...and i don't want to hang out with boring bourgeois assholes or pretentious hipster dipshits. at all.
if i actually had a government or office job, i'd be the one that never goes to staff parties and eats lunch at my desk. because, i really don't want to hang out with you.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
ok, here's another idea: parking.
there's some bigger apartment buildings running around 760-775. i'd be permanently defaulting on night-life to take that; i'd be falling from $200/month spending to under $100/month spending and, with the exchange, it would really leave me without the ability to go out very often. once a month. i could gamble on settling down a little anyways, but i'm not comfortable with defaulting on the option. and, rent isn't where i want the funds to disappear to.
but, if i get a dedicated parking space - which i will never use. i don't even have a license. - i could rent it out for what looks like more than $50/month. all of a sudden, that looks affordable. and, if i could just let the building deal with it maybe they'd cut the rent down by the difference...
on top of that, i can always *ask* about separating the hydro. then, the 775 potentially falls to 700. and, if i explain the scenario, i might get a reasonable reaction.
a big one bedroom apartment on the 6th or 7th floor with decent anti-smoke insulation (no balcony) would be a definite improvement. if it only costs me $30/month, after everything, that's a positive investment.
i can make some calls tomorrow.
i'm done for the night. i need to focus on the discography for a few hours.
there's some bigger apartment buildings running around 760-775. i'd be permanently defaulting on night-life to take that; i'd be falling from $200/month spending to under $100/month spending and, with the exchange, it would really leave me without the ability to go out very often. once a month. i could gamble on settling down a little anyways, but i'm not comfortable with defaulting on the option. and, rent isn't where i want the funds to disappear to.
but, if i get a dedicated parking space - which i will never use. i don't even have a license. - i could rent it out for what looks like more than $50/month. all of a sudden, that looks affordable. and, if i could just let the building deal with it maybe they'd cut the rent down by the difference...
on top of that, i can always *ask* about separating the hydro. then, the 775 potentially falls to 700. and, if i explain the scenario, i might get a reasonable reaction.
a big one bedroom apartment on the 6th or 7th floor with decent anti-smoke insulation (no balcony) would be a definite improvement. if it only costs me $30/month, after everything, that's a positive investment.
i can make some calls tomorrow.
i'm done for the night. i need to focus on the discography for a few hours.
but, what you're saying there - that attitude of yours, those beliefs, that perspective - is exactly why i've been speaking out against you.
1. atheist speaks out against the oppression of theist doctrines.
2. theists oppress atheist.
3. atheist says "see?".
4. theists oppress atheist.
5. goto 3.
you don't even have to give me hemlock. it's as old as fucking time.
it's not irony. it's not prophesy. it's just obvious. and, i'm aware that you really won't get it if you're stuck in the fucking cave of religious ignorance.
but, i can hardly stop saying "see?".
see?
1. atheist speaks out against the oppression of theist doctrines.
2. theists oppress atheist.
3. atheist says "see?".
4. theists oppress atheist.
5. goto 3.
you don't even have to give me hemlock. it's as old as fucking time.
it's not irony. it's not prophesy. it's just obvious. and, i'm aware that you really won't get it if you're stuck in the fucking cave of religious ignorance.
but, i can hardly stop saying "see?".
see?
the core
loops involved in clarity were initially created in the late summer of
2001, with the intent of being the opening sequence in a new inri
project (with the long kicked-around working title of 'trinri'). while i
had fairly firmly put the inri moniker down around my 19th birthday
(late 1999), i was also coming out of a lengthy "serious music" phase
and was getting a desire to write in a more structured, synth-pop type
direction, as i had for years previously. this urge was happening about
the same as i was being coerced into starting a rock band with some high
school acquaintances.
around october, i started working on a separate noise project that was meant to splice harsh electronic noise with anarchist politics. this produced two tracks at the time, which are now available as a short single as inri032. at the time, it wasn't clear to me where those ideas would lead.
by november it was clear that the rock band wasn't happening, but it turned out the singer had tastes that correlated reasonably well with what i was thinking about creating for the trinri project. these two projects consequently merged into rabit is wolf, and the material i was kicking around for use in trinri ended up becoming the core of what rabit is wolf became.
as i was recording parts for clarity, i ended up reusing ideas from the noise project. i further reused those ideas in constructing a 2004 noise collage for inclusion on the record that finally came out of the noise project. both noise collages are present in order to comprehensively explore the ideas existing within clarity.
zen was recorded with sean over december, 2001. i have chosen not to complete a version of the wave (inri053) that was also being discussed at the time, but would have fit into this release well, conceptually.
clarity was completed (with vocals) over january, 2002. the nature of rabit (along with the songs i had written for it) took a sharp turn towards folk almost immediately. this collection is consequently quite different than the official rabit demo, which is much more song-oriented. over the years, i've always wanted to have a rabit release that was darker, noisier and more chaotic and am glad to have it in the form of this ep-single, which could be viewed as a secondary demo. put another way, this is the comprehensive representation of the second (electro/noise/industrial) incarnation of rabit is wolf.
however, there are two factors complicating clarity as a solely rabit is wolf production. the first is that sean was never really happy with the result - a shame as i consider his vocal performance and lyrics to be the best of the songs we did together. the second is that i always felt the track was "mine" and should have had an instrumental mix. that is, i've always regretted not saving an instrumental mix.
for these reasons, i've revisited the track as an instrumental and left two snapshots - 11/2001 and 01/2002. this second snapshot (which is to be considered a final mix) will also appear on my upcoming 6th record, dated to the end of 2002.
recorded in late 2001 and early 2002. track 6 was constructed in may, 2004 out of files recorded 1999-2001. tracks 1-4 were reconstructed over october, 2014. final mixes were finished on october 18, 2014. disc closed on oct 30, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the 2014 instrumental version appears on my sixth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj-2
the 2002 vocal mix appears on the rabit is wolf demo:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/rabit-is-wolf
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2017).
around october, i started working on a separate noise project that was meant to splice harsh electronic noise with anarchist politics. this produced two tracks at the time, which are now available as a short single as inri032. at the time, it wasn't clear to me where those ideas would lead.
by november it was clear that the rock band wasn't happening, but it turned out the singer had tastes that correlated reasonably well with what i was thinking about creating for the trinri project. these two projects consequently merged into rabit is wolf, and the material i was kicking around for use in trinri ended up becoming the core of what rabit is wolf became.
as i was recording parts for clarity, i ended up reusing ideas from the noise project. i further reused those ideas in constructing a 2004 noise collage for inclusion on the record that finally came out of the noise project. both noise collages are present in order to comprehensively explore the ideas existing within clarity.
zen was recorded with sean over december, 2001. i have chosen not to complete a version of the wave (inri053) that was also being discussed at the time, but would have fit into this release well, conceptually.
clarity was completed (with vocals) over january, 2002. the nature of rabit (along with the songs i had written for it) took a sharp turn towards folk almost immediately. this collection is consequently quite different than the official rabit demo, which is much more song-oriented. over the years, i've always wanted to have a rabit release that was darker, noisier and more chaotic and am glad to have it in the form of this ep-single, which could be viewed as a secondary demo. put another way, this is the comprehensive representation of the second (electro/noise/industrial) incarnation of rabit is wolf.
however, there are two factors complicating clarity as a solely rabit is wolf production. the first is that sean was never really happy with the result - a shame as i consider his vocal performance and lyrics to be the best of the songs we did together. the second is that i always felt the track was "mine" and should have had an instrumental mix. that is, i've always regretted not saving an instrumental mix.
for these reasons, i've revisited the track as an instrumental and left two snapshots - 11/2001 and 01/2002. this second snapshot (which is to be considered a final mix) will also appear on my upcoming 6th record, dated to the end of 2002.
recorded in late 2001 and early 2002. track 6 was constructed in may, 2004 out of files recorded 1999-2001. tracks 1-4 were reconstructed over october, 2014. final mixes were finished on october 18, 2014. disc closed on oct 30, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the 2014 instrumental version appears on my sixth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj-2
the 2002 vocal mix appears on the rabit is wolf demo:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/rabit-is-wolf
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2017).
credits
released February 1, 2002
j - guitars (electric, acoustic, nylon), mandolin, sequencers, synthesizers, drum & melodic programming, electric air reed organ, digital piano, flute, drum kit, sampling, digital and analog effects processing, digital wave editing, sound design (loops, granular synthesis, noise generators), production
sean - vocals/lyrics (3,5), harmonica (4,5)
j - guitars (electric, acoustic, nylon), mandolin, sequencers, synthesizers, drum & melodic programming, electric air reed organ, digital piano, flute, drum kit, sampling, digital and analog effects processing, digital wave editing, sound design (loops, granular synthesis, noise generators), production
sean - vocals/lyrics (3,5), harmonica (4,5)
Monday, October 30, 2017
i don't know anything about rose mcgowan, besides that i think she dated marilyn manson a long time ago, but is she a known homophobe?
