these are
the first demos i recorded, written 1994-1996 and recorded in the second
half of 1996. this corresponds to the end of my 15th year and the
beginning of my grade 10 school year. on the one hand, it's an
intriguing document of a socially maladjusted teenage punk. on the other
hand, it's a 15 year-old kid learning how to use a recording studio
(and how to play the drums). influences are displayed on my sleeve just a
little too loudly at times.
i was attempting to create something that could be described by the
words disturbing, schizophrenic, unique, bizarre, twisted. looking back,
i think i succeeded more than i realized at the time. this is a
difficult listen that would be appealing to fans of the obscurantist
reaches of 80s punk and 90s grunge. i manage to maintain a strange sense
of melody, though. in truth, my current adult self is somewhat
impressed with my teenaged self at this current point.
that being said, it should not be forgotten that i was fifteen. i am at
times rather crude, and i display a childlike understanding of certain
issues. most poetry written at the age of fifteen is not particularly
insightful. again, though, i surprise myself at points.
this is the first time i'm publishing these demos in any form. i've remained frighteningly self-conscious of them over the
years. over the last seventeen years, the audience has been extremely
limited. initial reactions suggested i take some time to perfect my
performance skills, particularly my drumming skills. however, this
indicated a lack of understanding of my intent in the overall sound. the
playing is quite purposefully abstract with the aim of exploring mental
illness.
the demos were initially dub-mastered onto a 110 minute tape that would
have flipped after the eighth track. that tape was at some point
recorded into a soundblaster and compressed very heavily; this is the
only source of the material that i still have. so, i had to decompress
the files from those 128 (or worse) kbps mp3s and run them through some
digital mastering equipment in an attempt to "undo" the compression.
what that is is a half-effective trick to recover data that is in
actuality forever lost. nonetheless, i should point out that while these
files were recorded entirely in 1996, they were substantially digitally
modified in late 2013. finalized on june 26, 2016. as always, please
use headphones.
i consider this an archival release with little direct listening value.
i've pointed out repeatedly that i was 15. however, various segments
have been isolated and pulled out for a higher listenability value over
here:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/inricycled-a
this release also includes a printable j-card insert and will also
eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all
phases of production (1996, 2013, 2016).
credits:
j - guitars, effects, bass, drums, vocals, keyboards, tapes, found sounds, percussion, production.
released december 25, 1996