Well, all of the guitar tracks have come in, and the mixing and mastering process has begun, and boy, is it ever good to be back in the studio working on music stuff!! Not quite sure how long it's been since I've been in the studio (think 3 or 4 months). The first song that I ended up mixing today is shaping up, and sounding good!! I think I've taken it as far as it can go today, so for now, I'm putting it down and gonna focus on another song! I'll come back to it in a couple of days and see what it sounds like, and see if I need to adjust anything! At some point, I may bring someone else in the studio to listen and see if anything still needs to be adjusted to the tracks when everything is completed... just so I can have a second set of ears... and determine if things need further tweaks! If you are an industrial musician (here in the local Calgary, Alberta scene) and feel you could contribute, or lend a second set of ears to these tracks, let me know! There might be drinks involved 😉!
It's been another year, another festival... this year there wasn't a lot I wanted to see, but I do feel it's important to support these things! Here were some of the bands I was looking forward to seeing:
Freak Dream:
They were the surprise for me for this years festival. Wasn't too sure what to expect, actually hadn't heard very much of their music previous to their set. Although, I had heard a podcast (if I'm not mistaken) with an interview of the lead singer and main songwriter Elliot. Their performance was excellent! Their music is a mix of indie rock with industrial elements.
Neuroticfish:
I've never seen Neuroticfish before, but I've generally enjoyed their music (my favorite song is their cover of "They're Coming to Take Me Away!"). Their performance was excellent!
RabbitJunk:
I walked in part way through RabbitJunk's set, but their performance was excellent! I really dig the digital hardcore sound and the breaks! I did see them a few years ago at a previous Terminus (can't remember which one), I didn't really enjoy them all that much at the time, but this time I though their set was good!
Haujobb:
Everyone knows, Haujobb puts on excellent performances! This one is no different! Excellent performance!!
HEALTH:
This was the main band I wanted to see this year! Their set was excellent! Although, I did find it a little mellow, but maybe that's how their music translates into the live spectrum, mellow and cerebral.
Standalone:
Standalone was another band I wanted to check out this year, I really enjoyed when he brought his other project Hate Dept. here to Calgary for one of the Terminus's (there's been so many now, that I can't remember which one he was at), and I was interested to see what this particular endeavor is about! It was just him on stage, with some synths and some percussion instruments, and him doing vocals! It was an excellent set!
OHMelectronic:
I originally heard OHMelectronic on a podcast interview, by IDie:YouDie, and was interested cause Craig Huxtable used to be in a project (not sure if he still is) called Landscape Body Machine which has some history here in Calgary, as that particular project was signed to a label here called: Interdimensional Industries! So, after they were announced to play Terminus, I knew I definitely wanted to check out their set! They put on an excellent show!
Covenant:
I didn't take any photos/videos of Covenant... but Eskil and crew were in top form and put on an excellent show! The last time they rolled through here Eskil was pretty drunk and fumbled the lyrics for some of the songs, but it seemed this time he was sober and pulled off the set flawlessly!
That's it for this year!! I will be honest, I did find this year a little mellow and lackluster lineup-wise (not a lot of the harder acts), but there were still some things I wanted to check out! I will also say, I was a little anti-social this year, really didn't want to communicate unless it was my close social circle of friends, so I do apologize if I didn't chat with you, or was in a party mood (not really drinking all that much these days right now)... These last few months I've been really reflecting on what is going on with my life and where I want to be in life... and looking at the time I have left with it (yes, who know's when an individual is gonna die, but I turned 41 this year, and I'm really trying to put the right steps forward, to a long and good future)! I guess the other part that affects this is, I'm waiting on some stuff to get finished for this next album I'm working on, and I find it really difficult to stay fucking mentally healthy when there is really nothing I can do musically (doing music stuff is basically my sanity), and I've done everything I can for now, for this upcoming stuff... so just trying to find stuff to occupy my time with, to stay mentally healthy... I'm managing, but yeah, sometimes it's difficult, cause I'm used to constantly working on music, or music related stuff all the fucking time (within reason)... Anyway, love you guys, and thank you Chris and Ambor for putting this on for it's 8th year now! I'm glad I have a home with like minded people, and a place where I can feel safe!
