We still have a fifth of our rotation left before we're heading back for Icarus.”

“Only a fifth?” Ezra asked and you watched his brow furrow as he did the math.

“'fraid so.”

Ezra turned and gave you a devilish grin

“Then I propose we attempt to make the very most of that fifth, or what do say, Birdie?”

As his hand trailed lower, you couldn't help but nod.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @yespolkadotkitty​ @agirllovespancakes​ @beccaplaying @pedropascalito​ @ohpedromypedro​ @synystersilenceinblacknwhite​ @knittingqueen13​ @pedropascallion​ @scarlettvonsass @heatherbel​ @ahopelessromanticwritersworld​ @larakasser​ @fromthedeskoftheraven​ @seawhisperer​ @mourningbirds1​ @alwaysbethewest​ @thegreenkid​ @pajamasecrets

[lovejustforaday]

My Top 10 Albums of 2019

Rose Gold - Kitty

Main Genres: Electro Pop

A decent sampling of: Chill Hop, Chill Wave, Alternative R&B, Cloud Rap, Future Bass, Synth Pop, Trip Hop, Wonky Kitty's sound keeps changing from EP to LP, but one thing that remains constant is her witty, hyper-feminine cool girl persona. On "Rose Gold", she explores a variety of electronic genres while maintaining a near-perfect chill mood and atmosphere. "Rose Gold" easily avoids falling into the traps of repetitiveness prone to a lot of lo-fi chill music thanks to Kitty's charming personality and clever lyricism on tracks like "B.O.M.B. (Peter)" and "Florida". I feel like this is definitely a late night album, one you might listen to while sneaking around your kitchen to make a late night snack while wearing your cutest pajamas. Alternatively, this is the album your stuffed animals all get up and vibe to while you're sleeping. Oh yeah, and "Counting All The Starfish" samples FF7 which is pretty cool. Highlights: "B.O.M.B. (Peter)", “Don’t Panic (Interlude)”, "Mami", "Counting All The Starfish", “Disconnect”

8/10

House of Sugar - Sandy (Alex G)

Main Genres: Indie Folk, Neo-Psychedelia

A decent sampling of: Folktronica, Psychedelic Folk, Indie Pop, Americana I admit, I was completely unfamiliar with Alex G's material until this album came along and garnered a lot of attention. I'm very excited to explore his back catalogue now thanks to this album. Fitting to its name, "House of Sugar" is somewhat like a psychedelic sugar rush, feeling at once strange and whimsical yet also sickly sweet and delirious. Under the album's upbeat folky veneer lies darker themes about loss both personal and conceptual. "Gretel" and the album title itself are both inspired by the fairytale of Hansel and Gretel, which makes a lot of sense because I really just want to get lost in the woods while listening to this album. "Project 2" is a noticeable outlier and the weakest track, forgoing conventional song structure completely for experimental synth music yielding mixed results, but even this short track manages to be oddly beautiful and adds to the overall experience. Likewise, "House of Sugar" is an exceptionally interesting musical journey even at its weakest. Highlights: "Gretel", "Sugar", "Hope", "Walk Away", "Taking"

8/10

Titanic Rising - Weyes Blood

Main Genres: Art Pop, Baroque Pop

A decent sampling of: Progressive Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Soft Rock, Progressive Electronic, Alternative Country Most acclaimed album of 2019? Quite possibly. While it's not my top choice of the year, I can definitely understand the widespread praise this album has received. At its best, Weyes Blood's "Titanic Rising" is a truly lush and cinematic experience, incorporating musical influences from the best of 60s and 70s era pop music with a moving lyrical narrative of coming to terms with depression and getting older. Mering's voice is warm and tender, and her insights about generational woes on tracks like "Everyday" and "Something to Believe" are mature and nuanced. If you're new to being an adult like I am, and you find the prospects of trying to build a fulfilling and meaningful life in the kind of world we live in scary, then listening to "Titanic Rising" will feel like a very bittersweet soundtrack written for a movie based on your own real life. Considerably front-loaded, but the concept for this album is very fresh and ambitious, and when it's good, it's brilliant. P.S. definitely the best album cover of 2019 Highlights: "Everyday", "Movies", "Andromeda", "Titanic Rising", "A Lot's Gonna Change"

8/10

Grey Area - Little Simz

Main Genres: Conscious Rap, UK Rap

A decent sampling of: Jazz Rap, Hardcore Rap

Little Simz sounds like she knows exactly who she is and what she's doing on "Grey Area", like she has her flow and writing lyrics down to a science. The album really feels like seeing the world through her eyes, and Simz holds nothing back, talking about everything from institutional racism and violence, to things like therapy, motherhood, and even video games. "Grey Area" succeeds as well as it does largely thanks to the strengths of Simz's offbeat personality, lyrical insights, and excellent delivery, while the production on the album is mostly smooth and slick in a way that never overpowers her as the main focus. I'll admit, I find at some points that the production on some of the songs falls considerably short of the standards set by Simz's own talent as a rapper, but when the production does reach that level on tracks like "101 FM" and "Venom", the pay off is brilliant. "101 FM" in particular is such an interesting and unique hip hop song, in the same way that Simz is a very interesting and unique rapper. Honestly this album is worth the listen alone just to hear what Little Simz has to say about everything.

Highlights: "101 FM", "Selfish", "Offence", "Venom"

8/10

Pang - Caroline Polachek

Main Genres: Art Pop, Alternative R&B

A decent sampling of: Electro Pop, Glitch Pop, Ambient Pop, New Age, Downtempo Of all the albums I've listened to this year, "Pang" feels like the most varied journey with an impressive collection of 14 songs in under 50 minutes. On this LP, Caroline Polachek takes the listener through her world of romantic fairytales and magic. Some of the songs are poppy bangers like the funky "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings" and the rhythmic "Ocean of Tears", while other songs are more mood-driven and meditative like "Parachute" and "Insomnia". Many of the songs place emphasis on the vocal gymnastics of Polachek herself, who makes great use of her range and techniques like heavy breaths on "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings". The production work of Polachek and Danny L. Harle is sophisticated and intricate, with a lot of attention to detail on tracks like "Door" and "Pang". A lot of the songs are  mysterious and cerebral, especially the penultimate "Door" which has an equally cerebral and trippy music video. Overall, I'd say that "Pang" definitely opens and closes with its strongest few tracks, but there’s enough variety and intricacies throughout its entirety to make the album experience highly engaging on repeated listens as you explore the different musical worlds that each song has to offer.

Highlights: "Door", " So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings ", “Parachute”, "Pang", "Go As a Dream", "Ocean of Tears", “Hit Me Where It Hurts”, "The Gate"

9/10

Norman Fucking Rockwell! - Lana Del Rey

Main Genres: Art Pop, Soft Rock

A decent sampling of: Dream Pop, Chamber Pop, Contemporary Folk, Psychedelic Pop, Piano Rock, Blues Rock, Americana, Pop Soul So yeah, this album happened. Lana Del Rey has always been an artist I appreciated for her unique sound and persona, but I found that her 2012 LP "Born To Die" mostly didn't quite live up to her potential as an artist, and I never really bothered with the rest of her work apart from individual songs until now. I'm so glad I checked this one out because "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" rightfully deserves the wave of acclaim it has received this year. Lana Del Rey's songwriting has become so sophisticated on this LP, and the warm, rich soft rock sound that she's adopted on tracks like "The greatest" compliments her vocals better than any other genre she's explored so far. Like most of her work, "Norman Fucking Rockwell!" explores American identity and femininity, and the songs are tinged with sadness and nostalgia. That being said, I actually find parts of this album very uplifting, especially on "Love Song" and "Mariners Apartment Complex". "Venice Bitch" is, simply put, a true masterpiece. It's the reason I checked out the album when I heard the single last year, and it damn near blows everything else out of the water with its gorgeous soundscapes and 9 minute length that could go on for an eternity if it wanted to. Regardless, there's a lot of songs here that I love, even if the LP is a little front-loaded. Lana has outdone herself this time with "Norman Fucking Rockwell!", and I already look forward to the projects she's announced for 2020. In the meantime, I should check out the LPs that I missed in her discography. Highlights: "Venice Bitch", "The greatest", "Mariners Apartment Complex", "How to disappear", "Cinnamon Girl", "Love song", "Norman fucking Rockwell"

9/10

Keepsake - Hatchie

Main Genres: Dream Pop, Indie Pop

A decent sampling of: Shoegaze, Synth Pop, Twee Pop, Jangle Pop

This album pretty clearly derives a lot of its sound from a particular era of early 90s dream pop, shoegaze, and jangle pop. So what makes "Keepsake" so special? For one, Hatchie knows her sound niche and does it incredibly well. Songs like "Stay With Me" and "Kiss The Stars" feel like lost gems from an era when they could've been heard on college radios in between the Cocteau Twins, MBV, and the Cranberries. While her sonic timbre is pure retro, Hatchie's own take on classic dream pop from a songwriting perspective is fresh and unique. Her lyrics and melodies are pure and saccharine in a way that reminds me of feel-good teen romcoms about sappy high school romances, only I mean that in the best way possible. Songs like "Without A Blush" and "Secret" feel like what I thought falling in love was gonna be like when I was 11 years old. "Stay With Me" is a rush of euphoria, and the song feels like prom again whenever I listen to it. Her pop songwriting sensibilities are well-crafted in a way that makes it look like she's been doing this for years and years, when really Hatchie only started putting out her own music in 2017. The sequencing of the tracks is well thought out, and I find "Keepsake" is at its strongest in the middle portion. There's just a certain essence of carefree youth and sentimentality that Hatchie has captured so vividly with this album. If you're looking to recapture the feeling of your best memories as a teenager, "Keepsake" will take you there. Strongest debut LP of the year, and I super look forward to whatever she does next. Highlights: "Stay With Me", "Secret", "Her Own Heart" "Kiss The Stars", "Without A Blush", "Unwanted Guest"

9/10

Djinn - Lingua Nada

Main Genres: Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Noise Rock

A decent sampling of: Noise Pop, Progressive Rock, Math Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Indietronica, Experimental Rock

Lingua Nada is that one really cool indie band that only I and a few others seem to know about. The band has a very distinct and creative sound which combines explosive noise with jerky, whacky rhythms and upbeat melodies. Last year's "Snuff" was a very raw and experimental album experience, and another year-end favourite of mine. This year's "Djinn" boasts slightly more conventional song structures, but the sonic timbres and rhythms are just as strange and beautiful, if not more. As its name would suggest, "Djinn" is partly inspired by Arabian folklore and evokes a sort of mysterious, ghostly presence on songs like the title track and "Salam Cyber". The mix of noise, acid-y psychedelics, and complex rhythms on "Habiba" and "Dweeb Weed" results in alien, otherworldly sounds. "These Hands Are Royal" is a very evocative track as well, with its propulsive beat and dusty guitar riffs giving me the distinct imagery of travelling a desert by foot. Lingua Nada never overwhelms the listener with their explosive songs on "Djinn", and the band takes time to mellow out a bit towards the end of the album with the bubbly, psychedelic indietronica bop "Yalla Yalla" and the minimalist folk tune "In Limbo". Lead vocalist Adam Lenox is buried pretty deep in the mix of guitars, and I wouldn't exactly say he has the strongest presence as a vocalist, but I can't say that this takes away much of the appeal because "Djinn" is clearly meant to be a more impressionistic experience. Lingua Nada have come out of the past two years with a strong 1-2 punch of innovative noise rock albums, and with "Djinn" they've proven themselves to be one of the most daring and multi-talented rock bands of the decade.