did this receive any criticism?
oh, i see, she's just incoherent:
but, this is what i'm saying, right: the biggest lies win the correct reaction to the gay card.
actually, i see she's been in trouble for this, before.
it's really this call-out culture that's become disturbing, as it's turned into this hierarchical bloodsport. and, i kind of like what spacey did here, for that reason: he's managed to visibly confuse people, in what i'm willing to acknowledge is an actual accident.
these responses really reveal the way people are thinking about this, as though this is all some twisted card game - what spacey did to these people is reveal his entire hand prematurely, and they're just reacting by saying he's not playing fairly.
i don't think what spacey did here is anything more complicated or nefarious than acknowledge that he's never publicly stated that he's gay. how do you approach the situation without doing this? it's a necessity. i mean, he could have denied it all outright and claimed he's really hetero and this other guy (who i've never heard of) is making it all up, and maybe that's what some of these people wanted to hear, but any responsible reaction to the situation at all - at all - necessitates acknowledging something he hadn't acknowledged before. whether he remembers or doesn't remember, whether he accepts responsibility or not, this is now out there on the table. and, had he not said anything, you can bet you'd hear the defense from his fans: how do we know this is true, when we don't even know if he's gay? he's never said he's gay...
but, these rational considerations are not what people want to contemplate. instead, people are taking this in the form of two cards, and the proper social cues attached to them:
1) the assault card. the proper social cue attached to the assault card is to post on twitter that you believe the victim, and the accused should rot in hell. outward displays of solidarity, however meaningless in reality, are then to be ranked by social media in a total order. anger always receives tops marks, as it functions as a vicarious outlet. prizes will be awarded at the end of the week.
2) the gay card. the proper social cue to the gay card is to post on twitter that you support coming out, and you're there for people, and you don't think it matters. meanwhile, you need to dm snarky messages to your friends. these displays of solidarity, however fraudulent, are also to be ranked by social media in a total order. the biggest lies will always receive the top marks.
so, you see what he did here? he created a contradiction. and, he did it by accident. in order to be angry at the accused, and get maximum points in the first competition, you must target a queer person and get nailed in the second. no fair!
i don't know how else you expect somebody to apologize for something they don't remember. i think he largely did this right. most people probably would have denied it.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/kevin-spacey-1.4377929
these responses really reveal the way people are thinking about this, as though this is all some twisted card game - what spacey did to these people is reveal his entire hand prematurely, and they're just reacting by saying he's not playing fairly.
i don't think what spacey did here is anything more complicated or nefarious than acknowledge that he's never publicly stated that he's gay. how do you approach the situation without doing this? it's a necessity. i mean, he could have denied it all outright and claimed he's really hetero and this other guy (who i've never heard of) is making it all up, and maybe that's what some of these people wanted to hear, but any responsible reaction to the situation at all - at all - necessitates acknowledging something he hadn't acknowledged before. whether he remembers or doesn't remember, whether he accepts responsibility or not, this is now out there on the table. and, had he not said anything, you can bet you'd hear the defense from his fans: how do we know this is true, when we don't even know if he's gay? he's never said he's gay...
but, these rational considerations are not what people want to contemplate. instead, people are taking this in the form of two cards, and the proper social cues attached to them:
1) the assault card. the proper social cue attached to the assault card is to post on twitter that you believe the victim, and the accused should rot in hell. outward displays of solidarity, however meaningless in reality, are then to be ranked by social media in a total order. anger always receives tops marks, as it functions as a vicarious outlet. prizes will be awarded at the end of the week.
2) the gay card. the proper social cue to the gay card is to post on twitter that you support coming out, and you're there for people, and you don't think it matters. meanwhile, you need to dm snarky messages to your friends. these displays of solidarity, however fraudulent, are also to be ranked by social media in a total order. the biggest lies will always receive the top marks.
so, you see what he did here? he created a contradiction. and, he did it by accident. in order to be angry at the accused, and get maximum points in the first competition, you must target a queer person and get nailed in the second. no fair!
i don't know how else you expect somebody to apologize for something they don't remember. i think he largely did this right. most people probably would have denied it.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/kevin-spacey-1.4377929
Monday, October 23, 2017
republishing inri053
this came out of a two-person psychedelic folk project i was working in over late 2001 and into mid 2002. we had brainstormed the idea of a piece that slowly built itself up, like a wave, and that had sporadic pieces of poetry interspersed as it did so. of the two of us, i was the musician, and he was the poet; i generally produced the music by myself. however, my vision of the track proved to be much larger than his, to the point that the two ideas could not be effectively reconciled given the deficit of technology available to us (i simply couldn't find a way to get enough resources to condense the track to under ten minutes). that left me with this seventy minute ambient piece that has mostly stayed hidden in my closet over the last twelve years.
in 2014, i strongly contemplated reconstructing the short version out of existing material, but it would have required a rethink of the process that i felt would be invasive to the poet involved. the reality is that the music that i created was not well suited as accompaniment for the poem, and it should just be left at that. in oct of 2017, i added the poem to the disc, a capella, as an introduction to the track.
this is very much process music. it's built on 36 distinct loops of identical length (just under 57 seconds) that assemble the collage up on a loop by loop basis, hitting it's full point only in the 35th loop. the 36th loop does not fit into any of the patterns that define the first 35, but is nonetheless the climax of the piece. this is followed by a disassembling process that is precisely the reverse of the assembling process. together, this produces the effect of a long wave of sound washing over the listener.
aesthetically, it's likely clear that i had been listening to a lot of "kosmische" style synthesizer music of european origin. it's actually a key part of my musical style, so a bigger exploration of it's themes is not at all out of place. however, i generally prefer to take ideas from the genre and recontextualize them rather than delve into a full exploration. this is somewhat unique in my discography as being an album-length analog synthesizer work.
either as ambient or kosmische or process music, this is mostly meant as background music.
written late 2001 and early 2002. this file is ripped from a cd-r that was burnt around 2002, as that was the option that would produce the most accurate reproduction of the original composition. republished without modification in 2014. on oct 23, 2017, the poem was added to the disc as an introduction to the track and the disc was subsequently closed and finalized as symph006 and lp012. as always, please use headphones.
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2002, 2014, 2017).
in 2014, i strongly contemplated reconstructing the short version out of existing material, but it would have required a rethink of the process that i felt would be invasive to the poet involved. the reality is that the music that i created was not well suited as accompaniment for the poem, and it should just be left at that. in oct of 2017, i added the poem to the disc, a capella, as an introduction to the track.
this is very much process music. it's built on 36 distinct loops of identical length (just under 57 seconds) that assemble the collage up on a loop by loop basis, hitting it's full point only in the 35th loop. the 36th loop does not fit into any of the patterns that define the first 35, but is nonetheless the climax of the piece. this is followed by a disassembling process that is precisely the reverse of the assembling process. together, this produces the effect of a long wave of sound washing over the listener.
aesthetically, it's likely clear that i had been listening to a lot of "kosmische" style synthesizer music of european origin. it's actually a key part of my musical style, so a bigger exploration of it's themes is not at all out of place. however, i generally prefer to take ideas from the genre and recontextualize them rather than delve into a full exploration. this is somewhat unique in my discography as being an album-length analog synthesizer work.
either as ambient or kosmische or process music, this is mostly meant as background music.
written late 2001 and early 2002. this file is ripped from a cd-r that was burnt around 2002, as that was the option that would produce the most accurate reproduction of the original composition. republished without modification in 2014. on oct 23, 2017, the poem was added to the disc as an introduction to the track and the disc was subsequently closed and finalized as symph006 and lp012. as always, please use headphones.