(Ministry's "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste")
Well, I've decided to collect CD's again... I realize in this day and age they are pretty much valueless, but to be honest, I've never been into vinyl... and quite frankly I don't want to start... I come from an age where CD's were the predominant medium for music. The whole reason for me collecting these pieces again, is first of all, I like looking at my CD collection, and seeing all the music I have... second, when people come over to my place, they can look at that collection, and there are stories and conversations to be had about those pieces... thirdly, I love looking at the artwork and the liner notes and shit like that, sometimes there is stories in the liner notes, and I like reading them and such. That is one thing that I think that is missing from today's digital music collection... the artwork, the stories, all of that! Most of today's releases there really isn't a digital booklet connected with the album... sure you get the cover artwork, but you don't get the stuff inside, cause generally bands don't include it in the purchase of the music... and a lot of the music aggregators don't allow for a band to include the digital booklet.
(Ministry's "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" back cover)
Today's find was Ministry's "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste". I did have this album when I was in my late teens (18 or 19 or so), but I've realized I love this stuff and I still would like to have it in my collection, and not too sure why I got rid of it in the first place. Lately, I've been really digging Ministry's stuff, and have decided to pick this stuff up again! I've actually been on a whole Wax Trax! kick lately (I know Ministry was not a part of Wax Trax! at this point, but yeah, just been really trying to grab as much of Ministry's stuff, as well as Chris Connelly's stuff, and other select pieces)... I think it's because the whole Wax Trax documentary (Industrial Accident: The Story of Wax Trax! Records), and being that I was too young at the time to really appreciate the whole Wax Trax! "scene" at the time... and I also saw Lead Into Gold last summer... I've just wanted to really explore more of industrial music history and see the evolution of it all, from where we started to where we are now! I mean you look at the start of industrial with Throbbing Gristle and look at it through the years and then Ministry starts the industrial metal thing, and then you look at today's industrial and it has evolved even further! Yeah, just exciting!!
What are you folks listening to, and excited about in the industrial scene?
Today's session was quick... very briefly worked on "TEoW/TBoH"... did some minor vocal editing! Then jumped into "DFY?" tweaked some parts here and there... did vocals, track has been sent off to have guitar added!! And that means, as far as things on my end for the writing, it's done!! Everything is now in the hands of Elijah, for guitars!! After the guitars, then mixing and mastering!! So, on that note... keep locked to our various social media channels (and here) for announcements and all sorts of goodies 😉!!!
Had rehearsal today. After rehearsal spent the evening in the studio! Today's session tweaked "TEoW/TBoH", took a part out... did some rough vocals! Everything sounds good! Have sent to have guitar added! Will definitely be tweaking and redoing the vocals after the guitars are added, but track is pretty much done arrangement-wise! Overall feeling from today's session: Feels good to be very close to be done writing! After all the guitars are added (and things tweaked here and there) will go into mixing phase! Very excited!!
Another session in the studio! Worked exclusively on "TEoW/TBoH". Added a very basic synth line. Tweaked some of the structure of the song. Things sound much better! Gotta add some samples to the mix for next session. Song is in an almost 50% done state... at least I feel it's almost halfway done. We'll see what happens after I add the samples... Overall feeling from this session: there was a lot of tweaking and messing around, but I think I've got it in a semi-finished state, regarding the overall "skeleton" of the song! Can't wait for next session!! Feels good to being this close to being done the album (for my part at least)! Just have to finish up this song and the next one and it'll be a wrap for my part!! Are you folks enjoying these Studio Diary updates on the album? Let me know in the comment section below!
Today's session I worked solely on "TEoW/TBoH". Made some progress... added a piano line to match another part, the section sounds really full now! Added a reverse part to one of the choruses, not sure if it works or not, will listen to it again next session! Also, tweaked some of the drum stuff. Starting to come together! Song is nowhere near complete, but at least made some progress!
Overall feeling from this session: This session was definitely productive, the album is getting closer to being completed on my part, got this song and another one, and then I'll just be waiting on the guitar parts! Can't wait to have this done and hopefully in your hands in the relative near future!
Today's session worked primarily on "WWM". Track is nearing completion... have sent off for guitar! May tweak things in it later! Also, worked on "TEoW/TBoH", not anywhere near complete, but added some atmospheric synth lines, and some noise type parts to it! Track is progressing nicely, not sure when I'll be in the studio again (tomorrow or Monday), but I expect to be very productive! I'm really enjoying writing this album, and I'm glad I'm spending so much time working on it! Things are getting done a lot quicker and I feel my production/writing/mixing skills are improving greatly for this album! Can't wait to share it with all you folks!!