Highlights: "Habiba", "These Hands Are Royal", "Djinn", "Salam Cyber", "Yalla Yalla", "Proto", "Gucci Mecca"

9/10

Ginger - Brockhampton

Main Genres: Pop Rap, Contemporary R&B, West Coast Rap

A decent sampling of: Alternative R&B, Emo Rap, Conscious Rap, Indie Pop

This album feels like it's all about growth. Brockhampton have undergone a lot of changes as a band since they first blew up in 2017 between sudden fame, signing a major label, and kicking Ameer for his toxic behaviour. Last year's "Iridescence" felt like a raw, anguished, and messy response to the sudden changes the band had to cope with. Now it's 2019 and we have "Ginger", a more lowkey and sometimes deeply sad album, where members of Brockhampton are still processing many of the same problems. This time, however, the album is far more consistent, more nuanced, and overall, masterfully crafted. There's a lot of talk of male identity and what it means to be a man on "Ginger", and some of the traits brought up are moral integrity, honesty, and vulnerability, all which are part of emotional maturity and subvert machismo gender expectations. True to its album cover, "Ginger" is like a big hug for young guys struggling with depression, but anybody can get something out of this brilliant piece of art. The highlights are many: Joba's verse on "BIG BOY", Kevin's verse on "BOY BYE", and Matt's verse on "NO HALO" just to name a few. But the defining moment of "Ginger" is Dom's takedown of Ameer at the end of "DEARLY DEPARTED", a brilliant 66 seconds of anger, remorse, pain, and condemnation.  Guest rapper Victor Roberts rapping about his traumatic childhood experience with the police on album closer "VICTOR ROBERTS" is also a key highlight, and serves as a fitting note to end an album that so forwardly tackles depression and coping with traumatic life changes. The production is fantastic, from the effortlessly cool R&B jam "SUGAR" to weirder tracks like the off-kilter "IF YOU PRAY RIGHT" which is built around a cartoonish trombone riff. I simply can't praise this album enough. Brockhampton have matured as artists, and "Ginger" will go on to prove their legacy as one of the best rap groups of the 2010s. Highlights: "DEARLY DEPARTED", "NO HALO", "SUGAR", "GINGER", "BOY BYE", "VICTOR ROBERTS", "IF YOU PRAY RIGHT", "BIG BOY", “ST. PERCY”

10/10

Magdalene - FKA Twigs

Main Genres: Art Pop, Glitch Pop

A decent sampling of: Progressive Pop, Ambient Pop, Alternative R&B, Post-Industrial

It's hard to describe what makes this album so brilliant because it's so subtle. "MAGDALENE" slowly unravels to reveal its beauty, in the same way that a flower slowly blooms, petal by petal. Likewise, FKA Twigs slowly strips away all of her defenses, track by track, to reveal the heart of a wounded lover. "MAGDALENE" is all about the breakup of Twigs' highly publicized relationship with Robert Pattinson. The lyrics explore her lover's emotional distance on "home with you", her feelings of inadequacy after being thrust into the broader public eye on "cellophane", her lover's lies on "fallen alien", and the physical pain she endured undergoing fibroid surgery that rendered her feeling weak on "daybed". Like the rest of her work, many of the songs on "MAGDALENE" juxtapose the unnerving with the beautiful, with tracks like "mirrored heart" and "fallen alien" alternating between ethereal vocals backed by piano and glitchy, spine-tingling production that evokes earthquakes and mirrors shattering into hundreds of pieces. There's also a lot of empty space on this album, and a general appreciation for minimalism. Tracks like "mary magdalene" and "cellophane" are made stronger by allowing enough room for Twigs' vocals to carry the music, and boy does she ever. Twigs breathes, moans, cries, screams, whispers, and commands with her voice to utter perfection throughout. The vocal highlights are all over "MAGDALENE", but my absolute favourites include the last line of "home with you", the dark incantations of the verses on "fallen alien", and the withering refrain after the beat-drop on "cellophane". "cellophane" is the centerpiece of "MAGDALENE" and the perfect closer, like listening to the music of a dying flower as it slowly wilts away. Overall, "MAGDALENE" is a stunning piece of art. Twigs has reclaimed her pain on this album by turning one of the lowest points in her life into the most beautiful album of the year. Highlights: "cellophane", "home with you", "fallen alien", "mary magdalene", "daybed", "sad day", "mirrored heart", "thousand eyes"

10/10

[gstdaisuki]

A Talk with Nathan McCree

(this is a followup to my video on Nathan’s work, which you should watch(!), and a mirror of the Patreon post)

Nathan McCree is well-known for his work on Tomb Raider. If you go digging, you’ll find he’s been interviewed about the series several times. However, he’s done quite a lot more. I’d like to fill in some of the gaps. Below are snippets from my chat with Nathan about music on the Megadrive, what it’s like to work within limitations, and music in the future. 

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GST: Skeleton Krew's music is an oddity on the Megadrive. there's nothing else quite like it. I saw you mention that the soundscape was inspired by the graphics, which makes sense --they compliment each other beautifully. I want to ask what other influences you had in mind, if any. How much of the soundtrack was just created by just pushing strange sounds out of your tools? 

NM: It's very difficult to say exactly where inspiration comes from. Mostly I am inspired by the kit I am using and the sounds they make, so in this case it was the sounds I was creating on the Yamaha chip inside the Megadrive. But musically at the time I was listening to a lot of psychedelic electronic bands like Ozric Tentacles, The Orb and lots of dance/trance/house music of the era.  

GST: Now that you mention Ozric Tentacles, the arp sequences in Clockdrops have a similar feel to some of the tracks in Skeleton Krew. It's kind of striking, though I think the direction you went in is actually better realized because you seem to work so well within the FM on the Megadrive. (Hopefully the musical comparison isn't too offensive!) 

NM: No I'm not offended by the comparison at all. I did learn a lot about synth patterns and textures from Ozric Tentacles, but again, without copying, I took what I learned and went in my own direction with it. It's important to always have a picture or an emotion of the project you are working on as this helps construct the music in a way which fits the mood of the product and as a result should gel the visuals and the animations together. The music in effect, acts as a kind of glue for the project which holds it all together.

GST: On the opposite end of the oddity spectrum, Astérix and the Power of the Gods for the Megadrive features nothing but classical songs. I'm curious if this was a decision from the game designers, or an exercise for you, or something else. 

NM: It was a decision made by the game designer and programmer, Stefan Walker. Stef asked me if it were possible to convert 15 or so of the most famous classical pieces in history that were out of copyright protection (older than 90 years). Of course I said yes, and we set about listening and searching for pieces which fit that criteria and which would be suitable for the game. The conversion process from a full-orchestra down to a 6 note-polyphonic FM synthesizer was a challenge but a very enjoyable one, and the result earned the accolade "Best Megadrive Music Ever". I was rather chuffed with that.

GST: The soundtrack for BLAM! Machine Head is listed as released in 1995, which is before the game came out. Was this a promotional thing?

NM: Yes it was a promotional release of 300 vinyls. We sent a load to UK Clubs to try and get some club play time to promote the game. We succeeded a little but game soundtracks weren't really the thing back then so it gained little traction.

GST: That’s pretty amazing! That was late 1995, right on the precipice of game music leaking into the mainstream. (For reference, "Sega Tunes" came out in August 1996, "Club Saturn" in 1996, and Tommy Tallarico released his arrangement albums in mid-94 and mid-96) Did you get any feedback / reviews from the clubs?

NM: Yes we did. A few were kind enough to give us some feedback. One club I remember said about Nano-Seed, "a floor-filler!". That was good.

GST: Relatedly, what is your experience with club music? Some of the tracks on BLAM! sound perfect for the era. I wouldn't expect them to be written by someone who was previously unfamiliar with club music. Do you remember any particular songs or artists that you drew inspiration from?

NM: I was clubbing a lot in the 90s. I was going to Hot To Trot in Mansfield once a month, Renaissance in Derby in between and a few other local dance venues in Derby. In the end I was clubbing every weekend. Apart from the psychedelic bands I mentioned earlier I can't really pin-point a particular dance music artist. I was listening to so much and none of it was being repeated. I was constantly listening to new tracks. It was a very inspirational time musically and on top of all this I was writing my own dance music in my spare time outside of working at Core Design. So yeah, there was a whole lot of influence that went into the BLAM! Machinehead soundtrack. Having said that, with my writing, I always try to write something which I haven't heard before so I hope there is something unique and new about the music in BLAM! Machinehead.

GST: About Swagman: This seems like the most involved orchestral soundtrack that you had created since Soulstar. I'd like to compare the two a bit. How closely were you working with the rest of the team at this time? Swagman isn't a rail shooter so you can't match the soundtrack with the action in the levels... How much better was your gear at this point? I'd say "it doesn't sound like you struggled with your gear this time" but you actually disguised that struggle quite well in Soulstar, haha. 

NM: As you say, Swagman wasn't a rail-shooter, so scripting the music to fit the game wasn't possible. Instead I used the location of each level as my main source of inspiration, and created atmospheres to fit those - The Nursery, In the Garden, Down the Well, The Crypt for example. I had some new kit by the time I started writing Swagman. Mainly the addition of the Roland JV1080 which I had expanded with the Orchestral Boards 1 & 2 and the World Expansion Board. I also had a Roland JV90 which is the keyboard version of the JV1080. That too was expanded. So I had plenty of voice-polyphony at that point and lots of very useful orchestral patches to play with. So you're right, it was less of a struggle with Swagman, but both projects were still very enjoyable to create. With Soulstar, I ended up using quite a few saw-tooth, synth-lead patches to create the brass ensembles. They actually sounded pretty good once they were buried in amongst the rest of the orchestral sounds!

GST: Battle Engine Aquila marks a soundtrack where you were freelance AND in the distant future of 2003. How much of your gear did you leave behind when you left Core Design to go freelance? And how much of it was digital instruments on your computer at this point? I ask the latter because, to my ears, this game sounds about as good as you can get without hiring a real orchestra. 