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2002, 2014, 2017).
credits
released january 15, 2002
j - synthesizers, electric & acoustic guitars, electric bass guitar, digital wave editing, production, composition
sean - vocals, lyrics
j - synthesizers, electric & acoustic guitars, electric bass guitar, digital wave editing, production, composition
sean - vocals, lyrics
Saturday, October 21, 2017
republishing inri049
rabit is wolf arose accidentally from the cynicide project (inri048), but produced far more material in the end. what happened was sean and i showed up to a few jam sessions and the guitarist (jon - it was his band) didn't, so we started writing some material without him...
initially, the intent was to include rather than exclude jon but he quickly developed a disinterest due to a variety of obvious if never fully articulated reasons. i was playing guitar parts on the demos, which he couldn't deal with. we were doing joy division songs, which were outside of his sphere of interest. we were writing without him, which made him feel unimportant. we were talking about songs without drums, which he wasn't interested in at all. etc. however, he did record a guitar part (that i wrote) that was never replaced.
upon release in 2014, this was a collection of demos from the first month of rabit is wolf, which included multiple versions of the title track and a joy division cover. in the end, none of this would be released in the form it's in here (which was only available for download), but it created a cohesive (if short) introduction to what followed that was self-contained in a historical context. stated differently, this was the first (post-punk) incarnation of rabit is wolf.
in oct of 2017, this release was expanded to act as a comprehensive exploration of this track and made available for physical purchase. seven further versions were added: three from 2002, three from 2014/2015 and one from 2010. disc finalized on oct 21, 2017.
i don't analyse sean's lyrics, but the subject matter is clearly that of contemplating suicide - i believe from the perspective of an imagined character.
written and recorded in the fall of 2001. compiled on sept 6, 2014. expanded and finalized on oct 20-21, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the album version of the track (track 11) appears on the rabit is wolf demo:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/rabit-is-wolf
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017).
initially, the intent was to include rather than exclude jon but he quickly developed a disinterest due to a variety of obvious if never fully articulated reasons. i was playing guitar parts on the demos, which he couldn't deal with. we were doing joy division songs, which were outside of his sphere of interest. we were writing without him, which made him feel unimportant. we were talking about songs without drums, which he wasn't interested in at all. etc. however, he did record a guitar part (that i wrote) that was never replaced.
upon release in 2014, this was a collection of demos from the first month of rabit is wolf, which included multiple versions of the title track and a joy division cover. in the end, none of this would be released in the form it's in here (which was only available for download), but it created a cohesive (if short) introduction to what followed that was self-contained in a historical context. stated differently, this was the first (post-punk) incarnation of rabit is wolf.
in oct of 2017, this release was expanded to act as a comprehensive exploration of this track and made available for physical purchase. seven further versions were added: three from 2002, three from 2014/2015 and one from 2010. disc finalized on oct 21, 2017.
i don't analyse sean's lyrics, but the subject matter is clearly that of contemplating suicide - i believe from the perspective of an imagined character.
written and recorded in the fall of 2001. compiled on sept 6, 2014. expanded and finalized on oct 20-21, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the album version of the track (track 11) appears on the rabit is wolf demo:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/rabit-is-wolf
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017).
credits
released October 15, 2001
j - electric bass guitar, electric & acoustic guitars, analog & digital effects & processing, synthesizers, score writing, writing, production
sean - vocals, lyrics, writing
jon - some extra guitar performance (6-8, 10-11, 13)
j - electric bass guitar, electric & acoustic guitars, analog & digital effects & processing, synthesizers, score writing, writing, production
sean - vocals, lyrics, writing
jon - some extra guitar performance (6-8, 10-11, 13)
Monday, October 16, 2017
republishing inri048
this track represents somewhat of a refocus, but it never found itself to fruition in the way it was meant to.
over the summer of 2001, a friend of a friend decided he wanted to start a band and asked me to play bass. now, we didn't really have a lot in common besides both being musicians. i was spiralling out into obscure independent music, and he was into all the mainstream rock bands. 2001 was the point where grunge was losing it's last bit of mainstream potential, and giving way to nu metal and various watered down, corporatized offshoots of hardcore. so, i was sitting around listening to tortoise and writing jazz compositions and he was sitting around listening to limp bizkit and writing mtv/radio rock. how could this legitimately work?
there was a small amount of overlap, centred mostly around tool. it so happened to be that tool had just released a new record, we were both listening to it and neither of us really had anybody else to talk to about it. so, something formed out of that.
now, when you're an isolated twenty year old that's never been lucky enough to meet another musician you can start a band with, you take what you can get. it seemed implausible that it was going anywhere, but wasn't that the case for every other band that ever went anywhere when they first started off? i don't think either of us thought we were natural creative partners, but we had a set of common goals and if we could put aside our differences...
see, the thing is i knew that the only way anything was going to happen is if i sat down and recorded a bunch of stuff. but, i also knew that this is a guy that defines himself in terms of his oversized ego and that the whole purpose of it from his perspective was to give himself a way to explore it. that's not the worst trait to have if you want to start a band, either. my overwhelmingly shy introversion hasn't exactly got me filling stadiums, has it? nor is it ever going to, and i realized it even at that stage. so, a natural role would be for me to play the producer (along with the bass guitar) while he throws some stuff at me. if that meant i'd be doing 90% of the actual recording, that would be ok, but i realized i had to let him provide the actual song structures or he'd storm off and pout about it.
so, i waited for him to provide some material. and waited. eventually it became clear that he didn't actually have any serious songs. we did a few demos, but he could barely play what he was trying to demo and the tracks were not of a gigging quality level.
in the mean time, he'd recruited a guitarist. he kept saying he was talking to a drummer (no drummer ever appeared), and he also recruited another friend of a friend as a singer. so, we had what seemed like a full band, if you include the imaginary drummer. what i saw was an opportunity. if he wasn't going to write some songs, i guess i'd have to...
the other guitarist almost immediately dropped out, and the whole project really fell apart rather quickly when the guy that initiated the whole thing stopped showing up to practice. it was several weeks in a row that only the singer and i showed up. i had a few songs i had written, so we started working on those instead and that became rabit is wolf. predictably, there was much pouting.
that leaves this particular song in an isolated limbo. when it was reworked for rabit is wolf (inri057), it took on the epic and experimental nature i was exploring at the time and lost the crux of itself as a stadium rock song. i feel something valuable was lost in this process, if for no other reason that this is so dramatically different than anything else i was doing at the time.
thankfully, i still have the original drum files, and i remember how to play the guitar part, so it's simply a process of recreating it. the raw mix sounds exactly as the track did in 2001. the complete mix takes it to it's final conclusion.
a number of literal remixes were added on oct 16, 2017, including the electronics only mix for the ry30 disc, from dec 27, 2015.
the ep also includes some files from 2001 that are attached to the initial cynicide project.
written in the summer of 2001. remembered over july, 2014. completed august-september, 2014. released sept 24, 2014. expanded, finalized and re-released on oct 16, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
credits
released september 16, 2001
j - electric guitars, analog & digital effects & processing, electric bass guitar, synthesizers, orchestral & other sequencing, drum programming, digital wave editing, sampling, loops, equalization, vocals (8), production
j - electric guitars, analog & digital effects & processing, electric bass guitar, synthesizers, orchestral & other sequencing, drum programming, digital wave editing, sampling, loops, equalization, vocals (8), production
the rendered electronic orchestra includes tuba, saxophone, flute, clarinet, orchestra hit, piano, violin, viola, cello, contrabass and various full string sections.
sean - vocals (track 9)
jon - acoustic guitar (track 9)
republishing inri047
to understand this piece, it's necessary to go back to 1998.
i was working out primitive sequencer parts for the first inri demo and it just sort of crossed my mind that there was really nothing stopping me from composing symphonies except for a lot of music theory. well, if i could write electronic music without training, why couldn't i write symphonies without training? i mean, the score writing program exists in front of me. it was just a question of experimenting with it. i could do it myself...
...but i actually already had a pretty hefty disdain for music theory by the age of 17. i'd managed to come across a music history textbook that traced the deconstruction of western theory from beethoven through to schoenberg and this, combined with my experiences as a guitarist, was enough to prevent me from taking it seriously. the perception i had was of modern composers viewing music theory sort of like how biologists viewed creationism. i use that analogy fairly frequently. it just didn't strike me as relevant.
now, i've softened a bit over time to a view that music theory is best understood in terms of the underlying physics. this renders the theory useless, but upholds the basic relationships between tones as physical, mathematical realities. the thing is the next step of abstraction is understanding that these mathematical objects can be arranged and analyzed in any arbitrary way, and the conventional theory really *is* a fallacy akin to creationism. so, i still hold to the general thesis. this is actually the first serious example of me putting that disdain for the idea that music should have a theory into real action. i remain adamantly of the view that art is not a realm where theories should exist or be viewed with anything other than scorn. theories are rigid, formal things; art is informal, chaotic.
so, it's 1998. i have a scorewriter and a very basic soundcard and i want to bullshit a symphony out of it. i did this by composing a single brief melody by randomly mashing notes into a scorewriter. i then took that melody and pasted it over top of itself at differing speeds (64th, 32nd, 16th, 8th, quarter, half, whole notes). i then took that, cut it off near the end of the half notes and pasted it over itself, backwards.
that might sound like it's going to sound awful, but it actually sounds quite lovely. one could analyze it quite easily, but it's creation is beyond the realm of any rules of construction.
which is where art belongs.