Another day, in the studio! Today, worked on "YFI...LG!"... it is now done for my part! Tracked vocals, tweaked things hear and there, then sent off to have guitars completed!! Last bit of session worked on "WWM"... rewrote some of the lyrics, think they fit better now, and get across what I'm trying to articulate! Today's session ended a little early, but I will be spending all of tomorrow working on the last few tracks for this album! Getting sooo close and getting very excited!!
After session, enjoyed the view from my balcony. Overall thoughts: This next album is the continuation of ideas that were presented on the "Instructions To Your Revolution" EP which you can grab from here if you are not familiar with it yet... I would also say, if you've been following the Twitch Facebook page you would know, there is a way to get the EP for free, but you'll have to go to the Twitch Facebook for those details here (it may take a bit of searching 😉)!
Being that it is May now, we've switched over to the "20 Years of Twitch" stuff! This last week-and-a-half I've been very busy with family and friends in town... so haven't had a lot of time to work on stuff, but finally got back in the studio (today) to start putting together "20 Years of Twitch"! Had a very productive day in the studio... got vocals down to two songs that needed to be done for this special project! Also, recorded something special for the final piece of this endeavor! It's all put together, and now all that needs to be done is artwork, photographs and editing some written pieces, then to finally upload to the interwebs! I'm sooo glad this project is almost done, cause out of all honesty, I would like to get back to working on the new album as soon as possible!!
Some thoughts: I can't believe it's been 20 years since Twitch started (the official day is actually in July... happens to coincide with my birthday)! Time has passed so quickly, and some of that time was lost to not being very healthy mentally (but that's a story for another time)... so, I would say I'm a little behind where I thought I would be, but that's ok, cause I'm in a better state now... and things are moving at a nice (comfortable) pace... I'm not planning to do a show for the actual date of the very first release (although, if somebody asks us to play around that time, we are definitely open to it), but I am going to have a get together with some friends and celebrate (and being that it is my birthday the same day, well... that makes it even better)!! This journey has been a very rewarding one, and I'm glad you folks have come along! There's a bunch of surprises in store over the next few months... I'll be making some announcements soon, if you are a part of the Twitch Newsletter, you will be receiving those announcements a little sooner than others!
The perfect day to be in the studio (it's snowing outside)! Spent a large portion of the day working on "DFY?"! Made a bit of progress, song is nowhere near completion. Switched over to "TC", listened to track, recorded vocals! Track has been sent off for guitars!! Finally, worked on "A", added parts here and there... may completely change what I added... next session will listen to again, and see if everything fits!!
Overall feeling of this session: Very productive today! Feeling good about "DFY?" and "TC", and general direction where things are going! The album is getting closer to completion! Soon will be switching over to "20 Years of Twitch" mode, and will be working on that stuff! Lot's to do in the next little while, but I love it!
It's been a few days since the last studio session... it's weird, when I have such long periods of time between sessions, I wonder if I can still get into the mentality of album creation... then as I get into the session, that worry goes away and I start to feel productive! Today was indeed productive, exclusively worked on "DB"... song is taking it's time to getting done. Feel I'm around 70% completed for the arrangement of this song, I've flipped around a bit with this song... I thought it was sitting close to completion... then after a long time of putting this song aside, and then coming back to it... I feel it's not even near being done... still have a lot of work to do! Added a weird fucked up partial arp to it... then added another more atmospheric sounding arp to it for other parts... not sure if it fits properly, but I got it in, cause I didn't want to lose the idea while it was in my head! Overall feeling of today's session: Good to be back at it, but there's an overwhelming sense of dread in me right now, cause of the current political situation here in Alberta... but we'll see what happens... maybe it won't be as bad as I think it will be...