NM: So obviously leaving Core Design meant saying goodbye to all the kit I had built up over the 6 years that I worked there, but of course I needed something to work with as a freelancer. So I spent a large chunk of my Tomb Raider money on a new studio for myself. Apart from the obvious stuff like a mixing desk, studio monitors and a PC, the decision needed to be made as to what instruments/synths I should buy. I had been really impressed with the Roland JV1080 so I bought one of those (and expanded it as before) and the synth geek in me also decided to by one of Roland's latest creations, the JP8000 - a fully record-able and controllable raw synth machine! With this machine it was possible to record the movement of every pot and fader straight to Cubase. A very useful tool for dance music, and to this day I still haven't used it to it's full potential. I also bought an Akai S9000 sampler which I used mainly for drums, so once again my orchestral setup was synth-based, rather than sample-based. So I started out freelance with this kit in 1998. When I got the opportunity to work on Battle Engine Aquila I decided I needed a bigger orchestra so I bought another Roland JV1080 (expanded again) and an E-MU Virtuoso 2000 orchestral synth which I quickly binned when the main controller knob became faulty and I wasn't impressed with the architecture of the signal path. I continued to use the Akai S9000 sampler for a few more years for electronic music but as soon as computers became fast enough for sample based editing inside the sequencing software, it too became a dust collector on my studio shelf along with other outboard gear which were replaced by VST instruments and Plugins. To this day I still use the 2 Roland JV1080s and my Roland JP8000, and that's about it. I'm not one of these musicians who needs to hide behind a million synths or new pieces of kit every month to convince people I can write music. I'm one of these guys who can make music from anything. A fork, knife, bottle, my kid's mini toy guitar, or glockenspiel. If it makes a note, I can use it, which I frequently have in my compositions over the years. I remember when I was working on a prehistoric game called BC, I used a metal electric fire which I scraped with a nail and hit some bricks with drum sticks to create the percussion sounds for the music. I don't need to buy new kit to be creative.

GST: I'm curious about what the limits are when it comes to crafting something unique. If you go too "far out," you'll have a unique song, but it might not resemble "music". Where's the balance between copying the songs you heard in the club and becoming autechre? Same question for non-electronic music: It's possible to get unique compositions if you go to the edge of music theory, but that can also become inaccessible. (You did seem to use odd time for the end theme of Waterlollies (11/8 by my count) though, which is always a fun technique.) 

NM: Finding something new isn't about moving further and further away from music, it's about persevering with textures, ensembles, sounds, patterns and harmony until you find or create something which you haven't heard before. You have to wade through a load of stuff you have already heard until you find new waters. Sometimes that can take hours, sometimes days. You have to keep going. Adding stuff, deleting stuff. Thinking outside the box. Sometimes forgetting what you have been taught. Turning things upside down, back to front. It also helps to enter altered states of the mind when creating. This can be done in a variety of ways. Working late into the night until you are close to falling asleep for example, puts your brain into an almost dream state which helps create new things which you wouldn't normally think of during the day. This is why many creatives, and not just musicians, do their best work in the early hours of the morning. Other things can help too, drinking alcohol, but this has a negative impact on your hearing, and then of course there's marijuana which I think most musicians that have ever lived swear by! Personally for me, it's about perseverance, working at the detail and striving for perfection. Music doesn't have to be complicated or removed from tonality and harmony to be different. There are billions of combinations, it's just about looking for the new ones.

GST: One more question about the early days: Does any of the original software or source code for your Megadrive music still exist? 

NM: There's a possibility that I have a copy of the programme somewhere on my hard drives but it needs a special custom built PCI card installed in your PC to work and that, I do not have anymore. You see in those days, getting access to certain elements of the games console just wasn't possible like it is today. Now you install some dev tools plugin and you have direct access to every feature of the console. Back in the early 90s we had to dismantle the machine with a screwdriver, rip out the circuit boards, making notes of the chip serial numbers and manufacturers, then calling the company and asking them for a full specification of the pin numbers and what each one did. After that, we would order the chips we wanted (or rip them out of the games console itself) and design our own circuit board which included the chips we wanted and have it all re-mounted onto a custom built PCI card which we would then install into a PC. After that, it was all about programming. We followed a similar process for the Megadrive sound chip. It was a Yamaha YM2612. So we ordered a couple of these directly from Yamaha and once we had the full spec it was pretty simple to work out how to wire it up on a circuit board. All we needed to do was to add left and right phono sockets to the output pins on the chip and send the 5v power supply to it and there you go, Megadrive synth on a PC! Of course there are the other pins (24 in total) which needed connecting up to the data bus, memory access pins, read/write request lines, interrupt request line, ground pins etc. but once we'd figured all this out it was simple enough to create a circuit diagram for the board. Once we had that we sent off the design and the 2 x Yamaha chips to a circuit board manufacturing plant in the UK. A week later our 2 x Megadrive synth PCI boards arrived. We plugged one into my PC and the other into Sean (programmer)'s PC, and we got to work coding up the sequencer. Sean took care of the machine-code level programming of the synth engine and I programmed the high-level language user interface. We had the whole sequencer up and running in 4 months. So I may have the source code and sequencer files but I don't have the hardware on which it runs. Of course I could have another circuit board made but it would take some time to get all that together again.

GST: What happened to Console Sounds / Industrial Ambiance? I can’t find it anywhere. 

NM: I took the album off-line. It was available as a library album for a while but the critiques viewed it as if it was an album release and began slating it for sounding like off-the-shelf music - which is exactly what it was. It was never an album release. It was just a bunch of tunes that had not been used for anything, and I was just trying to earn some money. But when the critiques got hold of it and slated it, I took it down.

GST: That's understandable, but unfortunate. Have you considered bringing the album (or any of the songs) back on a service like Bandcamp or Soundcloud? 

NM: Yes I do have ideas and avenues for a lot of my music. The first thing I want to do is to officially release all my game soundtracks. After that I'll see what's left and if there's any mileage releasing any of it. 

GST: Actually, how much of your music can you release on Bandcamp? I know that the rights can get tied up...

NM: Well after the Kickstarter campaign, I am now officially a record company and publisher so I can release any of my music whenever I like. I don't need a platform like Bandcamp or Soundcloud (where often the composer/performer ends up surrendering their rights for little compensation). I don't need to do that now. I can release my music myself and retain 100% of the rights, which is a better way to go. It's been a hell of a lot of work to get to the company to this point, but the infrastructure is there now, so I'm going to continue with that.

GST: Oh, that's exciting! Do you have any idea when we can expect to see some old soundtracks released? I'm also very interested in the dance music you wrote outside of Core Design. That would be a fun throwback thing. 

NM: I want to start rolling my old game soundtracks out over the next few years. I have earmarked about 10 albums which I think are worthy of release. They all require some work in terms of remastering and re-recording. Some would benefit from a live orchestral recording like Soulstar, Heimdall II, Swagman and Battle Engine Aquila to name a few, but those kinds of production are very expensive so we'll have to see how funding goes for that kind of thing. In the meantime though, I will be releasing new synthetic recordings of these soundtracks - all made using the original equipment which I wrote them on, so they will sound the same, only better! Yeah there's probably an album or two of dance type tracks kicking around which could be released. Other songs too which are still unfinished so i'll need to do a bit of work to finish those up into some releasable form. So plenty of work to keep me busy for the next 5 or so years I'd say.

GST: Where can we find news about these remastered albums? Where's a good place to find you? Is there anything else you'd like to plug? 

NM: The best places to keep informed as to what I'm doing career wise is on my official FB page: https://www.facebook.com/nathanmccreeofficial/ and also my Twitter page: https://twitter.com/nrpmccree  As far as plugs go, please just support my concerts. They cost a huge amount of money and time to organize and I can only keep doing them if we get a good attendance. It's really important, not just for The Tomb Raider Suite, but for games music in general, and if you do like the Tomb Raider Suite album which is free to play on Spotify, please consider buying a copy. This is how us musicians make a living and it really does help us to keep going and writing more stuff which hopefully you will enjoy. A big shout out to all the fans who have supported me so far and who continue to do so - you guys rock!

[weepingwitch]

Book of Water 

(bandcamp) (spotify) (other places)

songs about what it feels like to be going extinct / songs about what it feels like to be a girl / songs about what it feels like to be going crazy / songs about what it feels like to feel.

beautiful, terrifying, delicate, and alive (4:25)

barefoot and waiting (3:02)

you cannot kill me in a way that matters (4:34)

appalachian wife (beneath the waterfall) (3:58)

goat’s horn, girl’s blood (4:35)

reborn in the waves (2:14)

wet leaves (judas iscariot used tongue) (3:01)

the seas are rising, are we? (5:00)

schenley / parks i've cried in (1:59)

get this demon out of my head (4:12)

eleven eleven [unborn] (6:13)

heaven is a lake (2:01)

my first album was a post apocalyptic queer romance concept album, this is its prequel.

songs for girls who aren’t and shouldn’t be.

an attempt to create layered soundscapes that communicate my feelings of desperation, hope, terror, and awe about being at the beginning of the end.

"there's a lot going on here" - my therapist after listening to the first track and reading the song titles

kinda drifty, good for listening to while crafting or doing dishes or having a good cry.

after i released this album, i made my discography available as background music for games made in a series of game jams - and track 8 (the seas are rising, are we?) was used in a very cool “hidden-object game-like zine” that i think is really worth checking out.

halfway thru the recording process my hard drive died and i lost most of the original instrument takes for the songs that i had already made a rough mix of, so i had to make do.

a friend who is a real musician described the music as "like goth ambient, but not cheesy" and i think she meant it as a compliment.

i love birds a lot, and that is why they are occasionally a guest feature.

as an autistic woman, i enjoy the sensory stimulation that an ambient wall of guitar sounds can bring.

less about individual melodies, more about textures and moods.

mostly electric guitar. 

inspired and influenced by my love for post-rock, shoegaze, prog, emo, indie, and punk music.

i made almost all of the sounds, including guitar, drums, bass, keyboard/synth, and distorted vox. the birds outside contributed some chirps in the rain to tracks 9 and 10, I did not make those sounds because I am still just a human.

written/recorded/produced in my apartment.

be gay / do drugs / eat the rich / burn this fucking system down.

[seeksstaronmewni]

Joel R. Valentine: An Under-Appreciated Sound Designer

Note before reading that, for the sake of privacy, NO PICTURES of Joel IN HIS STUDIO are allowed in this post. I respect him as a humble artist enough to obey this.

Joel Valentine is a sound designer who is usually credited for only sound editing, usually under the name of his company “Twenty-First Century Entertainment, Inc.” (AKA “21st Century Sound Design Corp.)--a private contractor who seems fairly under-appreciated. He created “The Producer’s Sound Effects Library” (according to Trademarkia), which is used by Hacienda Post, Jeff Hutchins, Atlas Oceanic, and maybe even Advantage Audio.