...excepting the algorithm i used, of course. i suppose it's more reich than schoenberg, but kind of more xenakis than either.
the initial version ended up subsumed underneath a messy noise collage that i created independently and have lost the source material for. that messy noise collage was eliminated from the track for the 1999 version, which was reconstructed by reproducing the algorithm. these are tracks 19 and 20 on this systematic exploration of the theme.
in 2001, i ran the midi file through my soundblaster live!, which as primitive as it is, has a much nicer wavetable in it than the primitive soundcard i used in 1998 and 1999 (i don't remember what it was). this is track 21. i also slowed it down by about 20 bpm and allowed the full file to "intersect", which let it breathe more; this is track 22. i've previously not done anything with this mix other than append it to some mix cds. the guitars on the soundblaster are notoriously bad, so there wasn't a lot to do with it....
why? well, i was writing a lot with scorewriters at the time and was just experimenting with the old file, really. but i was also finishing up what would be the only year i would spend in the math-physics department, and thought it sounded like i would imagine intersecting particles *should* sound like. i was generally interested in finding ways to combine science with music then - an interest that is present in older tracks as well and that has stuck with me. i may explore these themes further in time. one of the ideas i really wanted to accomplish was a physical modelling of the universe, to actually simulate the music of the spheres, as pythagoras imagined it. i think i underestimated the complexity of such a task....
of course, i never expected the music of the spheres to be tonal. and i wouldn't expect the sound of particles intersecting to be musical, either. but, we can take some artistic license. if intersecting particles are to make a sound, it OUGHT to be something like this!
now, the place to work out the actual intersection is rather arbitrary. i had initially cut off the entire section of pure whole notes, back in '98. what i wanted to do in '01 was create a sequence where it's cut off incrementally, creating shorter and shorter pieces. i didn't actually do that then, but i did do it in july of 2014.
as for the piece, i haven't changed it much or the 2014 reconstruction. i've doubled the guitar with a pizzicato string section, and put it through a better guitar synthesizer (and amp simulator, and effects). the sound fonts are otherwise identical, just updated mildly to a better synthesizer.
a string orchestra mix was added at the end of may, 2015. a new album mix for my first record was created at the beginning of jan, 2016, but not added until october of 2017, along with the failed 2013 remaster and solitary forwards and backwards versions built on the 2016 mix. the release was also split into two discs at this point.
i've included the midi files of the original composition, if you'd like to mess with it on your own.
written one day in june, 1998. re-created on another day in june, 1999. reimagined on yet another day in june, 2001. a failed remaster occurred at the end of 2013. slightly rearranged and re-rendered at the end of july, 2014. rearranged again at the end of may, 2015 and one last time at the beginning of jan, 2016. expanded and finalized over oct 15-16, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the 2014 version appears on my fifth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
the 2016 version appears on the final remaster of my first record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/inri-3
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (1998, 1999, 2001, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017).
i was working out primitive sequencer parts for the first inri demo and it just sort of crossed my mind that there was really nothing stopping me from composing symphonies except for a lot of music theory. well, if i could write electronic music without training, why couldn't i write symphonies without training? i mean, the score writing program exists in front of me. it was just a question of experimenting with it. i could do it myself...
...but i actually already had a pretty hefty disdain for music theory by the age of 17. i'd managed to come across a music history textbook that traced the deconstruction of western theory from beethoven through to schoenberg and this, combined with my experiences as a guitarist, was enough to prevent me from taking it seriously. the perception i had was of modern composers viewing music theory sort of like how biologists viewed creationism. i use that analogy fairly frequently. it just didn't strike me as relevant.
now, i've softened a bit over time to a view that music theory is best understood in terms of the underlying physics. this renders the theory useless, but upholds the basic relationships between tones as physical, mathematical realities. the thing is the next step of abstraction is understanding that these mathematical objects can be arranged and analyzed in any arbitrary way, and the conventional theory really *is* a fallacy akin to creationism. so, i still hold to the general thesis. this is actually the first serious example of me putting that disdain for the idea that music should have a theory into real action. i remain adamantly of the view that art is not a realm where theories should exist or be viewed with anything other than scorn. theories are rigid, formal things; art is informal, chaotic.
so, it's 1998. i have a scorewriter and a very basic soundcard and i want to bullshit a symphony out of it. i did this by composing a single brief melody by randomly mashing notes into a scorewriter. i then took that melody and pasted it over top of itself at differing speeds (64th, 32nd, 16th, 8th, quarter, half, whole notes). i then took that, cut it off near the end of the half notes and pasted it over itself, backwards.
that might sound like it's going to sound awful, but it actually sounds quite lovely. one could analyze it quite easily, but it's creation is beyond the realm of any rules of construction.
which is where art belongs.
...excepting the algorithm i used, of course. i suppose it's more reich than schoenberg, but kind of more xenakis than either.
the initial version ended up subsumed underneath a messy noise collage that i created independently and have lost the source material for. that messy noise collage was eliminated from the track for the 1999 version, which was reconstructed by reproducing the algorithm. these are tracks 19 and 20 on this systematic exploration of the theme.
in 2001, i ran the midi file through my soundblaster live!, which as primitive as it is, has a much nicer wavetable in it than the primitive soundcard i used in 1998 and 1999 (i don't remember what it was). this is track 21. i also slowed it down by about 20 bpm and allowed the full file to "intersect", which let it breathe more; this is track 22. i've previously not done anything with this mix other than append it to some mix cds. the guitars on the soundblaster are notoriously bad, so there wasn't a lot to do with it....
why? well, i was writing a lot with scorewriters at the time and was just experimenting with the old file, really. but i was also finishing up what would be the only year i would spend in the math-physics department, and thought it sounded like i would imagine intersecting particles *should* sound like. i was generally interested in finding ways to combine science with music then - an interest that is present in older tracks as well and that has stuck with me. i may explore these themes further in time. one of the ideas i really wanted to accomplish was a physical modelling of the universe, to actually simulate the music of the spheres, as pythagoras imagined it. i think i underestimated the complexity of such a task....
of course, i never expected the music of the spheres to be tonal. and i wouldn't expect the sound of particles intersecting to be musical, either. but, we can take some artistic license. if intersecting particles are to make a sound, it OUGHT to be something like this!
now, the place to work out the actual intersection is rather arbitrary. i had initially cut off the entire section of pure whole notes, back in '98. what i wanted to do in '01 was create a sequence where it's cut off incrementally, creating shorter and shorter pieces. i didn't actually do that then, but i did do it in july of 2014.
as for the piece, i haven't changed it much or the 2014 reconstruction. i've doubled the guitar with a pizzicato string section, and put it through a better guitar synthesizer (and amp simulator, and effects). the sound fonts are otherwise identical, just updated mildly to a better synthesizer.
a string orchestra mix was added at the end of may, 2015. a new album mix for my first record was created at the beginning of jan, 2016, but not added until october of 2017, along with the failed 2013 remaster and solitary forwards and backwards versions built on the 2016 mix. the release was also split into two discs at this point.
i've included the midi files of the original composition, if you'd like to mess with it on your own.
written one day in june, 1998. re-created on another day in june, 1999. reimagined on yet another day in june, 2001. a failed remaster occurred at the end of 2013. slightly rearranged and re-rendered at the end of july, 2014. rearranged again at the end of may, 2015 and one last time at the beginning of jan, 2016. expanded and finalized over oct 15-16, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the 2014 version appears on my fifth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
the 2016 version appears on the final remaster of my first record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/inri-3
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (1998, 1999, 2001, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017).
credits
released june 18, 2001
j - programming, digital effects & treatments, digital wave editing, composition.
the rendered electronic orchestras variously include piano, electric guitar, orchestra hit, synth pads, pizzicato strings, violin, viola, cello, contrabass and pc card.
j - programming, digital effects & treatments, digital wave editing, composition.
the rendered electronic orchestras variously include piano, electric guitar, orchestra hit, synth pads, pizzicato strings, violin, viola, cello, contrabass and pc card.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
republishing inri044
(this was initially published on the morning of the 14th and fast forwarded to early on the 15th, to account for fixing a corrupted file.)
regarding this piece, my memory is blurry; yet, i have a vivid recollection of playing parts of it for my guitar teacher on a sunny day, where there was still snow on the ground. it's funny how we remember seemingly irrelevant details, but i guess the atmosphere of the performance is important because the performance is. that would date it to roughly march, 2001.
i switched the piece from classical guitar to piano halfway through writing it, and vaguely remember thinking that an impossible interval had something to do with it (a specific c# cannot be hit on a standard classical). yet, that doesn't change the fact that it's guitar music. the counterpoint is very guitar.
to further complicate things, i've long wanted to turn the piece into a jazzy idm romp. it has a kind of a jingly feel to it that belongs in the warp records sphere.
so, what is this? a classical guitar piece? a jazzy piano piece? a techno tune? all of the above! as with other pieces from this period, this is presented here in multiple formats: several rendered midi tracks, live guitar versions, a vst version and a "full band" version - as well as multiple remixes.
i have included the original midi file (and sheet music in pdf) as a bonus item in the download, if you want to play with it on your own.
conceptually, the time machine aspect referred simply to the slowed down guitar chords at the beginning of the song. if you play it a certain way, it sounds like time is collapsing in on itself. or, so i thought, anyways. the various versions i have created here have made an attempt to take that idea to it's logical conclusion. it's a mix of the vision i had at the time and a bit of hindsight.
six further mixes were added at the end of may, 2015. two of these are "techno" mixes of the song, three are interpretations of the piece on a solo instrument and one is a rearrangement for a full string orchestra. i've decided to present the material in a way that is really two eps combined together, with the first being arrangements for multiple instruments and the second being arrangements for solo instruments. note that there is a placeholder for the track as it was initially written for a 21-fret classical guitar.
four more mixes were added in mid oct, 2017: two orchestral mixes and two more interpretations for solo instrument.
written early 2001. drastically rearranged in june, 2014. rendered, arranged and performed over june and july, 2014. remixed and re-rendered several times over late may, 2015 and again over mid oct, 2017. this release cannot formally finalize at this time, but has been put into it's existing state as of oct 14, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the album version of this track (the time machine + reprise) appears on my fifth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2014, 2015, 2017).