Picked up "Heathen Earth: The Live Sound of T.G." at Sloth Records here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was a random find... I've started to listen to the first wave industrial bands, in particular Throbbing Gristle. I figured I should probably educate myself on the band that started it all, being that I love this genre and can't seem to satiate my appetite for more information about the bands involved in the industrial subculture. So, I made my first purchase of T.G. last month (it was a digital copy of "20 Jazz Funk Greats"), and this month I picked up a physical copy of "Heathen Earth..."! I'm not gonna review this, but I will say it's good to finally hear where industrial music started and what it originally sounded like... veeeeeeeeeeeeery different than modern industrial! Today's industrial is very club driven, most of it is made for the dance floor... nothing wrong with that, as with everything... industrial evolved and branched off into all kinds of different sub-genres... I'm glad things have evolved and changed! Otherwise, the genre would be very stale and boring! Course it's not all dance floor driven... there's industrial metal, there's industrial rock, coldwave, progressive industrial, all kinds of stuff! Anyway, I'm glad I found this, the purchase was totally worth it! The one thing that attracts me to the physical format is the booklets and artwork, after I got this home and opened it up, I took a look at the booklet and to my surprise there's some kind of story that John Savage wrote way back in 1981 (I do believe)! Very interesting, and exciting!! I like it when I get something physical and there's extra stuff in there that totally enhances the experience of purchasing and owning this album! I do feel there is value to owning physical copies in this day and age of digital and streaming. If I can't have a physical copy, I really enjoy it when the band/artist includes a PDF booklet with their digital release! I like looking at that stuff, the artwork, the stories... all that kind of stuff!!
Anyway, exciting purchase! Glad I picked this up!! What music purchases are you excited about. whether it's physical, or digital?
Spent the majority of the day in the studio! Worked exclusively on "STF"! Sooo, many ideas!! Recorded some choral parts. Also, added some weird atmospheric sounds. Added a background melody, and fucked around with a weird distorted key part! Recorded vocals... track has been sent off to have guitar added... definitely going to be tweaking things after guitars come back... get a proper mix... maybe redo some vocal parts! Track is almost done... just want to hear what Elijah comes up with, and we'll see where to take track after that!!
Another day in the studio! Spent the first little bit listening to "WAWP"... was feeling stuck, but grabbed a coffee and wow... Spent the entire day working on track... Recorded some choral parts, couldn't get the right effect on them... spent a lot of time fucking around with them... after all the fucking around, I realized I liked them the way I originally recorded them, with a little fx here and there! Recorded vocals as well! Track is done! Has now been sent off for guitars to be added! Today was very productive!! Definitely motivated!! Next session... not sure when it will be... maybe tomorrow, maybe Monday after work... by the end of April, I will be kicking into "20 Years of Twitch" mode! Lot's of stuff I have to do, but lovin every minute of it!!
Spent the evening working on "DC"! Tweaked things here and there... then did vocals. Tweaked vocal parts a bit. Track has now been sent off to have guitars added!! I'm sooo excited!! Once again, being that I'm in the studio almost every day now, things are getting done waaaaay faster! I'm feeling quite confident about these tracks, and I can't wait to show you folks this stuff! This album really is shaping up to be Twitch's best so far! The reason why I'm doing these daily(ish) blogs, or rather studio diary entries is, I want to be productive, and I'm finding doing these entries is helping me stay motivated... and I hope you folks are inspired in your own creative endeavours and share in the process too! If you folks are reading these and want to share your thoughts or even want to share your links to your own blog or creative processes please leave them in the comment section!! I would love to read or hear your thoughts!!
Studio session today was very productive!! Spent time on "DC". Initially when I went into the session and opened "DC" I was expecting to immediately load a different song and work on something else, but I thought, I'll just give it a listen... made a lot of progress!! Added some very subtle noise fx that all the low end is EQed out... gives the song a really cool effect and gives it an atmosphere. Also added a weird "spooky dark pad" to certain parts... already got ideas for next session!! Overall feeling from this session: Made a lot of progress, very excited!! I love these almost everyday sessions... everything is getting done faster, and ideas are coming out a lot quicker! Can't wait till next session!!
Worked on "DC", did some tweaking... not sure where to take it right now... also worked on "WAWP" listened to it a lot. Not a lot of progress, but next session will be different!! Have some ideas for "DC" that want to try out for next session! Despite the lack of progress, still feel positive and confident with the direction I am going!
Another half-day in the studio! Spent session working on "DC". Tweaked things here and there... added some metal percussion sounds... not really sure I like it... needs to be tweaked, or changed into a completely different part. Gonna leave it for now. Overall feeling from session: Even though didn't make a lot of progress today, still tweaking things here and there, I'm still motivated! Tomorrow should be completely different!