In more familiar context, Joel is the sound designer of mostly cartoons, namely Cartoon Network projects and the works of Craig McCracken and Genndy Tartakovsky, like The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack, as well as Dexter’s Laboratory (Joel is credited for sound design on the package design/summary of Dexter’s Laboratory: Ego Trip, however, and as a sound editor on the special). Joel Valentine is responsible for the soundtrack to many of my favorite childhood cartoons... or cartoon cartoons, to be a bit more specific.

"Edits fast, sounds great, and doesn't break. The DM -80's multilayering capabilities and simultaneous recording on all tracks gives us the flexibility to do whatever we want."

This is a quote from Joel Valentine on the DM-80, from a supplement to a March 1994 issue of BROADCAST engineering / BE Radio.

Jeff Hutchins, the sound designer behind Spongebob Squarepants and a creative at Hacienda Post/Sabre Media/Flash Bomb Audio and Warner Bros. Sound/Audio Circus, was an assistant to Joel Valentine. They both edited sound on 2 Stupid Dogs and Dead in the Water. Jeff Hutchins made a number of tweets to me that compliment and reference Joel Valentine:

“Joel was a master of recording and funny sounds. He is still the a pillar of cartoon sound and I wish to recognize him. I believe he was working and had credits prior to 1985. Few people enter the business as a mixer. Look up Harmony Gold. Things should pop up”

“Joel is an incredible talent and I think the world of him. Rock on Joel!”

“Joel has a crisp & distict style. He had moved on to Samurai Jack and Hacienda started to do the FX for Dexter’s Lab. I did a few of them and really tried to retain Joel’s style. Not an easy task.”

“Joel gave me a copy of his “Producer’s SFX Library”. Joel also gave me his ADAP Library in exchange for transferring it to .wav files. I would give him any SFX he asked for.”

“In the “2 Stupid Dogs” days Joel was at the heart of everything. There wasn’t another like him. To this day, I thank him for being so out side the box as to redefine “out side the box”. Thx my brother in sound. Joel was creating the sound tract for a show called “Northern Exposure” at the same time. I am still in awe of his accomplishments. Joel rocks!”

“When I met Joel in 1986, my life changed. His over the top way of creating opportunity out of baking soda and “whatever you’ve got” is incredible. He is an innovator. Thanks for taking the time out of your life to be my teacher. Thanks Joel!”

“He [Joel] was working on those shows [Northern Exposure and Bakersfield P.D.] at the Lantana building in Santa Monica. I worked for Joel during that time period in a suite he had in the building. I worked on 2 Stupid Dogs. After 2 Stupid Dogs I went to work for other studios & Joel went his own ways. Those days were awesome, but all good things come to an end at some point. As one door closes, another opens... somewhere.”

Eric Freeman also shared some facts with me back in 2017:

“[Wander Over Yonder] Season 2 was all done by Joel Valentine. My schedule became way too busy to do the sound fx. Craig McCracken has long history with Joel and enjoys his work, so he wanted him to do the season 2 sfx... 21st century is/was Joel Valentine's personal company. He would do all the sound design and then send it to me at Hacienda for the final mix. He is not affiliated with Hacienda. Joel is a private contractor...   [Joel] worked out of his home... he was the sole sound designer and editor for [Wander Over Yonder] season 2. There were NO other uncredited post-sound folks on the show. The whole series was just Joel and Myself... Joel is working on S5 of Samurai Jack. He would be the sole editor on that. The mix will be done at Hacienda Post. Current PPG is being edited and mixed at Hacienda Post. Joel is not involved with the new PPG... I did some editorial on PPG movie and worked with the editors you listed (Tom Syslo, Roy Braverman & Daisuke Sawa). I can't remember what I edited on the movie, but it was sound fx. I worked on Dexter's Lab, PPG, Fosters, Symbionic Titan, and Samurai Jack. Any editorial I did would have happened during the mix. A lot of times, Genndy or Craig will want to try different SFX when they hear final music and final dialog play together with Joel's sfx. Sometimes the original SFX just don't work well... Joel definitely IS a master sound designer. I respect his work very much... I've worked with Jeff [Hutchins] since the 1990s. He's extremely talented. I believe Joel trained him... Joel only worked on the pilot of Chowder. He did NOT do the series. All the sound design came from Hacienda Post.”

Grant Meuers, “the sole sound editor” on Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, replied to my emails of my questions on the show’s sound: “all sound design you hear is either me or Joel. I worked for Hacienda for 2-3 years as an assistant sound editor before venturing out into the freelance world. They are great people over there, and I'm still close with them, although neither Joel or I are very involved in the mixes. Joel is a really talented guy, and I'll be sure to pass your compliments along!” The latter referred to my desire for anyone with Joel to send compliments from me to Joel. Grant continued: “the line between "sound design" and "sound edit" is pretty fluid to me (and I think Joel feels the same way). Joel and I split up responsibilities of what we each cover each episode fairly evenly, but Joel definitely has final say and final cut over whatever we do together, and obviously Genndy has final say over everything. How we are ultimately credited isn't really up to us. (In fact, Joel initially wanted us to be both credited as sound editors, but Genndy and Adult Swim gave him his own title card, which I am happy about, because he definitely deserves it. Joel is a humble guy and often likes to fly under the radar.) We both work remotely on our own, and each have our own respective companies we use for billing purposes.” The credit of Joel for sound design on Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal is well-earned, but ultimately he remains private in his work, and that privacy must be respected.

Genndy Tartakovsky himself said meaningful words about Joel Valentine, who did sound design on all of his Cartoon Network shows: “I’ve worked with Joel since the days of ‘Dexter.’ He’s got an amazing library and he knows how to blend sounds together to make them something very unique. For the fourth episode he went outside the norm and he found these vocal monster libraries that were done in the ’60s or something in Germany... for the mastodon episode, he found this library where some guy started a Kickstarter and then went to India to record elephant sounds for a year... all the mastodon sounds are so much more than what’s out there that a lot of people are using. I think we’re taking the extra effort for everything to make it sound unique and specific.”

Shane Houghton, co-creator of Big City Greens, compliments sound editor/designer Joel Valentine as part of “a killer sound team! They don't get enough love! Eric and Joel are amazing!”

Someone on Twitter asked @crackmccraigen “how was the noise used when the powerpuff girls would suddenly fly off made? The fwOosh/pew!! noise, yanno?” Craig replied: “It was comprised of a few different sound fx that were put together by the PPG sound designer Joel Valentine.” When I noted that Joel was usually uncredited, Craig told me that “The name Twenty-First Century Entertainment, Inc. listed under Sound Editing is Joel. That’s his company, [and] he wanted to be credited that way.” Another person appreciated the sound design of Kid Cosmic, and Craig highlighted that he’s been working with him for 27 years.

As of May 30th, 2021, Owen Fishback’s Kippie short, “Guard Duty Doggy”, was released. I saw it the next day, and it acknowledges Joel Valentine for sound effects (some of his sound effects are used in it, probably sourced from the Sound Effects Wiki pages for his sound effects, to which I contributed info but not the audio samples used in the video).

The sound effects that Joel created are very meaningful to me as I grew up heavily on the works of Joel Valentine for Cartoon Network, namely Dexter’s Laboratory. When I heard his sound design on Samurai Jack Season 5 back in 2017 (namely EPISODE XCIV), I was so impressed with his array of realistic soundscapes of atmospheres and animals that I began to consider Joel the next best creative in sound post-production sound services, next to those of Skywalker Sound and Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services.

I’m not sure what will become of The Producer’s Sound Effects Library, though I got a copy from ebay on 1/23/2020 A.D. as an upcoming birthday gift and immediately preserved it by ripping the files off ( the link for proof read Producers-Sound-Effects-Library-13-cds-Great-Value-Free-shipping/283736597492?hash=item421004e3f4:g:rLkAAOSwAGxeE8ql ). Thanks to @wiley207​ and SqueakyCartWheel for notifying me on the Sound Effects Wiki!

Here’s a close-up of the main CD’s cover, used for the 101 SOUND EFFECTS CD...

...and here’s the label of the CD. They all look like this due to distributor S.O.S.

I made a page for The Producers Sound Effects Library on the Sound Effects Wiki, of course, to celebrate this amazing, obscure library. I recognize a number of sound effects on that library, like “IN Cricket Single” (as often heard in Spongebob) and “ROBOT MOVES #1[-3]” One of my absolute favorite sound effects on that library is “SPACE BEAM DOWN.” It’s a deep drone with a mysterious, enticing musical tone; it’s on PSEL CD SY-01 - “Science Fiction”.

Regarding preservation of the PSEL: due to the copyright warning requiring “written legal documentation from the owner of the Producers Sound Effects Library” (that’s probably Joel)--though I think that the company of the same name as the SFX library, PSEL, is defunct--I believe that I can not upload the audio files online  “unauthorized” “by any information or sampler storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented”.

Aside from the PSEL, I hope and pray that Joel’s library will be in good hands when he retires. Sound Ideas or Pro Sound Effects deserve to preserve this amazing library of sound!

[sole-cuore-amore-e-droga]

Tel Aviv 2019: Straight outta Hungary to Eurovision with yet another father song apparently

Hungary, I love you, but you're bringing me down...

Never in my life have I wanted to fight a NF as much as A Dal 2019. The lineup was considerably less engaging with me than the previous year's one (but in the end it turned out to be even MORE engaging than the previous year's one), the design update (to which I got used to like 10 minutes later anyway) happened, the jury exterminated a handful of favourites, and a common Eurofan's worst fear apart from not having at least one glitzy-schlager-fiesta-wrapped entry a year occured yet again - the under/over-staging of songs with potential. What could've been a smooth sailing sweet ballad sung by a man with all his heart turned out to be a confused fisherman's piano boy tune with little to no emotional connection with the televiewer; a killer electropop soundscape piece sprinkled with intensity, fragility and neon-like colors was supposedly performed by a lost-on-stage housewive who probably has 2 kids and 2 cats at home; and that one folksy melody set to campfire suddenly lost all its fire with a snow backdrop behind. Truly a wrong time to become a full-on Hungary stan.

And yet, out of all this hot savaging and rampaging mess, entangled with fan-fave losses and one eliminee too late thanks to a common ESC song's worst fear (plagiarism accusations), emerged one gloriously victorious soul in the shape of a brave man of gypsy 'origo' who once has been elected to Eurovision to make his country proud with his killer ethnic track 2 years ago, and he nailed that right to the T, with the help of an onstage dancer and violinist (both female) to create some space for the song to breathe and exhale the passion of what he sang out of his heart by then - Joci Pápai. Yes, him again! Who did you expect, András Kállay-fucking-Saunders??

Anyways, his song this year is titled “Az én apám” (My father), written by him and partially co-written by a man hiding himself behind the name Caramel (and I prefer caramel candy more than the actual raw caramel tbh), who is probably finally lucky enough to see a composition of his go to Eurovision after he himself couldn’t quite make it as himself right back on the very first A Dal. This year he also wrote a cute little harmless ballad for a 16 year old girl but we’ll discuss her later (maybe), because it’s Joci’s time. Again.

