The Making of "Databomb"

Here is a little video about the making of the upcoming Twitch album "Databomb"!

Self-Isolation and De-Stressing

(Let your hair out and headbang!! Short hair? Who cares... do it anyway!! 😜)

In my last video (here), I had a little bit of a dance party in my living room, it was a solo dance party, but a dance party none-the-less... so I wanted to talk about a couple of tips that you can use to de-stress and you know... not take shit too seriously... so, here they are:

Tip 1: This tip is probably the most obvious tip... have a dance party in your living room, with your partner, or if you are self-isolating, or quarantining... a solo-dance party... yeah, that's right! Break out the tunes, turn them up a little bit and dance your ass off!! The key here is to have fun!

Tip 2: Learn something new... if you are not currently working, due to the virus, it is a great time to use online learning tools, like Lynda.com to educate yourself and learn something new. For instance; music production techniques (you can find a lot of these on Youtube too), or how to use the Microsoft Office Suites (this is a great way to expand your knowledge of the tools typically used in an office environment to write letters, or send emails, or keep track of budgets, or do desktop publishing, all kinds of shit)... there is a lot of good things out there to learn and to keep your mind active!

Tip 3: Work-out / Exercise: This one is key, working out can relieve stress and improve your overall health! Hey, you get bigger muscles out of it too!

Tip 4: Going out for walks is a great way to get outside and get a breath of fresh air, and sometimes getting out of your creative space, or work space, can really reset and refresh your mind, and you can come from a different head space and refocus on whatever you are working on!

Tip 5: This one people really don't do enough, or at all... Meditate... spending time to meditate can really clear your mind, or even help you focus on the important things and what the next steps are that you need to take in your creative, work, or other endeavors! Even just resetting and refreshing your mind... can do wonders... your mind will be clearer, you will feel more relaxed and ready to take on the next challenges (whether work, creative, or next steps to reach your goals)!

Tip 6: Something else that may help you is... get creative! If you are an artist, musician, or some kind of creative... write a song, write an album, paint, draw... really express what is going on inside you right now... getting those things out will help you cope with what is currently going on!!

Tip 7: Watch a movie or TV show... yeah, we need escapes sometimes!

Tip 8: Play a game; whether it's board games, video/computer games, card games, whatever...

Tip 9: Read something; whether it's a fictional book, a comic book, something educational... or what have you!!

I think I'll leave things off here, there's a lot of tips you can utilize here... I mean these will get you started to de-stressing and not worry about what is currently going on!

I will make a note here; it is very important for you folks to remember, life is waaay to short for bullshit... and despite what is going on right now, I would say putting things in place for you to possibly have a better future after we get through this whole situation is probably the best thing you can do right now!

I do believe we will make it through this!

Stay positive people! Love ya!!

EDIT: I forgot one tip to add to this...

Tip 10: Feeling lonely? Call/FaceTime/Skype/Zoom/Facebook Video Chat with your friends and family. Yes, we have to stay isolated, but that doesn't mean we can't share a call or video chat with friends and family!

Twitch announces "Databomb"

A Databomb is a piece of information that is designed to change or render useless the person or governing system receiving it!

Tracklist:
1. Blue Screen Of Death
2. Instructions To Your Revolution
3. Activate
4. Save The Freaks
5. We All Want Peace
6. Databomb
7. Refuge
8. Dirty City
9. Machine Heart
10. Dystopia For You?
11. The End Game
12. Worldwide Maniac
13. No Face
14. Death Cult
15. Yeah, Fuck It... Let's Go!!
16. The Cloud
17. The End of War / The Beginning of Humanity

Twitch, COVID19 & Plans!

