FAWM: "Thorry"

Thorry

3 weeks ago by @cblack

Thorry

cblack

00:00

Liner Notes

#badsongclub #metal #noise #improv

Okay, so this year, I'm determined to learn how to put multiple instruments together. I've never actually been happy with a multi-instrument production of mine. So when I saw the forum challenge of "Bad Song Club", it spoke to me. In brief, I had 30 minutes to make a song, and then I had to post it, no matter how I felt about it. FAWM is a safe space, so this is a good reason to just... try.

I wanted it to be my first track this year, because the entire month is gonna be full of things that aren't quite up to snuff (probably), so why not just jump in the deep end? So what I did was this:

I was playing a metal guitar tone, and I realised, "Hey, it's FAWM! I should be recording everything I do this month!" So I recorded a few minutes of utterly manic guitar. I was gonna post it as just-guitar, but I knew I needed to push as hard as I could. So I picked up my bass. In the end, I turned the monitoring level of the bass down so low I couldn't hear it (even though the recording was still full-volume), simply so I could listen to the guitar part while playing bass. I didn't need to hear every bass note to be able to play the instrument, y'know?

So I recorded the bass having heard the guitar part exactly twice. Once while playing it, and once before picking up the bass.

After that, I had about 7 minutes remaining, so I got the levels right so I could hear the guitar and bass together while playing my e-drums. This time I could actually hear the drums, but they were quieter than the rest. Didn't have time to listen back - just had to one-take the drums.

Admittedly, minor tweaking and exporting and listening back took me a little over the 30 minute mark. But this is actually, ironically, one of the most coherent pieces of music I've ever made outside of electronica.

FAWM is a go!

Comments

@carleybaer 1w

I had such a smile on my face listening to this because I can hear how much fun you were having doing it. Nice work!

@cblack 1w

@andygetch 1w

Thats the spirit!

@cblack 1w

\m/

@torniojaws 2w

It's like an average band rehearsal 😀 But this time Mike Patton decided to join in!

@cblack 2w

Mwa. Ha. Ha.

@samplebandit 2w

sick, i bet the iPod of Sisyphus is full of tunes just like this one

@cblack 2w

Sisyphus has taste. :P

@edwinb 2w

And why not? Sometimes this is exactly what you need... interesting to hear the process too! And it's resulted in something that is, somehow, really quite engaging to me.

@cblack 2w

Thanks!

@gordonanderson 2w

Absolute madness, the best kind.

@cblack 2w

Cheers!

@andyt13 2w

Hee hee! Fearsome jazz from hell!

@cblack 2w

Mwa. Ha. Ha.

@markujiro 2w

Are you sidechaining a compressor or EQ so that the guitars and bass duck the drums a bit? That could help with some of the audibility issues. I used to have the problem of trying to make "everything louder than everything else" as Ian Gillan once put it, and sidechaining was the solution to my particular problem.

I enjoy the cacophony, by the way

@cblack 2w

No sidechaining on this, no. It was literally a 30-minute write.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed the cacophany! :D

@maesparrow 2w

feels like im inside a waterfall in a very good way

@cblack 2w

Thanks!

@hyssop 2w

This is so epic!!! Those guitar riffs are impressive and I love your tone. The moments of cohesion mixed with the overall chaos gives a really interesting structure to the whole thing, I really love it. Good on you for jumping into the deep end! Im loving how this deep end sounds :) The outro was a fantastic way to end it, love the percussion right there at the end! Great work!!

@cblack 2w

Hey, glad you liked it! The sounds are fine, but the playing is chaotic lol.

@klyma 2w

True, this is not the kind of music I seek out. In general. Also true, this was absolutely what I needed RIGHT F@$%ing NOW 😎 Honest. This is beautiful.

@cblack 2w

Ha! You're welcome. :)

@mattwdunn 2w

A huge slab of metal noise jazz. So arty. It’s really impressive to be able to do something without striving for perfection. It’s something I just can’t bring myself to do. I tip my hat to you. This is somewhat how my overthinking mind sounds when it’s time to sleep.

@cblack 2w

Why thank you!

I'm trying to learn how to put multiple instruments together, so most of this month's output is likely to be imperfect in a big way. Figured I'd rip the band-aid off with track 1 being the crappiest lol.

@frozenlonesome 2w

Thanks for the production notes. A cacophony of guitar, bass, and drums. Sometimes that’s all you need!

@cblack 2w

Absolutely!

@squirrelhavenstudios 2w

Between the liner notes and the music, this is the closest thing to Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music that I've seen yet on FAWM. I love it when people cut loose without worrying about other people's reactions. Your drums feel like pure energy, and the guitar like a scream into the void. And I really like your artwork! All in all, well done. Thanks for sharing!

@cblack 2w

Hey! Glad you enjoyed it!

The next one will probably be a lighter, more manageable style of guitar. Who knows, I might even spend more than half an hour on it! Lol.

@theflyingcelery 3w

Loving the utterly manic guitar!! ;)

@cblack 3w

It has a certain charm, doesn't it? :P

Thanks!

@ttg105 3w

Great blast of distorted guitar, and I love the Lemmy-like tone of the bass. A maelstrom of noisy noise!

@cblack 3w

Cheers! And good to see you back.

@spikedirection 3w

close enough, welcome back @silvermachine

seriously though, love the freedom of this, and all the tones are gorgeous.

@cblack 3w

Thanks! I think silvermachine was before my time, unfortunately... But I hear they were very respected.

@sapient 3w

Ulver just called, and they want their new single back... ;) Gotta say, that is a LOVELY bass tone you have. I love it when it goes clank, like for Danny Lilker and Frankie Bello.

@cblack 3w

Cheers! The bass is going through an Axe FX, so there was loads of customisation when making that preset.

Very little distortion on that bass, actually. I also have a distorted preset which I might bring out soon.

@emplate 3w

Loving the dissonance and the noise aspect of this. Very "artsy" (and in this context I don't mean it in a negative way), but brutal and raw at the same time. I could hear some unhinged Aldrahn type vocal interpretation over this one. I could maybe try do some vocals on top of this kind of stuff at some point, if you have more this kind of material in you and if you'd be interested :)

@cblack 3w

Hell yeah! I might send you something at some point. Too many things demanding my attention for the next couple days, but February's still young.

@emplate 3w

Definitely, no hurry at all!