As the title already indicates, it’s another song about a father, and unlike for AWS’s lead singer, Joci’s father is... alive and well, surprisingly, considering Joci is 37 and, at the time of his fatherly loss, Örs Siklósi from AWS was approximately 24-25. That definitely does not mean the parents’ loss can’t come in at any time of your year - A Dal 2019 had a contestant whose mother was murdered when he was NINE. 0_0 Not to mention that some mothers die during childbirth, too. Or even maybe some fathers die before children were born because all they need to be in part of babymaking is to give her satisfaction at the right time and boom, 9 months (or even earlier/later) of wait. But I digress. This is much different song from “Origo” as “Origo” had this ethnic upbeat rhythm to it, with violins included, and was mostly a captivating song with a little bit of rapping because Joci couldn’t fit so many words in all of the other verses he could have thought of for this song without having to extend the song for A Dal submission, so he had to do the rap, sorry “Origo” rap bit’s haters. “Az én apám”, meanwhile, has him project his feelings against a musical backdrop of a little bit more softer, acoustic, chill tune with a little poppier arrangement (and add some violins during his live performance on two of the A Dal shows, that are now a permanent part of the ESC version of the song!). And instead of the Romani onomatopoeia we’re getting “na na na, ya ya yah” in the chorus, which is as nice, but I’d rather “jalomaloma” out some bitches than have this.

For this one, he’s all alone, on his own, except for the other songwriter’s aid (dare I say that this personal song’s lyrics weren’t even written by Joci himself??? Not even a microscope??? Caramel you mastermind you). But mostly on stage, he’s alone. And shoeless. And with a starry-ish backdrop. Simple enough staging for a simple enough song, right? As it’s proven that simplicity can work in the past Eurovisions (see Sobral), and maybe, just maybe, Hungary does stand a chance for once again for being just simple, like Boggie was (but mostly she was more inoffensive and singing about a topic that’s still beaten to death every now and then, although this topic has fizzled out lately, which paved the way to all the love songs dominating NFs now, as well as the Latino craze). Though I doubted it was gonna remain so “simple” after it was revealed the Hungarian team is looking for everyone’s fathers’ pictures to be submitted to them. Yes, it was supposed to be one of THOSE kind of backdrops. I don’t even know what kind of use did Michael Schulte have of the fatherpics people sent HIM! Most of the backdrop focused of his lyric video aesthetic on the choruses, and I remember more of THAT, not the photos... so I doubted it was gonna work out on this one either. But in the end Joci wasn't satisfied with how all of those pics looked, so he will go for only showcasing his very own papi now.

Oh shit I forgot to talk what I feel about the song myself... well, safe to say that I didn’t warm up to it when I first heard the snippet ahead of every other A Dal snippet, but as in full, it just so happened to be nice enough, although I preferred “Origo” because reasons - not to mention that looking back at the A Dal 2017 state that I’ve seen from, I’d probably have had Joci as a legit fave to win it! And I already found Tótova to be too strange at first, unsure if it’s worth it to give them a second shot (post-2nd-listening-note: I did and it wasn’t that... bad?). And so, with low enough expectations, I didn’t even look into his chances all that further, especially with him being sick on the heat 3 day and only managing to barely tie-win in his heat just so he could dominate further rounds. But man did it turn out to be a beast later on.

So let’s, for now, say that I like it, but it’s just one of those artist return expectations that let you down because you really wanted to maybe see them again, but there would never be another song like the first one. Time will probably make me forget it all happened though and I’ll be able to enjoy it as much as “Origo”, as the “na na na” chorus part is really lovely enough. The song though, it is bafflingly too much reliant on too long verses in order to make the song just only have 2 of them and 2 choruses, and for the person that is biased for ‘2 verses - 3 choruses - bridge somewhere in between’ kind of songwriting that I am, it’s lowkey a glaring problem (as I'm finishing this weeks later than initially planned I actually got used to this structure and it even slightly compliments the song, but only slightly), as “Origo” has not only an engaging song but an engaging structure - nothing seems throwable out, nothing seems needed to additionally to be added. This one, however, is just there with its structure, and although hearts and minds are swayed by this, I don’t think I’ll get used to it this as a whole easy, unlike, like I said, time makes me forget the NF messfest and focus my love and support towards those that ARE going, not those that COULD’VE BEEN going. For now, I am not sure if I finished my review rant this properly, but for now, I’ll just wish Joci the best of luck, eventhough he’ll 1) never read this and 2) never understand this :( But still ^_^ Don’t let your nation down, big man and a father of two!

Approval factor: Despite reasons I’ll detail a little later, I’ll approve this entry, as I can’t be mad enough at Joci, for the humble man that he exists as, and the message he’s spreading, and the man he teamed up with. I approve of him but not of the background things.

Follow-up factor: From substance things, let’s just say it’s a bit of a yes and a bit of a no. No because ‘omfg it’s too soon for him wtf!!’ and I agree but if that’s what the juries initially wanted after seeing him in the lineup, and this return of his is now a bit more unnoticed and anonymous... but yes because it’s not a bad choice after AWS, because it was to be expected Hungary will send something softer after going out hard the last time, and they delivered the softness.

Qualification factor: depends on how does the audience feel for this emotionally, if Joci transmits his love for his father and that other supposed message as well well enough to the audience, in this simple staging of things (well if the fatherpic concept is still considered as ‘simple’ and nothing too cheesy or creepy). For now though I’ll be optimistic enough for Hungary - they won’t break their streak this year. If this simple-ish enough staging with just the singer on it doing his best worked for our lovely Ieva last year (despite these two not being a comparable songs), this would as well! And then settle around in top 15 provided enough people are there to give Joci just the right amount of love and patience that he needs (jury is a different question but since it’s not ethno-aggressive I think they might warm up to this as well, despite this being Hungary). Or even 16th-20th.

NATIONAL FINAL BONUS

A Dal 2019, with all things considered, needs to immediately die in a hellhole. Mainly because of the juries doing their dirty work by drowning the public favourites yet again, and especially the good ones (I've mentioned some of them earlier in the first paragraph by description). Let me demonstrate two of my favourites to the unsuspecting audience:

• Let’s get the elephant out of the room first. LEANDER FUCKING KILLS. Would you even think they’d have had any sort of victory of a NF potential?? Well, not off the AWS’s heels, considering both them and AWS play metal music. But their 2019 entry, "Hazavágyom", was something else. It’s if your dad went out with a couple of his friends to start a campfire somewhere in the woods, and then he took out a guitar because he remembered that he wanted to play something new he learned after listening to a lot of Irish folk music. And they all go off together - one rhythm drum, one guitar, the others jam out to the rhythm and create a fully-fledged campfire song, and a mysterious violinstress appears out of nowhere to help keep the party going. No really, it’s in the music video. Them being the most positive surprise of the lineup 2019 really melted my heart as I didn't expect so many people siding with another shade of their music. And even I started to draw myself into that song more and more, of how dancy and heartfelt it sounded with them decent lyrics about some sort of personal affection (maybe??), hoping that the jury will listen with their hearts and minds open to this Leander’s change of things and let them win the selection that way. But in the end... you know that Assi Azar quote. That’s right. And even so guess what - their first hurdle was their last. Sure, you can say they had a flawed live performance (no violinstress :( too rough vocals at the last chorus :((((((), but if you crush a future of good potential ahead, you’ll never know what might have you lost and how much would you have liked it better if things were slightly improved according to what you thought that needed to be changed in it. As it is for now, both "Hazavágyom" and Leander Kills ended up being robbed of Tel Aviv 2019. Hats off for trying, though.

• And then we have this fantabulous guy down here, with the name of Gergő Szekér and his journey-like legendary folk-tale, written for us guys, to let the past go, just like a (little) bird, and keep what matters only - “Madár, repülj!” mesmerized me from its first snippet (with me additionally commenting on that he’s a nice guy somehow), and then the full version came - with some rapping, wavy electronic bassline (that we haven’t seen striving since last days of dubstep’s relevancy), great choice of instruments, THAT gorgeous way of singing this whole song - I was ready to run away from the disappointment I had from Leander’s flop and immerse in this song fully knowing that it’s gonna be ‘such a jury darling!’... but a-MOTHERFUCKING-las! The boi missed the mark by 4 points in the superfinal vote-up in order just to tie with the unexpected new jury darling that was even BEATEN by Gergő in the semi, Bogi Nagy (the 16 year old I mentioned earlier)... the last juror thought that shooting up Bence Vavra to the superfinal spot was a good idea, and I can’t blame him as Bence deserved to go to the A Dal final for the little that he has participated in, but NOT AT MY BOI’S EXPENSE. ;_; I truly doubt that at this day and age there’ll be anyone capable of filling in the Gergő shaped hole in my heart... well, I can certainly TRY cutting him out of me, but the pre-NF-hype-build, his song’s remix with his X Faktor’s friends and my imagination of him dancing in the Telavivian postcards and engaging with his new Eurofandom fam through live interviews will haunt me from here on end... ugh.

And normally I hype up the NF participants that I supported last time previous year but then they become just artists for me and I wanted more of their song but not of the actual performer in Eurovision and therefore I don’t want them to ESC anymore, but if both of those above artists go to Eurovision at some point, I’m likely stanning both the hell out of their songs AND themselves, for who they are and who they stand for (hopefully nothing too controversial, we already have had a fanfave oppose gay marriage once so imagine a Hungarian A Dal winner doing the same at some point :O). Leander for his overall talent, Gergő for everything he is (and plus a little bit of mutual acknowledgment I’m gonna talk about later UwU bias is strong ahahaha).

Now with my sorrows out of the way, let’s highlight some more of this shit-fest:

• How the fuck wasn’t Dávid Heatlie’s staging a big meme during the season?? At least nationwide?? Seriously. “La Mama Hotel”, his actual entry, might not be too much of a standout (considering it’s just some by-numbers-synth-heavy song with its only major saving grace being a kickass guitar solo), and he did not perform all his best, BUT THE LAMPS. THE FUCKING LAMPS. Too many of them, and they’re slightly too oldfashioned, but so aesthetically-satisfying out of nowhere. If I were a moth, I’d immediately run to his lamps at any given time, and even stay with them after they’re eventually returned to MTVA’s stage props garage or to a Hungarian IKEA. Yes I know the moth meme is dead btw but so what?

Not to mention the guy himself is a bit of a meme in my eyes.

