So, I never meant to piss off or alienate any of my fans. When it came time to record the follow-up to the noise techno jazz egrind "masterpiece", the Kids Were Filled with Candy Delicious so We Ate Them, I decided to take the discordant and weird rhythmic guitar/drums/vocals and inject it with some weirdo electronics. And I ended up making something really noisey and crazy that I've found that not many people like. But the people who do REALLY like it. So, I've been asked how I make my songs and shit, so here's a small thing.
Equipment
Weird keyboard with some crazy high pitched sounds that are like a child's lullaby or something.
Crazy-ass $1 drum machine loaded with all kinds of fucked-up sounds. Tons of tribal sounds and an actual decent-sounding snare drum. Able to play ultra-fast and rhythmic with some odd keyboard sounds thrown in for good measure.
Keyboard with some ugly-ass sounds on it. The horn setting is used a on the song "Gag Factory" off this album. Odd sounds.
A distorted amp I hooked up my Casio ctk-431 keyboard through (no picture of that because it's all over the net if you want a pic). It made everything I played sound like weird heaven static sounds. Notice the computer mic in the middle of the amp... that single, small-ass, cheap-ass computer recorded every single thing recorded on this particular album. Kinda unbelievable.
My all-time favorite keyboard, played on almost every song. I've had the thing for about 12 years or so, but I lost it after a year of owning it. Cleaning out my basement a while back, I found it, and it had the most bizarre decaying-battery sound. But it still worked! ... Oh, you want to know about the effects thing? Isn't that wonderous too?
Guitar, only really used on "Meat Market Jazz", used on every song before and after this album though. Watch out for Polysics in the background.
All the equipment I used was processed TONS and put through so many effects, in many cases, that it's impossible to tell what's what. I have a love of warm sounds, so that's what's used the most. All the keyboards are basically children's toys I got at yard sales and stuff. It's not the quality of the equipment, it's what you do with it.
Programs
Okay, I used every program you can think of. ReBirth for the techno synths, Fruity Loops for some sequencing things, Hammerhead for my primary source of hard-hitting drum samples, Tuareg for the weird noises it would make when you'd put long samples in. Uhh... what else... I used everything.
EVERY SINGLE SONG was recorded in Sound Recorder in individual parts. Yes, Sound Recorder. You know, the default thing that comes with the computer that records for 60 seconds. I would record each individual section in sound recorder, then I'd take it into cool edit pro and fuck with it or mix it differently or something. It'd be 056938704978 times easier to use Cakewalk, but Cakewalk always crashes my computer. Not to mention that Cakewalk files gets HUGE after a certain point and the songs are already collapsing underneath the weight of hundreds of overdubs. So, it's easier my way.
There was also an online drum machine/techno making thing at the Loop Labs page that I used samples from, but I can't find that online now. Sorry.
Effects
I tend to use the fake-flanger effect a lot on the album. My vocals were put through ultra-harsh amp sim lite, a thing I imported from Cakewalk, made my vocals harsh as fuck. There's lots of delay and reverb put on the keys. I fucked with the equalizer on a few tracks, which made these beautiful sweeping sounds. Whoohoo. Lots of fx. Lots of fx.
Story of the album
Well, this album was recorded at a very dark time in my life. Actually, lemme back up. The song "Cancer" was recorded sometime in February, and I sent it to Steev because I wanted him to add to it. But he never could think of anything to add to it, so that song sat around for a long time and then I finally got around to recording a whole album. Anyway, the first song I did "Meat Market Jazz", and I wanted to make a song like from the first album but with techno. Somehow, the super-electronic-infused elements made the whole thing a dark, cold mess. The album just went from there. I loved the dark noise sound of the whole thing because I was going through some of the toughest times of my life: super-depression, addicted to Tylenol PM (I still am), and repeated suicide attempts. No kidding and all gimmicks aside, I never thought I'd make it through recording this album. I was always on the brink of death, as is reflected by most of my songs.
I never set out to make a "noise" album, but the songs were so full of sounds that it kind of ended up that way in many respects. Though it's certainly not traditional noise; in fact, I don't know what you'd call this kind of music. Someone referred to it as Merzbow remixing Venetian Snares featuring Boredoms. That's pretty good, hahaha. But yeah. Draw what conclusions you will from the whole thing; I wish someone could illuminate an aspect of this work to me, because it just seems like a huge psychadelic sprawling puzzle piece that goes in too many directions at once. The whole thing is cold, dudes. Dark and cold.