* download only
regarding this piece, my memory is blurry; yet, i have a vivid recollection of playing parts of it for my guitar teacher on a sunny day, where there was still snow on the ground. it's funny how we remember seemingly irrelevant details, but i guess the atmosphere of the performance is important because the performance is. that would date it to roughly march, 2001.
i switched the piece from classical guitar to piano halfway through writing it, and vaguely remember thinking that an impossible interval had something to do with it (a specific c# cannot be hit on a standard classical). yet, that doesn't change the fact that it's guitar music. the counterpoint is very guitar.
to further complicate things, i've long wanted to turn the piece into a jazzy idm romp. it has a kind of a jingly feel to it that belongs in the warp records sphere.
so, what is this? a classical guitar piece? a jazzy piano piece? a techno tune? all of the above! as with other pieces from this period, this is presented here in multiple formats: several rendered midi tracks, live guitar versions, a vst version and a "full band" version - as well as multiple remixes.
i have included the original midi file (and sheet music in pdf) as a bonus item in the download, if you want to play with it on your own.
conceptually, the time machine aspect referred simply to the slowed down guitar chords at the beginning of the song. if you play it a certain way, it sounds like time is collapsing in on itself. or, so i thought, anyways. the various versions i have created here have made an attempt to take that idea to it's logical conclusion. it's a mix of the vision i had at the time and a bit of hindsight.
six further mixes were added at the end of may, 2015. two of these are "techno" mixes of the song, three are interpretations of the piece on a solo instrument and one is a rearrangement for a full string orchestra. i've decided to present the material in a way that is really two eps combined together, with the first being arrangements for multiple instruments and the second being arrangements for solo instruments. note that there is a placeholder for the track as it was initially written for a 21-fret classical guitar.
four more mixes were added in mid oct, 2017: two orchestral mixes and two more interpretations for solo instrument.
written early 2001. drastically rearranged in june, 2014. rendered, arranged and performed over june and july, 2014. remixed and re-rendered several times over late may, 2015 and again over mid oct, 2017. this release cannot formally finalize at this time, but has been put into it's existing state as of oct 14, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the album version of this track (the time machine + reprise) appears on my fifth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2014, 2015, 2017).
* download only
credits
released March 21, 2001
j - electric guitar, programming, digital effects & treatments, digital wave editing, loops, production, composition
the various rendered electronic orchestras include acoustic bass, synth bass, electric bass, upright bass, brass section, orchestra hit, drum machine, electronic drum kit, nylon guitar, electric guitar, violin, viola, cello, contrabass, french horn, trumpet, tuba, trombone, synthesizers, synthesizer effects, harp, music box, detuned piano, piano, bells, flute, hammered percussion, vibraphone, marimba and mellotron. it also includes choir.
j - electric guitar, programming, digital effects & treatments, digital wave editing, loops, production, composition
the various rendered electronic orchestras include acoustic bass, synth bass, electric bass, upright bass, brass section, orchestra hit, drum machine, electronic drum kit, nylon guitar, electric guitar, violin, viola, cello, contrabass, french horn, trumpet, tuba, trombone, synthesizers, synthesizer effects, harp, music box, detuned piano, piano, bells, flute, hammered percussion, vibraphone, marimba and mellotron. it also includes choir.
jagmeet singh must cut his beard.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
republishing inri043
this is one of the tracks that i can't date well. i do, however, remember working on it during the winter, which means it must have been late '00 or early '01. i'm going to consequently deduce that it must have been what i was working on over the 2000 christmas break and date it coming out right after it.
actually, i have another reason to date it in early '01 rather than late '00: the introductory piano part was recorded live into my notation program on my dx100, which i was given over christmas (maybe a little before; it was a cheap garage sale pickup) to act as a controller for my recently broken jx-8p, that i had tried to take apart over the summer to clean a sticky key (a common problem with mid-80s roland analog synths) but failed and left keyless. it's still keyless. yet, the dx still drives it....
that introductory piano part formed the basis of the track, which built itself up fairly quickly. somewhere, i lost the nwc file by saving it as midi, which ruined all the formatting. it's been sitting on my drive ever since.
why put together seven different midi versions of the same track, and sequence them after a polished recorded version? well, this was never actually meant to be computer music. i was just composing something the old fashioned way with the intent of later giving it to some musicians to play. that never happened. what did happen was that i found myself playing it back on multiple sound cards over many years, trying to make it sound as good as possible in the short run - until i could finally get the chance to sit down and actually record it. while each of the different renders has it's strong and weak points, i ultimately don't feel that they form a total order. something i thought about doing was recording tracks independently on different cards and then pasting them together, but that would have just created another dozen incomparable mixes. rather than arbitrarily pick one, i decided to just upload all of them.
in hindsight, i think the format is interesting in itself in terms of it being a psychological experiment with sound. the differences from track to track are sometimes inaudible and sometimes extremely noticeable. stringing it all together in a row like this is challenging to any listener in the sense that it rips apart the process of becoming familiar with a piece. it means listening to exactly the same song through multiple different sound libraries. i think your brain would have to interpret that as a sort of a trip, especially when it comes to trying to build associations in sound within tracks that are both similar and different sounding, soundcard wise. i think that might be part of the reason i had so much difficulty isolating tracks in the first place.
so, listening to the ep through all the way is likely to be a bit disorienting and might ultimately be a strange experience. however, if you like the track for what it is as a collection of overlapping sequences of notes then i hope you get something out of the process of comparing and contrasting the renders together.
i have included the original midi file as a bonus item in the download, if you want to play with it on your own. the added guitar sections in the final version are recent additions and have not been written out.
thematically, the track is meant to orchestrate a feeling of claustrophobia with society pushing down on you too hard. it's meant to transmit a feeling of existential dread. at the time, i really felt stuck with life in general and not sure how i was going to get out of it.
four further remixes were added at the end of may, 2015, which initially forced me to move two of the midi renders to 'download only'. it also split the ep into jazz and orchestral components, with a glitch mix added on to the end. in oct of 2017, this separation was formalized by converting the release into a double ep with 'jazz' renders on the first disc and 'classical' renders on the second one. two jazz mixes (album mix, vocal mix) were added to disc one; three further mixes (percussion mix, string orchestra mix, guitar-only mix) were added to the second one.
written late 2000 & early 2001. the renders present here are all from either the early months of 2014, the second half of may, 2015 or the 11th/12th of october, 2017. minor instrumentation changes to facilitate a small wind section were implemented in late april, 2014. live guitars were layered into the final version over may 2014. four more mixes were added from may 19-26, 2015. five more mixes were added on oct 11/12, 2017. release finalized on oct 12, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the album version of this track appears on my fifth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2014, 2015, 2017).
actually, i have another reason to date it in early '01 rather than late '00: the introductory piano part was recorded live into my notation program on my dx100, which i was given over christmas (maybe a little before; it was a cheap garage sale pickup) to act as a controller for my recently broken jx-8p, that i had tried to take apart over the summer to clean a sticky key (a common problem with mid-80s roland analog synths) but failed and left keyless. it's still keyless. yet, the dx still drives it....
that introductory piano part formed the basis of the track, which built itself up fairly quickly. somewhere, i lost the nwc file by saving it as midi, which ruined all the formatting. it's been sitting on my drive ever since.
why put together seven different midi versions of the same track, and sequence them after a polished recorded version? well, this was never actually meant to be computer music. i was just composing something the old fashioned way with the intent of later giving it to some musicians to play. that never happened. what did happen was that i found myself playing it back on multiple sound cards over many years, trying to make it sound as good as possible in the short run - until i could finally get the chance to sit down and actually record it. while each of the different renders has it's strong and weak points, i ultimately don't feel that they form a total order. something i thought about doing was recording tracks independently on different cards and then pasting them together, but that would have just created another dozen incomparable mixes. rather than arbitrarily pick one, i decided to just upload all of them.
