FAWM: "En Vain"

En Vain

1 week ago by @arkka

Liner Notes

I heard something pretty cool there, but the essence of it is so elusive that I think I only caught a glimpse of it. Feels like getting a blurry photo of Bigfoot. Then again, as Mitch Hedberg put it, maybe Bigfoot is blurry. Maybe the thing I'm after is blurry. Anyways, I didn't really mean to make you think about Bigfoot while listening to this. Stop thinking about Bigfoot.

Now that you have stopped thinking about Bigfoot, let me tell you that this was somewhat inspired by the Mars chord by Gustav Holst. Without doublings, it's something like 1 5 b6 b9 (C G Ab Db). To me, trying out weird chords is a great way come up with new ideas. I often start by playing different inversions of the chord and use chord tones for melody as well to really get a vibe of the chord. Then just let it go wherever it wants to.

BTW, if you are into dramatic chords, I recommend checking out Keith Horn's Chord of the Week series (no affiliation):

#not-about-bigfoot

Comments

@nfshakespeare 5d

Bringer of War...it's a really off-putting juxtaposition, it's like Love in a war zone. Two people picnicking in a field while bombs explode in the distance...the song just generates mental images...cool! And I didn't think of bigfoot until now.

@nadine 1w

I have no idea which chord you are using but it sounds great.

@kosch 1w

This chord progression feels tilted, like I was never quite able to get solid footing. And that can be a fine feeling - the second guitar seemingly had no such problems, and that's what really matters. Great overall sound.

@emplate 1w

Wonderfully avant-garde. It's funny how the track's at the same time almost dark but also very playful. Now what did you say about Bigfoot again?

@intangible 1w

The atmosphere you create is amazing! I suspect that something in these dissonant chords connects with my reptilian brain, because the feelings I'm having are really powerful, all the more as you provide a resolution where needed. It's a tense piece, slightly threatening, but it's also colourful. Very well done. Is the title Finnish? Because 'En Vain' could also be French (and the translation would be 'To no avail').

@arkka 1w

Thank you! Yep, it's Finnish. It's like an incomplete sentence meaning "I'm not just (or simply)." I was thinking of naming it "En vain heikkouttani tyhjään nojaa" ("I'm not leaning on emptiness just because I'm weak"), but I felt like I could do better, so I shortened it for now. It's really just a working title. The fact that it could also be French is neat, though.

@intangible 1w

Thanks for the explanation. Imo, both the long and short version are great titles!