Well, I thought it would be better if I write this down… Obviously we all know the situation… it’s good to minimize contact with other humans right now… if you are gonna be around people, make sure it’s small numbers… not huge gatherings, if you can self-isolate… even better. As some of you folks know, if you watched the most recent video we made here! As well as previous videos about isolation… it is very tough for me to be in isolation… I deal with it a lot, have dealt with it a lot over the last… well we’ll just say, there’s been plenty of times that I’ve been forced into isolation, due to not being able to get out with friends, because they are too busy doing other things, or doing their own thing, or whatever, so I’ve spent a lot of time alone. I will say though, if it wasn’t for this “forced” isolation, I wouldn’t have written the first “Self-Titled” Twitch album… Twitch wouldn’t exist if it hadn’t been for that, and now I can say with confidence, that Twitch has existed for 20ish years (we turn 21 this year), and most bands can’t say that! I will also say… being that that has also been the case over the years, I have, what my friends like to call it “workaholic” ethic when it comes to my music endeavor, but in a positive way (not to the point where I’m unhealthy because of it)! So, on that note… You’ll hear some of this and see some of this on our social channels, though blog posts like this, or YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram… and I’m telling you what the plan is here… we are waiting on a couple details (artwork) and just sorting out set-lists for preparation of potential live shows, in support of this album. If things don’t work out in our favor and it is recommended that we have to self-isolate for much longer, we are preparing for live stream performances on Facebook or other platforms (if there is a better way to do it) for people to watch in support of this album!   …I’m not sure the logistics quite yet of the album, I think we’ll be keeping it completely and strictly digital! That is the way the world is moving… and I figure for us that is the best way in going about in distributing Twitch…

...So, on that note, even though this situation seems to be bleak (I truly don’t think it is), and there are opportunities for us and other humans to reach out, and help others…. Whether that’s facetiming/skyping/ or video chat with your friends if they are quarantined or are self-isolating! Stay safe people! Do what you can, and if you are feeling isolated, definitely reach out and chat with friends online through text, and if you are like me who needs some kind of human contact, do facetime/skype, they may not be there physically, but you can still chat and maybe have a beer with them in a virtual space or video chat!! Even me people, if you want to have a video chat, let me know… I’ll definitely be there for you!! Love you folks, once again stay stafe… sometimes we are thrown these curveballs, but remain positive we have survived worse!!

Love your Canadian Goth | Rivethead,

Shayne “Daemon_w60” Lawrence / Twitch

P.S.: I’m gonna try to write or video once a day and post those up on the various social platforms to keep you positive and thinking about ways you can get around isolation… and some of the tips I have used and such in the past, to get you started, here’s a blog with some tips regarding isolation here!

New Music video for "Instructions To Your Revolution"

Here's our new music video for "Instructions To Your Revolution":

Book: Electri_City by Rudi Esch

Finished reading the book "Electri_City" by Rudi Esch... took me a while to get through it, I've been slowly reading it since well... quite some time! "Electri_City" is about the history and birth of electronic music... where it all started and how it shaped future music including techno, electronic music and maybe even industrial, and pop. The book primarily centers around the city Dusseldorf... where Kraftwerk and other bands were birthed, like Neu!, La Dusseldorf, OMD, Propaganda... and all sort of other bands, including a very well known industrial band Die Krupps... which, one of the members (Rudi Esch) actually put together this book! It was very interesting reading it... to find out where electronic music was birthed... and how it evolved... the story is also slightly sad... even though electronic music was birthed in Dusseldorf... it seemed very bleak, and there were a lot of missteps by the bands involved. Granted they came to shape the beginnings of electronic music... but too be quite honest, the impression I got was, there actually wasn't a lot going on in the city... like, yes, very well known bands had came out of that city, but I kinda felt like it was one stumble to the next. I will say though, it was very interesting reading about the gear that these bands had been utilizing, and actually creating on their own, because what was out there, wasn't meeting their needs, so typically bands like Kraftwerk created their own instruments and pieces, or they and other bands modified commercial gear to work with other pieces of gear, so they could get the result they wanted! The book is written in interview style... Rudi Esch recorded interviews with various artists to tell the story of Dusseldorf and how electronic music came to be... then transcribed the audio into text and there you have it. You get to see the story through the eyes of each artist, that was a pioneer in the scene... and it is very conversational! I highly recommend picking up this book to read the history of electronic music, and if you read through to the end, they get into some of the key gear that was used to make the sounds and music of these pioneers! Anyway, as I said... I highly recommend this book! It's interesting to see bands that have had an influence on pop, synthpop, techno... and even industrial!!