in hindsight, i think the format is interesting in itself in terms of it being a psychological experiment with sound. the differences from track to track are sometimes inaudible and sometimes extremely noticeable. stringing it all together in a row like this is challenging to any listener in the sense that it rips apart the process of becoming familiar with a piece. it means listening to exactly the same song through multiple different sound libraries. i think your brain would have to interpret that as a sort of a trip, especially when it comes to trying to build associations in sound within tracks that are both similar and different sounding, soundcard wise. i think that might be part of the reason i had so much difficulty isolating tracks in the first place.
so, listening to the ep through all the way is likely to be a bit disorienting and might ultimately be a strange experience. however, if you like the track for what it is as a collection of overlapping sequences of notes then i hope you get something out of the process of comparing and contrasting the renders together.
i have included the original midi file as a bonus item in the download, if you want to play with it on your own. the added guitar sections in the final version are recent additions and have not been written out.
thematically, the track is meant to orchestrate a feeling of claustrophobia with society pushing down on you too hard. it's meant to transmit a feeling of existential dread. at the time, i really felt stuck with life in general and not sure how i was going to get out of it.
four further remixes were added at the end of may, 2015, which initially forced me to move two of the midi renders to 'download only'. it also split the ep into jazz and orchestral components, with a glitch mix added on to the end. in oct of 2017, this separation was formalized by converting the release into a double ep with 'jazz' renders on the first disc and 'classical' renders on the second one. two jazz mixes (album mix, vocal mix) were added to disc one; three further mixes (percussion mix, string orchestra mix, guitar-only mix) were added to the second one.
written late 2000 & early 2001. the renders present here are all from either the early months of 2014, the second half of may, 2015 or the 11th/12th of october, 2017. minor instrumentation changes to facilitate a small wind section were implemented in late april, 2014. live guitars were layered into the final version over may 2014. four more mixes were added from may 19-26, 2015. five more mixes were added on oct 11/12, 2017. release finalized on oct 12, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
the album version of this track appears on my fifth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (2001, 2014, 2015, 2017).
credits
released January 10, 2001
j - electric piano, programming, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, vocoders, digital effects & treatments, digital wave editing, composition.
the rendered electronic orchestras variously include piano, bass, synth bass, distorted electric guitar, clean electric guitar, other guitar effects, steel string acoustic guitar, nylon string classical guitar, sitar, violin, viola, cello, contrabass, french horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, oboe, english horn, bassoon, synthesizers, clarinet, flute, piccolo, xylophone, glockenspiel, woodblock, tubular bells, orchestra hit, jazz drum kit, hand drums, melodic toms, orchestral drum kit, hammered percussion, marimba, taiko drum, synthetic percussion and electronic drum kit.
j - electric piano, programming, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, vocoders, digital effects & treatments, digital wave editing, composition.
the rendered electronic orchestras variously include piano, bass, synth bass, distorted electric guitar, clean electric guitar, other guitar effects, steel string acoustic guitar, nylon string classical guitar, sitar, violin, viola, cello, contrabass, french horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, oboe, english horn, bassoon, synthesizers, clarinet, flute, piccolo, xylophone, glockenspiel, woodblock, tubular bells, orchestra hit, jazz drum kit, hand drums, melodic toms, orchestral drum kit, hammered percussion, marimba, taiko drum, synthetic percussion and electronic drum kit.
Monday, October 9, 2017
publishing inri042
i initially began the process of completing the second period of my discography in the first weeks of 2014, and soon realized that the sequencing decisions i made upon initial release required a revisiting. i had unfortunately placed an original progressive rock song (liquify) on a covers disc, and a fruity techno song (book it) at the end of a noise compilation; it was immediately clear that i needed to remove these tracks from their respective official records, but that unfortunately othered them - both liquify and book it then became stranded outtakes, existing only as non-album singles.
in early 2014, i republished the vocal mix of ignorance is bliss as a standalone single; it had been unpublished since i removed it from deny everything in the summer of 2004. in early 2016, i decided i could reconstruct my first two records from scratch as instrumental electronic works after all, but i would have to remove the 14th track from the second record, too cold, in order to do so. this was also split off as a single, which was completed in the fall of 2017.
upon running through the first two periods of my discography one final time in the fall of 2017, i realized that i had removed enough material from my first four official records to compile an outtakes disc and that this material was even conceptually linked - all four of these tracks were some kind of guitar-driven electro-prog, and three of the four had somewhat embarrassing vocal parts that i wanted to remove from the tracks but was unable to due to having lost the original source material. together, these were the tracks that existed in the transition past inri, and into something else; each of these might have been a post-inri track, but the first three were initially pulled back, only to be removed again and left without records.
i strongly considered making this an official record and releasing it before deny everything in the sequence, but i cannot do this. the fact that i can't remove these vocals make these tracks outtakes, necessarily. as my first two records are now entirely instrumental, and remastered from scratch, these tracks would absolutely need to be properly remastered as instrumental recordings to fit into any kind of album sequence. this can consequently only be an outtakes disc.
the curious george suite has also been added to the compilation because it fits the aesthetic, it is not on an official record and it would have been a part of deny everything if i didn't think i had lost it; in that sense, it was sort of removed. the hidden track is added solely due to aesthetic similarities with the rest of the disc.
this is an outtakes record of discarded and rejected material recorded over periods 1.3 (1999) & 2.1 (2000) that was all removed from some completed, official recording. it can be thought of as an outtakes disc for my fourth official record, deny everything.
this record was written and recorded over the years 1999 and 2000, but did not take this form until mid september, 2017. the first track list dates to sept 14, 2017. these tracks are all very thoroughly rejected outtakes, but did not become outtakes until the remastering process removed them from their respective recordings. finalized as lp010 on oct 9, 2017.
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (1997, 1999, 2000, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).
in early 2014, i republished the vocal mix of ignorance is bliss as a standalone single; it had been unpublished since i removed it from deny everything in the summer of 2004. in early 2016, i decided i could reconstruct my first two records from scratch as instrumental electronic works after all, but i would have to remove the 14th track from the second record, too cold, in order to do so. this was also split off as a single, which was completed in the fall of 2017.
upon running through the first two periods of my discography one final time in the fall of 2017, i realized that i had removed enough material from my first four official records to compile an outtakes disc and that this material was even conceptually linked - all four of these tracks were some kind of guitar-driven electro-prog, and three of the four had somewhat embarrassing vocal parts that i wanted to remove from the tracks but was unable to due to having lost the original source material. together, these were the tracks that existed in the transition past inri, and into something else; each of these might have been a post-inri track, but the first three were initially pulled back, only to be removed again and left without records.
i strongly considered making this an official record and releasing it before deny everything in the sequence, but i cannot do this. the fact that i can't remove these vocals make these tracks outtakes, necessarily. as my first two records are now entirely instrumental, and remastered from scratch, these tracks would absolutely need to be properly remastered as instrumental recordings to fit into any kind of album sequence. this can consequently only be an outtakes disc.
the curious george suite has also been added to the compilation because it fits the aesthetic, it is not on an official record and it would have been a part of deny everything if i didn't think i had lost it; in that sense, it was sort of removed. the hidden track is added solely due to aesthetic similarities with the rest of the disc.
this is an outtakes record of discarded and rejected material recorded over periods 1.3 (1999) & 2.1 (2000) that was all removed from some completed, official recording. it can be thought of as an outtakes disc for my fourth official record, deny everything.
this record was written and recorded over the years 1999 and 2000, but did not take this form until mid september, 2017. the first track list dates to sept 14, 2017. these tracks are all very thoroughly rejected outtakes, but did not become outtakes until the remastering process removed them from their respective recordings. finalized as lp010 on oct 9, 2017.
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (1997, 1999, 2000, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).
credits
released November 12, 2000
j - guitar, effects, bass, synths, piano, flute, loops, drum kit, drum programming, vocals, vocoders, sampling, cool edit synthesis, sequencing, sound design, found sounds, granular synthesis, noise generators, tapes, digital wave editing, digital effects processing, production
the rendered electronic orchestra includes theremin, ukelele & orchestra hit.
j - guitar, effects, bass, synths, piano, flute, loops, drum kit, drum programming, vocals, vocoders, sampling, cool edit synthesis, sequencing, sound design, found sounds, granular synthesis, noise generators, tapes, digital wave editing, digital effects processing, production
the rendered electronic orchestra includes theremin, ukelele & orchestra hit.