Recording of the album
Well, I normally recorded whenever I was in front of a computer. So, on Fridays, Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays. I'd normally spend 4 or 5 hours per song (long or short), finish them, then go back and fuck with them some more, finish them, then fuck with them some more. Most of the songs would start with a drum beat and then I'd just add on top of that. Not always, though. I had all the songs planned out completely before I recorded them. It was all a pretty smooth process... one of the rare albums, perhaps, where everything went right. The only thing that went wrong is "X-Yakuza" was originally a completely different song; same concept and all, but it had more robotic beats and just a huge and more epic orchestral feel. It was sweet, but I accidentally replaced the file (since it was called Untitled.wav) and whiped out the whole thing. Re-recorded it and such, but I'll never get back that magic. Goddammit.
All the lyrics are... about hate. Yeah. Of course. The end of the world. The typical shit I talk about. I like my vocals to blend in the mix, and they do, and the lyrics aren't really important. A few choice lines are: "Mansion living and caviar eating is all I have left until I'm given the wonderful gift of death" and "I'll never live to see 23, is someone trying to kill me? yes, and his name is me." Yeah. Dark.
Song secrets Meat Market Jazz. First song on the album. Only song with discernible lyrics? Song actually second recorded; I came back and fucked up with it like a hundred times. It gets up to 600bpm at one point.
Human Porkchop. This was completely recorded with my favorite keyboard. My vocals were put through roboflanger shit. Me going "Hey. Hey. Hey." Why? I dunno, draw your own conclusions. A weird toy-sci-fi-robo song.
Paramite. Drum solo samples from Zazen Boys. After the first 40 or so seconds, you hear two sounds: the original song and the entire song again being time-stretched and being fucked with through a flanger in the left speaker. It gives a weird mirror-like sound.
Techno Slaves Are Fucking Go!. Koopa plays guest keyboard on this song. At one point, about 60 different separate keyboards are playing at once and floating around in the mix. Sampled a moog from a friend. Funeral techno jam music.
Unsensical. Song for Steev. One of the more song-like songs. The last half of the song was from a tribute song I made for Hannah. Rob does guest beats on this song.
X-Yakuza. Basically a Paramite cousin with a little 8-bit melody floating around.
Spread Ebola 3000. Dark video game song with tons of tribal drums floating around. Sounds Locust-like at the beginning I guess. More song-like songs.
Super Yum Surgeon Boy. This is my favorite song. This started out as your basic Scissor Shock song and I kept adding all these beautiful elements to the song: organs and horns and stuff like that. And I just kept adding and adding and adding. I didn't want to take any element out. Eventually, there was SO MUCH GOING ON that you get the sound you get now. It just sounds like noise doesn't it? There's really like 100 different drum beats and... god, don't want to guess how many keyboards there are... 2 different vocals tracks. Mmmhmm. The only really discernible sound that escaped the weight of all the sound is that right-speaker bug sound. A coincedence, but I think it wraps everything up nicely. Noise without meaning to be.
Cancer. More sparse but way intense. I reccomend playing this on a really good sound system.
This is Cory Monster's World.. You Just Live Here. If Wolf Eyes did grind jungle music. Lots of little decibel-eating sounds and such. The ending I actually stole from an old Stagedive Suicide song. Yes, I stole from myself.
Scissor Shock or Die!!!!!!!. Ah, yes, the obvious two parter song. The first part has a sample from the theme of Fulci's Zombi. The last part of the song has to do with my fascination with Eye, with me fucking around with the equalizer for beautiful results. I guess.
Assisted-Living Dracula. Nothing to say.
Gag Factory. This is basically 5 or 6 songs pasted together. Every time you listen to it, pick out a different element and listen to it. It's always fun.
30 Lashes [six finger satellite cover]. I had to do it. I think I did a decent job.
Uretha Franklin. A weird tribal track. Would be called "filler" if it wasn't so deliberate in its fillerness.
Glasseaters. Another fav. Watch as harsh noise turns into beauty and back again. So many Reed organs I recorded underneath this thing. It's fucking crazy. Like a dance party from Hell?
Johnny Merzbow Tearjerker. Sums up the album pretty well. The sample at the end is from "Mulholland Drive".
Album timeline
First song fully completed Friday, May 07, 2004, 6:21:52 PM. Last song fully completed on Saturday, September 04, 2004, 2:15:08 PM.
Album aftermath: What some people thought
"I prefer the old shit." - Cory Monster
"I like this a lot." - Daniel from exbx
"YOU CAN'T TELL WHAT'S GOING ON!!!!!!!" - Hannah
"Not sure if I like this or not." - Rob
"Sounds like you're trying too hard ... kidding. I loved it." - Chris from Athenian Mercury
"Insane! Adam has totally outdone himself ten fold and recorded the best album of 3056! Yes, it's that far ahead of it's time. Noise/ shoegaze/ grind/ surf/ techno/ drone/ gabber/ fuck, yes it's all there, and sometimes, all in the same song. Absolutely beautiful and layered. You need this album if you care about music." - Steev
"Nothing like it ever." - Iceripper
"Some of the most intense shit I've ever heard." - Mackle