• I already discussed about this on my only one-time “Fanwank Assimilation” bulletin and I have no intent to reiterate all that I said from there on this one word-for-word but let’s go on anyway. Olivér Berkes, the hipster friend of Zävodi from A Dal 2017, returned on his own to win many more hearts with a soft piano/acoustic ballad “Világítótorony” (lighthouse), which couldn’t have been staged more... disconnectingly. To summarize, it’s somewhat of a love song inspired by a lighthouse symbol (quite literally lol), staged as if it was like fisherman taking care of one lighthouse himself, coming and going to do his thing. And like, there was no click with people that made Olivér stand out with something else other than just this ballad, like he did by constantly tele-qualifying with Ádám Szabó’s current girlfriend back in A Dal 2016 and being put in the superfinal with aforementioned Zävodi in 2017. His song itself was just a nice song and kind of a lot people liked it it seems, but I wasn’t really getting it until too much later on after Olivér’s heat was over, so I was surprised with his elimination, but my feelings I got from this song off my first impression weren’t disappointed over this. Check his performance here.

• Can I call Rozina Pátkai a highlight? You might have not heard of her unless you’re Hungarian and/or THAT into their jazz scene, as she’s big on there. This year though she has had a “noisy electropop” song through to the chosen 30 of the A Dal selection, and it was of the name “Frida”. Nothing was too bad until she also ended up having some unfortunate first-hand mis-staging. I did say at the beginning of this post that she kinda looked like “lost-on-stage housewife who probably has 2 kids and 2 cats at home”, and that’s just me not being fond of the outfit she got, though I don’t really imagine in better clothes, or do I? Nevertheless, the Rubik’s cube visuals of her pictures and bright pink lighting (where visible) looked great on her staging somehow (and the on-screen effects), just not the visual aesthetic of the singer’s. Witness it here. Also witness what I meant with the visual parts of things:

Triple woman?? now I’m scared

who’s this shocked gal in the background that got cubed???? UwU

curious woman telling you a bedtime story on TV

Sorry, these captions are a little too silly, but still. The jurors were alright with it except for one (and that’s also the one who killed Olivér’s chances too a little) and the televote was harsh (5 points, yikes, the lowest ever telescore of this A Dal year). Well, if it was studio, we’d probably see her through, but me personally, I saw it as a semifinalist at best when I first heard her song. Now I think it would have been decent enough for a final too maybe? As at least the chorus of this is good but I was never too hooked on the first verse as it always reminds me of the annoyingly soft indie pop that dominates the current music trends... well alas.

(Sidenote: maybe her moterly styling was dedicated to her future child she’s currently carrying? Yep, turns out Rozina is currently pregnant, just like one other A Dal contestant this year!)

• A personal highlight for me, besides that one time Gergő Sz. spoke out to an ESCBubble interviewer that “there’s this, like, a guy or a girl from Lithuania, and [he] said “yeah, I’ve some re-LAH-tivs [sic] ... in Lithuania and she was like *exasperated gasp noise* “Lithuania! Oh my God! We love you so much!”” (and for a matter of fact, it was me :) I’ve been only acknowledged once ever but the acknowledgement still exists!!), was discovering Fatal Error (and USNK but mainly just Fatal Error) before they entered A Dal 2019 with THE EXACT SAME SONG I FIRST HEARD OF THEIRS. Yeah. “Kulcs” music video featured Örs Siklósi, your favourite Hungarian screamer/singer, as a presenter rather than a part of the song, and a good-ass metal song did he present. And as the A Dal 2019 season rolled on at the beginning, Fatal Error were on my hyping target until some better songs came on and I didn’t feel like stanning Fatal Error’s song as much as I only stanned them because they’re here for the fans even more at even more times than I expected them to be - liking their comments on the band’s Instagram and Youtube posts - nothing against other contestants though (Leander included), if they have their lives to carry on and only sit down to check Instagram twice a week or so, it’s perfectly fine. :) I am quite sure Joci is probably like this also. Nevertheless, Fatal Error totally rocked, despite coming off AWS’s heels, and they’re at least encouraging other rock acts to come over to A Dal to open themselves to the world of many eager people discovering new artists every now and then. Just like the victory of AWS sort of did. Also one of the guys from that band said that their mother was delighted to see his band live, which brings us to...

• ...The Middletonz, a fresh new band for András Kállay-Saunders to leech on through next few A Dals now that the band of his name is no longer a thing. They, and yesyes, were the first ever fan favourites to emerge, mainly for sounding modern and having these artists people hate seeing back to A Dal only because of so many tries in the show, but happy to see back in hopes for them finally taking A Dal by their hands (and for András it’s a ‘finally AGAIN’ moment), but problems arose when the juries weren’t fond of both Middletonz AND yesyes, so much so that the frontman of the latter band spoke that he’s not coming back to A Dal again (unless he lies to us by coming back in 2022 or so). What amuses me more about The Middletonz, other than the song (which is fine for the most part, the D’n’B + acoustics mix is neat and catchy, but the beat drops harder than my will to live, and it IS bad (okay further listens later it’s not THAT bad but still... you gotta have had tried harder, men), is their nationality. Besides the hidden phantom member of the group that we never heard on any interview but appeared to be present (at least on the heat stage of the NF), here we have András, which is Hungarian-American, and his friend of the (nick)name of Slashkovic, which is Dutch-Iranian! That’s a colourful palette of double nationalities. And not to mention, despite it being a minority language, therefore a perfectly fine addition, some Russian language is heard in their song, courtesy of Slashko himself. That and on the A Dal 2019 final night Slashko had his parents watching him perform live for the first time... and based on the amount of years he has hidden that from his parents, it took him SO DAMN LONG somehow to reveal himself. Damn. Anyways, anyone up here to bet we’ll see András again, especially after him being reminded to “never give up” by one of his fans? Well, now that he has definitely seen Joci win A Dal twice on his both attempts, it’s highkey positive. Now with or without Slashko? We’ll see.

• The infamous plagiarism incident, which actually hung like a shadow on one of the contestants and those accusations probably scared him for life, and then the scandal outright knifed out a completely different contestant, Petruska (if you remember him from 2016, you know who he is), a little too late into the competition. If you were so certain his song sounded alike, you’d have either eliminated him in the heats or not accepted his song at all, which... maybe did sound like a Vampire Weekend song, I’ll let you judge.

I can’t be arsed to highlight anyone else because there was a lot to go after. Like, two young-bun A Dal acts that came from the same kidshow (different season though) and one did the song all by himself but couldn’t carry it quite as far despite his basic technotronic visuals, another was completely dependent on Caramel’s songwriting capabilities and fared WAY better than everyone else expected, tied-winning the heat with Joci, being the 3rd qualifier on the semi and beating Gergő Sz. during the superfinal vote-up by 4 points (and Feró’s endorsement lol). Yes the latter person I was talking about was Bogi Nagy. Have her song linked too if you want to listen to it. (I could have also talked about her sitting on a hula hoop and having a long extended projector dress to showcase her childhood pictures onto, but that’s just a song-saving gimmick in my opinion, and I don’t wanna waste my thoughts on her any longer tbh.) And USNK, those two that won X Faktor 2018, Soundcloud-rapped a song about HASHTAGS HASHTAGS HASHTAGS, gave a needlessly over-colourful stage show and took Leander’s spot of qualification to the semis through televoting (and additionally pissed me and borisbubbles off. Ya welcome for an indirect tag too!). Wow. But enough being a bitter Betty, I’ll have to let the bird fly until the next NF season and wait for some more eager names to cheer for, even if they don’t have an exciting “#háttérzaj” of nationalities. Until then, A Dal, my love...

[veryotl]

Vocal Unit song ranking

So I’m not really sure how to introduce this, since usually I write things like this off of an ask someone sends me and not just because. But basically, since maybe Love and Letter I’ve been expressing more and more my general dissatisfaction with Vocal Unit since they keep doing ballad songs and not really shifting genres at all. It’s not necessarily that I dislike ballads, but more that I want to see Vocal Unit expand and try new styles. Unfortunately, what ended up happening then was that a lot of my reactions to their songs became negatively framed, and most of my analysis on their songs were set in Vocal Unit’s overarching style instead of based on each song. I’ve never really gotten the chance to analyze them as individual songs instead of as a whole, so I decided I want to make a post that gives me the chance to do that. Since the format I’m most used to is a ranking, I’ve decided to keep that structure, so here is my ranking of Vocal Unit songs from least favorite to most!

6. When I Grow Up

Actually, it was very hard for me to pick one that was my least favorite, because as individual songs, I like them all very much. But if I had to pick, it would be When I Grow Up, for the reason that is that it’s very straightforward. It keeps the same structure throughout the entire song, the backing remains pretty much the same, there’s not a whole lot of build or progression to the song. I’m also not a huge fan of the high harmonies throughout the song, because they’re a little too forward in the mix and it can make it seem a little bit too sharp. Although, on the plus side, I really like the way Woozi’s voice fits into this song. I like the vibe of the song, too. It’s very steady and relaxing, and it feels just like sitting outside watching the rain fall and being unaware of time passing. As for lyrical content, the concept is very simple and straightforward as well, which nets extra points for keeping to a theme. Overall, it’s a very nice feeling song, but I feel like it’s easily assigned to background noise, just kind of the feeling of a song you wouldn’t skip, but you might not seek out on your own often.

5. Come To Me

Come To Me's biggest strength is probably the vocal ability, it does have some of the best vocals of all of Vocal Unit’s songs. They’re very mellow and easygoing, and it doesn’t sound like any of them have to particularly strain to hit the notes. However, the style of vocals doesn’t particularly suit the backing track at all, which seems to call for stronger, more upbeat tones. My first reaction was that it sounded like someone took a ballad track and laid it over a tropical house pop song like Really Really, and I still feel like that analysis is pretty accurate. Come To Me has the opposite problem of When I Grow Up, and that is that it does progress and change as the song goes on, but it doesn’t keep to a theme well. In lyrical content, it’s a very mellow, good feeling vibe, with lots of references to nature and emotions, kind of acting like a meeting of the ballad and tropical house genres. I can tell they tried to explore a new genre, but the melody in the vocals doesn’t match with the backing track much. It is still a very good feeling song to listen to, though.

4. Don’t Listen in Secret

At first, I was really disappointed with Don’t Listen, because it started out so understated with just vocals, piano, and a really quiet guitar, and the lyrics made it seem like the whole song should just be... stronger. But then, after the first chorus, there’s this building that starts to happen, adding drums and Seungkwan’s voice beginning to get stronger, and then immediately following that with DK. It builds into this almost... jazzy nightclub sounding song, where I can picture Woozi at a piano and Seungkwan and DK in snazzy suits at mics singing and Jeonghan and Joshua snapping their fingers and it’s this really cool kind of soundscape that I hadn’t expected from the song. If I were to improve this song, I might add a bit more instrumentation to compliment the stronger vocals DK and Seungkwan bring, but it’s also possible that the addition would make the song overwhelming and hurt Woozi’s more breathy chorus. Lyrically, this song does something I like too, which is like, writing a song about the song you’re writing. Popular Song does this same concept a little bit better, but altogether it’s a good concept and a pretty interesting soundscape that makes this song memorable.