Friday, October 6, 2017
republishing inri038
this is a collection of versions of a track that was important to me around the turn of the century: five electronic versions (seven including the downloads) and an electric folk version that i often played as a sort of a drunken party trick. after the lead track, the electronic versions are arranged in decreasing complexity, and the electric folk version is at the end. the extra tracks are both vocal mixes; i felt that only one was really necessary, but included them here for scope.
it's sort of about me, and sort of about my dad, and sort of about caricatures. we never had a dog drown, and i simply have no knowledge of the dynamics of my parents' sexual relationship. that's just an old country song. yet, there were a lot of stressful problems in both his work and family life, and that was being pointed to as a cause of his heart problems.
in hindsight, i'd tend to lean more towards genetics (and perhaps lifestyle) than stress. of course, that's something i have an interest in understanding further as i age. at the time, though, the focus was all about reducing the amount of stress he was dealing with.
i really just sort of didn't get it. i still don't *really* get it. stressed? well, chill out then. spark one up. put on a tune. it's maybe not as easy as snapping a finger, but it has to be about a general philosophy of life. see, i guess i place a lot less faith in the idea of free will than most people do - and my father, being a rush fan, and don't get me started on that travesty, put far more faith in it. when one is absolutely convinced that their entire life is determined by the choices they make, including the ones they don't make, it produces a lot of pressure to make or not make the right choices. meaning? he did it to himself - his atlas never shrugged.
ultimately, universe gonna hate. your so-called free will is doomed to be crushed in a wave of stochastics. the universe is a random, chaotic place defined by poorly understood probabilities. so, why bother concerning yourself so deeply with the consequences of your actions in this pointless existence, to the point that it might cut that existence short? it was the idea of him driving himself to cardiac arrest that pissed me off. you could be hit by an asteroid in your sleep. you could spontaneously combust. you could even wake up one day to find that aliens have landed and are taking over the world using robot gunships. once you get *that*, trying to fight for control seems pointless. embrace the random, and spiral out....
or, so, the debate went. i wasn't really comfortable writing a song *about* my old man, so i took a fictional first-person perspective and went to town with it a bit.
the cover art bitmap is one of the files i put through coagula to produce sound out of light. inristart was a working title for the piece.
written and recorded, 1999-2001. track 3 was reconstructed out of existing sound in june, 2004. initially sequenced in jan, 2014. four new mixes (maximal mix (2017), electronics only mix (2015), single mix for lp010 (2017), full instrumental mix from deny everything (2014)) were added on oct 5, 2017; release subsequently closed. as always, please use headphones.
the full instrumental mix of this track appears on my fourth record:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/deny-everything
the lead track also appears on the inrimoved compilation, which is a lost record of discarded vocal pieces:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/inrimoved
...and the folk version appears on my fifth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
*download only
it's sort of about me, and sort of about my dad, and sort of about caricatures. we never had a dog drown, and i simply have no knowledge of the dynamics of my parents' sexual relationship. that's just an old country song. yet, there were a lot of stressful problems in both his work and family life, and that was being pointed to as a cause of his heart problems.
in hindsight, i'd tend to lean more towards genetics (and perhaps lifestyle) than stress. of course, that's something i have an interest in understanding further as i age. at the time, though, the focus was all about reducing the amount of stress he was dealing with.
i really just sort of didn't get it. i still don't *really* get it. stressed? well, chill out then. spark one up. put on a tune. it's maybe not as easy as snapping a finger, but it has to be about a general philosophy of life. see, i guess i place a lot less faith in the idea of free will than most people do - and my father, being a rush fan, and don't get me started on that travesty, put far more faith in it. when one is absolutely convinced that their entire life is determined by the choices they make, including the ones they don't make, it produces a lot of pressure to make or not make the right choices. meaning? he did it to himself - his atlas never shrugged.
ultimately, universe gonna hate. your so-called free will is doomed to be crushed in a wave of stochastics. the universe is a random, chaotic place defined by poorly understood probabilities. so, why bother concerning yourself so deeply with the consequences of your actions in this pointless existence, to the point that it might cut that existence short? it was the idea of him driving himself to cardiac arrest that pissed me off. you could be hit by an asteroid in your sleep. you could spontaneously combust. you could even wake up one day to find that aliens have landed and are taking over the world using robot gunships. once you get *that*, trying to fight for control seems pointless. embrace the random, and spiral out....
or, so, the debate went. i wasn't really comfortable writing a song *about* my old man, so i took a fictional first-person perspective and went to town with it a bit.
the cover art bitmap is one of the files i put through coagula to produce sound out of light. inristart was a working title for the piece.
written and recorded, 1999-2001. track 3 was reconstructed out of existing sound in june, 2004. initially sequenced in jan, 2014. four new mixes (maximal mix (2017), electronics only mix (2015), single mix for lp010 (2017), full instrumental mix from deny everything (2014)) were added on oct 5, 2017; release subsequently closed. as always, please use headphones.
the full instrumental mix of this track appears on my fourth record:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/deny-everything
the lead track also appears on the inrimoved compilation, which is a lost record of discarded vocal pieces:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/inrimoved
...and the folk version appears on my fifth record:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj
*download only
credits
released July 11, 2000
j - guitars, effects, bass, synthesizers, sequencing, drum programming, vocals, vocoders, sound design, sampling, digital wave editing, production
j - guitars, effects, bass, synthesizers, sequencing, drum programming, vocals, vocoders, sound design, sampling, digital wave editing, production
jagmeet singh must cut his beard.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
republishing inri036
this is a collection of three tracks that were recorded in late '99 and early '00 with the intent of being included on record number three ('trinri') but were either discarded or stripped of samples on the way there. the purpose of this ep is not to be comprehensive, but to act as a transitional time capsule: this is the sound of exiting one project and entering another. as such, the narratives are scattered and better told separately.
trinri eventually became deny everything:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/deny-everything
written and recorded in late 1999 and early 2000. these versions of these tracks were sequenced without further modification in jan, 2014. remainder of hummer added as a bonus track, and release finalized, on oct 3, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (1999, 2014, 2017).
credits
released January 25, 2000
j - guitar, effects, synth, drumkit, drum programming, sequencing, sampling, digital wave manipulation, treatments, production
===
track 1...
this was initially written to be the first track on my third record, which i was calling trinri as a working title. yet, it was written about the same time as i was finishing up my covers disc. i wanted to add at least one more track to the disc to make it a bit longer. for whatever reason, i ended up using it as an introduction to the hummer cover, rather than as it's own track.
record number three, deny everything, ended up with it's own introduction. however, i've pulled it out here, in instrumental form - and as an introduction to this ep.
the hummer cover is here:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/05-hummer
written in the fall of 1999. isolated in jan, 2014.
===
track 2...
so, this is an interesting thing to have sitting on my shelf. it's the 'i have a dream' speech, orchestrated with some soaring guitars.
i should point out immediately that i got a lawsuit thrown at me by the king estate when i tried to upload this to mp3.com back in early '00. i thought that was really trite, but it's not really a legal battle i want to have. i would react more or less the same way should i be threatened a second time, except to point out this time that it's fair use so long as i remove the price tag and basically just do that.
the story behind the song is not very remarkable. the working title for the track was just 'progblues thing'. it was intended to be a structured instrumental guitar track that mixed the flair of hendrix with the minimalist structure of steve reich. the speech sort of came to it by accident.
it was also the result of my dad getting himself a drumkit for christmas that year, which my step-mother promptly placed in my bedroom as a disincentive for further use. score, i guess. but it didn't survive the move a few months later. in the mean time, i got some recordings out of it - as well as a few moderately crazy drunken weekend jam sessions.
i'll note that that christmas also produced a grand piano a few feet outside my door. it's intended recipient was my sister, but she wasn't around much. me? new pc, with a convenient recording interface, and some more functional microphones. despite talk of family jam spaces, one might suspect my father was actually conspiring in my favour. there is probably a great deal of truth in this suspicion. these conditions held for less than a year, but i made the most of them.
so, the idea of the track was initially about experimenting with the new reverb system built into my new soundcard interface, by triggering it with the drumkit that had recently magically appeared out of good fortune. it had been a few years since i'd played the kit much, and, unfortunately, it kind of does show. i had spent a little time practicing along with "nevermind" and "siamese dream" for a few weeks to get back in shape, but i wasn't really "there" yet at the time of this recording. i didn't want to program loops into the song, so i compensated by splicing the track up. of special interest in this wave editing is the backwards cymbals, and especially how they intersect with the soaring guitars.
and of those soaring guitars? a fairly simple blues pattern. sure is lovely, though, isn't it?
the speech became attached to the track when chance managed to have them playing simultaneously for me. i had cnn on in the corner. it was doing some kind of special on mlk, perhaps related to an anniversary that is related to a yearly holiday. placed together, it knocked me flat on my ass.
the idea in my mind from the start was integrationist, if not really consciously so. on the one hand, the guitar part is raw southern blues. on the other hand, the structure is sterile white minimalism. i didn't just realize this juxtaposition, i was trying to exploit it, even if the racial context hadn't occurred to me. when king's speech was played over it, though, the idea really exploded; the context became much deeper. it was an instant exponentiation in profundity.
i also thought it would work well as a foil to the doonesbury sample that is in the track that follows this one [entropy (original mix)].
in hindsight, there are some problems with this. i was a moderately wealthy white kid from canada. there was never much chance of me turning a profit on this, but if i did it would be a type of appropriation. this track does appear on the deny everything demo (jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/a-commercial-break) but under the title of "a commercial break" - and without the dr. king samples. that's probably for the best.
that doesn't change the feeling i got when i first heard the two things together, or take away any of the power that the pairing produces.
i think this is worth sharing.