3. 20

I argued with myself quite a bit about the order of these last three, since the faults and strengths are all different, but I finally decided on this order. 20 is an incredibly simple song with very pop-influenced instrumentals and vocals but it’s still done so well. The lyrics are simple, the progression is simple, but it only feeds into the idea that this is a song written to invoke either the excitement looking forward to your twenties or the nostalgia of looking back at a simpler time. It invokes the feeling of lightheartedness and optimism that perfectly encapsulates what the pop genre should be used for. It’s basically the ultimate feel-good pop song, that you listen to when you want to make new good memories or remember the good old times. The biggest fault of the song is that with the exception of Woozi who fits the genre extremely well, the vocals are a little weak. But considering it was debut era, and the allowance of the genre of the song, it’s not even that big of a subtractor from the enjoyment of the song.

2. Pinwheel

The realization that I actually really like Pinwheel was what inspired me to make this post in the first place. I was really hard on Pinwheel at first because I wanted to see other things from Vocal Unit, but Pinwheel actually does improve on a lot of the problems earlier ballads had. The vocals are really strong, the musical progression is memorable and really done well, the melody is creative particularly in DK’s playing with the rhythm in his chorus lead up and the bridge. The harmonies are well blended into the song and aren’t overwhelming, and the lyrics are just beautiful. It uses metaphors and visual pictures to invoke the feeling of loneliness and waiting, and it’s absolutely the most beautiful song Vocal Unit has done. The one complaint I would put for the song itself is that the final chorus had a lot of buildup behind it but not a lot of payoff. After the phenomenal bridge and Woozi’s lead in, I would’ve liked the final chorus to have a bit more of an impact behind it and a little bit of a change behind DK’s little bit of harmonization. However, it’s an absolutely gorgeous build and a great execution. 

1. Habit

Habit is a pretty overlooked song in the conversation of Vocal Unit songs, but I think it’s Vocal Unit’s best song. Firstly, the emotion in the song is expressed perfectly, from Joshua’s quiet and unpolished vocals to start the song and the understated nature of the verse that bursts into sound in the chorus, to the lyrics which encapsulate not only the pain of someone becoming a habit and then disappearing but also the bitterness of being easily forgotten when you’re still constantly catching yourself preforming the habit. There’s also a lot of memorable lyric delivery as well, with Woozi’s “I must seem like a fool” hitting like a punch. It’s so sad and so perfect. What really puts it over the top for me, though, is that they use Joshua and Jeonghan so well in the song. Instead of relegating them to backing vocals, they give Joshua a place where his softer vocals would be impactful, and give Jeonghan a place where his vocal color can shine instead of being overpowered by the other vocalists. They still keep DK and Seungkwan in the song and give them fitting parts too, where their emotional strength can shine and be noticeable, but they allow the other members to have just as impactful parts of the song as well, and I really appreciate that. I feel like Habit just perfectly uses the style of the song, each of the members, and Woozi’s writing ability. Even some more technical skills like using silence in certain parts to hitting the last chorus with lots of adlibs and harmonies to make it seem stronger is executed perfectly really driving home the message and the style of the song. It’s definitely my top Vocal Unit song. 

Bonus - Special Songs

I decided not to do the Adore U remake or any of the Vocal Unit versions of other songs, but I did kind of want to touch on a few special Vocal Unit songs. Namely, Simple and the Vocal Unit Band stage. Mostly I wanted to talk about Simple because it’s one of my favorite Seventeen songs as a whole, and I think the lyrics are some of the best Woozi have written, because it connects very strongly with a lot of emotions for me similarly to Tomorrow Today by JJ project. While I enjoy hearing Woozi write story songs like Pinwheel or love songs like 20, I really do wish he would attempt some more songs like Simple that really show his emotions and connect with him as a person and his experience. And then for Vocal Unit Band I just wanted to talk about it because I need 0 provocation to bring up that it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. DK has a pretty good voice for pop rock, and I’m really glad they explored that some. I really hope we get to hear some more of Seventeen exploring genres like this in the future, maybe in some rock ballads or some SHINee-style exploration into retro themes. 

[extremelynormalblog]

Yes! Podfic Feedback 101 is really “just do it, in any way you want/can.” Leave kudos or a comment, any comment, in any form, and you’re 99% sure to make a podficcer’s day/week.

Now if you’re looking for more specifics, here would be my Advanced Podfic Feedbacking Tips:

Make sure you’re leaving your comment to the right contributor. The podficcer is not usually the story’s writer, and the writer will usually not see comments on the podfic. If your comment is only or mostly about the fic’s plot or writing, then you should probably leave it on the fic itself!

Do your best to acknowledge the podficcer’s creative contribution. We are not text-to-speech machines or neutral conduits to the fic, and it feels amazing to have that acknowledged. Podficcing means putting your voice in the work, but also your unique interpretation of the story and your technical skills: interpretation/acting choices, narrative voice(s), character voice(s), editing (rhythm/pacing, sound quality, volume consistency), any extras if applicable (sound effects, music, soundscaping, podfic cover), etc. Lots of those skills -- if applied effectively -- are so unobtrusive/natural-sounding that they can seem easy or go unnoticed. If you point any of them out, your podficcers will love it.

Make sure you’re not accidentally giving a backhanded compliment, such as “I found your voice/accent hard to understand at first, but,” “I usually find podfic cringy, but,” “It was weird to listen to a sex scene read aloud, but,” etc. These are well-meaning, and not podfic-specific, but it sucks especially when you get few comments anyway and one of them contains a little dig at something you can’t help, or something you love.

Additional meta:

Feedback Fanlore article

Story love, body love, performance love by me (greedy_dancer)

Auralphonic podcast episode 004: Feedback by Paraka and Dodificus, with guests yue_ix and myself.

I’ve seen a lot of posts about what fic writers like in comments (I literally just reblogged one) that are really helpful, (bc I have really weird anxieties about commenting on people’s work for whatever reason) but I wish that I knew what podficcers like as comments as well. Podficcers often get so little interaction for something that’s often a lot more work and more creatively intensive than people tend to assume and… I just wish I knew what kind of comments made them happiest too! Because they deserve it!!

[yokosbetterthanthebeatles]

Physical Object

I’d be lying if I said I had a cohesive plan throughout this assignment. The idea of creating a physical object of any sort for an entirely digital project seemed borderline impossible at best and entirely futile at worst. Luckily, my girlfriend happens to be a spectacular DIY artist and walked me through how I’d implement my idea in a zine. I’m the luckiest boyfriend alive on truly all fronts.

To preface, I have no experience with zines, collage, or using oil pastels, all of which are the entirety of my physical object. Moreover, I have essential hand tremors and had to use a very sharp, very precise Exacto knife to get the cuts I sought, so my edges are, put kindly, rough.

I began documenting the project the moment I came home with the necesarry supplies to start it. The original intention for the project was to use an old color printer to print out images fit for inclusion into the zine; I forgot that the printer was about $50 and printed out color images of roughly the same low quality. This radically changed the design parameters and I found myself in another 7-in-7-esque project, using only found materials the attempt to convey an extraordinarily complex topic.

Before mustering the strength to dig through the old Bon Apitite magazines and political pamphlets that made up my entire collage canvas, I wrote the prose that I structured the zine’s flow around. The task at hand was to narrate how I came upon the idea of using an AI to generate audio, emphasizing computational understanding of things like “nature” and “sound” and how these relate to people semantically. The final text is as follows:

Sound was born from nature;

winds whistled before steel creaked.

 With industry came machinery came new noise.

With industry came machinery came computation;

came AI.

AI consumes ravenously, feeding from digital artifacts,

neatly organized to avoid indigestion.

What it consumes it can spit out,

what it sees it can paint,

and what it hears

it can sing.

Feed a machine a sample

of a Mockingbird.

What does it hear?

volume

tone

movement

plosives

rhthyms

drones

phrases

loops

stanzas

syllables

clicks…

but never a Mockingbird.

Ask a machine to recreate a sample

of a Mockingbird,

and by all means,

we hear a bird.

What about a voice? A forest? An entire city?

What can we glean from these constructed environments?

We find beauty in machine artifices,

find sense in the senseless,

observe everything we’ve built, in choir, reflected back at us,

our souls gleaming off the film of the digital mire.

When writing this, I was almost certain I would be able to dig up an image of a Mockingbird somewhere among my dozen of birding books. Deciding I held those books too close to my heart to mutilate them in good faith, I turned to abstraction (for better or for worse).

The prose was loosely based off the following storyboard I wrote at roughly the same time. The final prose differed a bit from the placeholder text I used mostly for visualization purposes, but the message is more-or-less the same:

After some proofreading and a bit of cutting to build a little pamphlet out of sketchbook paper, I printed the prose and set out on cutting out each line to best fit the meter I hoped for:

I then put together all the found materials I could muster, from collected magazine scraps to bubble wrap, copper wire, and an old SIM card. I just recently got a new phone after using the same one for 7 years, so some materials are likewise from the new iPhone’s packaging. Of note here is my abstraction of a Mockingbird, using its general wing color and notable white wing bars to make up for the fact that I can’t draw:

After 6 hours of cutting, ripping, meticulous pasting, weaving, taping, ruining, fixing, and ultimately covering my hands in oil pastels, I had the final product and some additional handiwork from my saving grace of a girlfriend to show for. Here are pictures of all pages of the zine, front to back:

As can be clearly seen, my aesthetic’s hand was forced by the natural bleed of pastels, so I elected to commit to oil bleed in the finished product. I use found materials throughout the zine to highlight the nature of datasets, compiled of odds and ends spanning the gambit of tangibility, living and dead. I use a live Pothos leaf collected from a particularly healthy plant of mine for use on the first page, the best possible inclusion of nature I could find that would simultaneously provide an organic texture. Throughout the zine, I use found objects that literally produce sound (like bubble wrap) and weave with copper wire to contrast nature with the man-made, complimented by contrived shreds of old magazines used for their textural value and sparse pops of color. I carry the allegory of the Mockingbird throughout the zine until its last page, featuring a pastel illustration done lovingly by my girlfriend. The Mockingbird holds a special place in the kingdom of birds in its ability to learn and replicate, not unlike machine learning, through exposure and iteration.

I enjoyed executing this project far more than I anticipated, and I feel it does a much better job conveying my curiosity towards AI-generated soundscapes than something like a graphic poster or academic paper could. Though I have a massive mess I still need to clean up, I managed to find a new niche to delve into with collage while, in my opinion, creating the most thorough amalgam of natural and artificial I could.