---
this was initially released as a download only ep. as of the fall of 2017, i have revisited this decision and reversed it: i need to have this release available in some capacity, and it follows that i'm being kind of silly in not offering the full range of options.
for example, if i were to offer the release as a download only, i'd have to offer it at $7, because it is original music, one way or the other. then, why wouldn't i offer it as a physical item? or, if i were to offer it as a $1 download and a normal physical offer, what am i doing besides punishing myself, really?
maybe i could say something about how it might have been better if i didn't create this, although i don't think that's really fair, either, as i do think it's worth sharing. but, i can't undo time. there's no "undo" button in reality. really. i've looked. strenuously.
i suppose that if i get sued i'll have to react, but i'm just going to treat this as any other release and carry on.
written and recorded in the winter of 1999/2000.
====
track 3...
this is an augmented experiment with a program called "sounder" that takes advantage of some obscure midi qualities to transport the act of triggering a note into the physical world. imagine a midi tennis ball that triggers at different intensities based on how hard the ball is thrown at a wall. now, imagine a frictionless space where that ball can bounce around indefinitely. sounder virtualizes this reality.
the experiment was augmented with synthesizer and guitar parts, and a sample of garry trudeau posing as a political candidate and being interviewed by larry king. i first interacted with that sample early in the morning in a deeply altered state and came to attach certain feelings to it that are difficult to describe. while it's clearly parody, it hit me as being frighteningly representative of reality. i suppose that all effective parody has this quality. perhaps my reaction speaks more of where i was at this point than anything else. i wasn't reacting well to the return of republicanism; i was very much dreading the future that i had no control in preventing. the absurd truth, here, cut me right down.
i was fucking baked.
eventually, i decided that the sample is just not worth listening to repeatedly and removed it from the track. an instrumental version is available on deny everything:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/entropy
written and recorded at the very end of 1999.
credits
from let freedom ring, track released December 17, 1999
j - guitars, effects, synths, sampling, pythagorean sequencing (sounder), digital wave editing
====
track 4...
this is the second half of the instrumental version of the hummer cover, presented as a hidden track.
the hummer cover is here:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/05-hummer
written in the fall of 1999. isolated in oct, 2017.
trinri eventually became deny everything:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/deny-everything
written and recorded in late 1999 and early 2000. these versions of these tracks were sequenced without further modification in jan, 2014. remainder of hummer added as a bonus track, and release finalized, on oct 3, 2017. as always, please use headphones.
this release also includes a printable jewel case insert and will also eventually include a comprehensive package of journal entries from all phases of production (1999, 2014, 2017).
credits
released January 25, 2000
j - guitar, effects, synth, drumkit, drum programming, sequencing, sampling, digital wave manipulation, treatments, production
===
track 1...
this was initially written to be the first track on my third record, which i was calling trinri as a working title. yet, it was written about the same time as i was finishing up my covers disc. i wanted to add at least one more track to the disc to make it a bit longer. for whatever reason, i ended up using it as an introduction to the hummer cover, rather than as it's own track.
record number three, deny everything, ended up with it's own introduction. however, i've pulled it out here, in instrumental form - and as an introduction to this ep.
the hummer cover is here:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/05-hummer
written in the fall of 1999. isolated in jan, 2014.
===
track 2...
so, this is an interesting thing to have sitting on my shelf. it's the 'i have a dream' speech, orchestrated with some soaring guitars.
i should point out immediately that i got a lawsuit thrown at me by the king estate when i tried to upload this to mp3.com back in early '00. i thought that was really trite, but it's not really a legal battle i want to have. i would react more or less the same way should i be threatened a second time, except to point out this time that it's fair use so long as i remove the price tag and basically just do that.
the story behind the song is not very remarkable. the working title for the track was just 'progblues thing'. it was intended to be a structured instrumental guitar track that mixed the flair of hendrix with the minimalist structure of steve reich. the speech sort of came to it by accident.
it was also the result of my dad getting himself a drumkit for christmas that year, which my step-mother promptly placed in my bedroom as a disincentive for further use. score, i guess. but it didn't survive the move a few months later. in the mean time, i got some recordings out of it - as well as a few moderately crazy drunken weekend jam sessions.
i'll note that that christmas also produced a grand piano a few feet outside my door. it's intended recipient was my sister, but she wasn't around much. me? new pc, with a convenient recording interface, and some more functional microphones. despite talk of family jam spaces, one might suspect my father was actually conspiring in my favour. there is probably a great deal of truth in this suspicion. these conditions held for less than a year, but i made the most of them.
so, the idea of the track was initially about experimenting with the new reverb system built into my new soundcard interface, by triggering it with the drumkit that had recently magically appeared out of good fortune. it had been a few years since i'd played the kit much, and, unfortunately, it kind of does show. i had spent a little time practicing along with "nevermind" and "siamese dream" for a few weeks to get back in shape, but i wasn't really "there" yet at the time of this recording. i didn't want to program loops into the song, so i compensated by splicing the track up. of special interest in this wave editing is the backwards cymbals, and especially how they intersect with the soaring guitars.
and of those soaring guitars? a fairly simple blues pattern. sure is lovely, though, isn't it?
the speech became attached to the track when chance managed to have them playing simultaneously for me. i had cnn on in the corner. it was doing some kind of special on mlk, perhaps related to an anniversary that is related to a yearly holiday. placed together, it knocked me flat on my ass.
the idea in my mind from the start was integrationist, if not really consciously so. on the one hand, the guitar part is raw southern blues. on the other hand, the structure is sterile white minimalism. i didn't just realize this juxtaposition, i was trying to exploit it, even if the racial context hadn't occurred to me. when king's speech was played over it, though, the idea really exploded; the context became much deeper. it was an instant exponentiation in profundity.
i also thought it would work well as a foil to the doonesbury sample that is in the track that follows this one [entropy (original mix)].
in hindsight, there are some problems with this. i was a moderately wealthy white kid from canada. there was never much chance of me turning a profit on this, but if i did it would be a type of appropriation. this track does appear on the deny everything demo (jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/a-commercial-break) but under the title of "a commercial break" - and without the dr. king samples. that's probably for the best.
that doesn't change the feeling i got when i first heard the two things together, or take away any of the power that the pairing produces.
i think this is worth sharing.
---
this was initially released as a download only ep. as of the fall of 2017, i have revisited this decision and reversed it: i need to have this release available in some capacity, and it follows that i'm being kind of silly in not offering the full range of options.
for example, if i were to offer the release as a download only, i'd have to offer it at $7, because it is original music, one way or the other. then, why wouldn't i offer it as a physical item? or, if i were to offer it as a $1 download and a normal physical offer, what am i doing besides punishing myself, really?
maybe i could say something about how it might have been better if i didn't create this, although i don't think that's really fair, either, as i do think it's worth sharing. but, i can't undo time. there's no "undo" button in reality. really. i've looked. strenuously.
i suppose that if i get sued i'll have to react, but i'm just going to treat this as any other release and carry on.
written and recorded in the winter of 1999/2000.
====
track 3...
this is an augmented experiment with a program called "sounder" that takes advantage of some obscure midi qualities to transport the act of triggering a note into the physical world. imagine a midi tennis ball that triggers at different intensities based on how hard the ball is thrown at a wall. now, imagine a frictionless space where that ball can bounce around indefinitely. sounder virtualizes this reality.
the experiment was augmented with synthesizer and guitar parts, and a sample of garry trudeau posing as a political candidate and being interviewed by larry king. i first interacted with that sample early in the morning in a deeply altered state and came to attach certain feelings to it that are difficult to describe. while it's clearly parody, it hit me as being frighteningly representative of reality. i suppose that all effective parody has this quality. perhaps my reaction speaks more of where i was at this point than anything else. i wasn't reacting well to the return of republicanism; i was very much dreading the future that i had no control in preventing. the absurd truth, here, cut me right down.
i was fucking baked.
eventually, i decided that the sample is just not worth listening to repeatedly and removed it from the track. an instrumental version is available on deny everything:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/entropy
written and recorded at the very end of 1999.
credits
from let freedom ring, track released December 17, 1999
j - guitars, effects, synths, sampling, pythagorean sequencing (sounder), digital wave editing
====
track 4...
this is the second half of the instrumental version of the hummer cover, presented as a hidden track.
the hummer cover is here:
jasonparent.bandcamp.com/track/05-hummer
written in the fall of 1999. isolated in oct, 2017.
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