[nautilusanalog]

EAGLE’S NEST // TRACK 12 (Highlands track stories, #10)

The final track on Highlands. Not the last one that came through the pipeline, but this song always felt like the best way to close things out for this album. This track started as a more atmospheric piece-- the beat in the song was something added near the very end of production and was originally only near the very end. The track grew out of two ideas-- the first was using very spacey, modern sounding pads to create a soundscape somewhat urban in nature. The other was utilizing the background recording of a storm and using slowly melodic pads and chords to accent the storm and give it a feeling of flow and emotion; together, these ideas formulate Eagle's Nest. The storm that fades in and is present throughout the entirety of the track was recorded in April of 2017, on the balcony of my 24th floor apartment in the middle of downtown Chicago. I recorded a half hour of thunderstorm using my Zoom H6 recorder on my balcony, all the while sitting on the porch and enjoying the storm for myself. The highlights of the recording were interesting to me because of all the things I didn't notice, sitting there while it happened. Of course, the massive thunderclap at the end is actually the sound of lighting striking Trump Tower about a block over, and that was loud as hell in person. That's the kind of thing you feel, and it just reverberates throughout all of the buildings and streets for what seems like whole minutes when you hear it happen in person. Obviously, that was a sound I was excited to play back and hear (hoping it didn't clip, which it didn't), but what really blew me away about the recording was (first) realizing the background ambience of the city was mostly already there (that car horn right after the thunder is part of the recording, and there are many other examples if you listen closely) and that the wind and natural variations in rain volume and velocity gave the storm a sense of flow and story of it's own even without adding anything. I found all of this inspiring, and so I cut out a six minute segment of the storm (it was a 30 minute recording) and started layering sounds I had saved over it. (I often do that- if I find something neat, but it doesn't fit what I'm working on right that second, I'll save it and come back to it later) I started pulling from my most atmospheric and ethereal pads and sounds and then felt the almost trance-like beat develop very naturally- I heard it in my head, and within a few minutes dropped in those drums pretty much exactly as they appear in the final track. I think the storm and the rest of the track compliment each other and weave in and out of each other in a way that gave me just what I was looking for-- the feeling of being out on my balcony, covered from the rain but watching sheets of water pour down around me, thunder and traffic and energy surrounding every bit of the city around me, except for my little Eagle's Nest.

Notable influences for this track:

St. Germain - Forget Me Not

David Axelrod - The Human Abstract

Kaya Project - Good Morning London

[fluidsf]

Fluid Sonic Fluctuations Review 100

Fluid Label Focus on Genot Centre 17

FAUSTO MERCIER: FULLSCREEN (2019)

Catalogue number: GEN038

Cover design by Marick Roy

Reviewed format: download review copy in press kit kindly provided by Genot Centre

Hello and welcome to Fluid Sonic Fluctuations Review 100 in which I’m reviewing FAUSTO MERCIER’s debut album on Genot Centre titled FULLSCREEN. FULLSCREEN is a nicely long form album featuring 13 tracks, 10 of which are FAUSTO MERCIER originals while the 3 other tracks are remixes of several of the tracks featured on this album by Genot Centre family names that will be familiar if you’ve followed my blog before. These are r hunter, Ice_Eyes and Forces who have created some lovely manipulated, clubified and plundered remixes which add a good flow of variety within the album and integrate really well in the listening experience as original elements of the tracks are recognisable in these remixes but the three remixers also contribute a lot of fresh sounds and production to the album as well, enriching it in a way. In the description in my press kit, FAUSTO MERCIER (Roland Nagy) describes the album as being a collection of various ideas, drafts and sonic objects and indeed the album’s sound varies from track to track as the music often has a strong sense of experimentation still in progress and the tracks have an interesting independency between each other but the album retains a good coherent consistency in sonic approach as well. The cover of the digital version and limited edition C52 tape was designed by Marick Roy this time, matching MERCIER’s liquid, abstract and 3D sound design and productions which combine Deconstructed Club elements with a more ambient approach to abstract experimental electronic music with the glassy plastic like forms, manipulated type and blue objects floating within them on the cover of the album. FULLSCREEN was supplied to me in 24-bit/44.1kHz high resolution WAV format in the press kit, one of the options to download on Bandcamp and included with purchase of the tape there too. Now let’s move to the music on FULLSCREEN.

FULLSCREEN starts with FIRMEST FINE, a piece which uses a recognisable Deconstructed Club approach in its structure with EDM like melodies building towards a drop that’s very fragmented and abstract in nature. MERCIER’s approach to sound shaping is much more diffuse, liquid and metallic than some other Deconstructed Club artists however, going for an approach of layers of dissonance and “subtle harshness” than doesn’t entirely mask the melodic aspect of the music too however. In FIRMEST FINE MERCIER’s sound palette consists of fat drum sounds, screechy morphing synths, time-stretched percussion hits, various sound effects like female vocal samples and bells all produced within a nicely spacious stereo image and the beats are nicely punchy combined with the sharp synth melodies, definitely a winning opening track. GLUT moves into a more texture based direction with bending synth tones forming sci-fi drones backing a fun scattering mass of mangled synths, samples and drums sounds into what sounds like a futuristic Trap deconstruction into a kind of cyberpunkian soundscape. There’s a lot of variation in the rhythmic patterns and sonic manipulations which gives the piece a great fluid movement and sonic development, very nice. REVEIN is an abstract Deconstructed Club soundscape made up of stuttered synth sounds, liquid sound manipulations, chopped vocal samples creating wooden kinetic like structures of sounds which in the second half get especially intense as the get mixed with frantic sounding Geiger counter like sounds totally overloading mixed with eerie hissy pads. Like the structures literally melt into a mess of radioactive substances, radioactive melt-down translated into remarkably playful sonics. Afterwards we have the r hunter Remix of LAZZZZERISM which in a way does improve on the more abstract and repetitive original track (I’ll mention more about that when we reach the original track) the squelchy metallic percussion from the original is blended in here with a catchy straight groove made up of bassy bouncy kick, noise-sculpted hats and and laserific snare hits. Funky metallic synth melodies carry the piece and give it a great energetic drive that glues together the layers of percussive mayhem into quite a club like track, albeit a pretty quirky club track, very nice. HYPER follows which matches its name quite well, mostly consisting of wild stereo plunder phonics style glitches, liquid sounds and bleeps, mysterious eerie tones fade into the sonic image soon enough however giving the piece an intriguing alien feel. Quite a lot of great sonic manipulations in this piece and the mysterious tones give the music a great deep distant ambience that works as a sweet juxtaposition of elements and allowing the listener to focus on either or both layers of sound, making for a texture, rhythm or mixture based listening experience. SOWROW continues quite a bit of that alien / sci-fi vibe that this album often has with some delicious squelchy sonic manipulations, eerie airy pad tones and diffuse synth chops. It’s like a moving plastic “divine” creature (with divine pointing at the airy ambience) that keeps changing its form, with different sonic details happening left and right all over the place. GREY GAP is like one of the recent years Autechre glitchtastic fuzzy piece but produced with a more compressed and fuzzy Deconstructed Club production style with the sharp sounds and manipulations being created. Very intense, hard-hitting and exciting. Then on KNOWTOHOWTOKNOW we have what sounds like “a big lurking mystery” which is put into sounds through the ghostly main melody played by glassy ringing fuzzy distorted synth tones, liquid stereo sound design and monstrous growls. A richly detailed cinematic piece of music, very nice. Next we have Ice_Eyes Remix of MIND BUSINESS which turns the original into an atmospheric Club track but with plenty of distorted Industrial percussion sounds in it as well. The remix has quite a bit of general fuzzy edge to its sound and the bassy kick combined with the Grimey synths make for a track that’s quite a bit more straight in its Club style than some of Ice_Eyes recent original tracks but there’s plenty of cool abstract elements to the track as well like the many synth squeals and filter effects Ice_Eyes applies within the track. Smooth warm pads feature in the remix at points but Ice_Eyes also gets particularly into banger mode in the second half as they change the groove to an Industrial Techno like 4x4 groove which works in a great driving manner, great remix. The original track MIND BUSINESS then follows which more of a mixture of Industrial elements into deconstruction and quirky vocal and synth chops. The Grime element is also apparent in this original version which the screechy synths and fat drum sounds making for a particularly big punchy groove, but this groove changes up in more radical manners, perhaps even having a bit more of a “live performed” kind of feel like old Industrial tracks also tended to not use sequenced drums as driving force but life performed metal percussion and drums. Definitely a great original track and this original version and the Ice_Eyes Remix compliment each other really well and in the reverse order they’re sequenced in make for a great “deconstruction into original” kind of listening experience. LAZZZZERISM follows in its original version which at the start sounds like its a continuation straight from MIND BUSINESS as it follows the same tempo and even seems to contain the melody, albeit in very short tones within its intense metallic rhythms. The track is quite the rhythmic exercise with the focus laying completely on a series of variations on one main rhythm pattern on a whole array of metallic, bassy and squelchy laserific filter sweeping synth drums and screeches. The beats are quite enjoyable definitely but near the end I did feel like this track is just about the right length as the beats do feel a bit repetitive as the track progresses but I do appreciate FAUSTO MERCIER’s enthusiasm for experimentation in textures in tracks even if the end result is a tad long for its minimalist nature. Afterwards we have Forces Remix of first track FIRMEST FINE, which is a particularly bouncy and banging Plunderphonics style stutterific remix of the original track. If I compare it to the style of Forces’ earlier release Plastisphere on Genot Centre this remix has more of a feel to it like being build out of both organic elements (the squeaky synths and sound effects) and stacks of large and thick squares (the barrages of stuttered drum hits). The whole remix is pretty much one big thunderous relentless beat bonanza, but it’s definitely very enjoyable and varied enough, great remix. Final track CHECK REALITÉ is a surprising Noise like piece from FAUSTO MERCIER, its textures much darker, harsher and submarine like than in other tracks on FULLSCREEN. The piece is a subtle moving soundscape made up of the aforementioned submarine texture in the sonic form of filtered low pitched rumbles, a piercing continuous high pitched tone and the recognisable squelchy liquid synth sounds which subtly move from left to right in this piece matched with the rises and falls of the submarine rumbles. A great piece of music to close out the album, especially because it’s so different from the other tracks and there’s an enjoyable intensity and richness in the moving textures in this track.

To conclude this review of FULLSCREEN by FAUSTO MERCIER I’d say that it’s definitely great that he was so open about his working process in creating music by sharing it through this selection of pieces in album format but also succeeded in making it sound like a great coherent album through its sequencing and the remixes by r hunter, Ice_Eyes and Forces. I can definitely feel FAUSTO MERCIER’s got a great ear for balancing sci-fi Club deconstructions of sound with diffuse, mysterious but also lush atmospherics and can easily switch from more straight beats to abstract soundscapes. FULLSCREEN’s definitely a great album of varied experimental electronic music and the recognisable personal sound of FAUSTO MERCIER gives of a good impression of where he might be headed next in music. This is definitely a great album for fans of Deconstructed Club, Glitch and abstract electronic music but also listeners who are into Braindance or contemporary Plunderphonics explorations. There’s plenty of textures and beats to be enjoyed on this album so it’s also a recommended listen for fans of experimental music in general. Go check this album out.

The limited edition tape and digital version of FULLSCREEN are now available from the Genot Centre Bandcamp page here: https://genot.bandcamp.com/album/fullscreen