I keep coming back to Wax Trax! Records!

(INVA//ID; modern dark electro-industrial reminiscent of Wax Trax! era bands)

I keep coming back to the Wax Trax! Records back-catalogue. There are modern bands that are inspired by the Wax Trax! roster of bands and ultimately hearing these bands brings me back to the record label's catalog. Once again I will say, for some reason the bands on the Wax Trax! roster, not only do I keep coming back to, but feel inspired by! Out of all honesty, I'm not really sure why, I just really enjoying stuff that has come off that roster, and once again, feeling really inspired by. I guess there is a certain sound to the bands that were on that label, like you can hear the mixing and mastering and just general sound that came off that label for the bands, and at least I find there is a similarity. It may have been the fact that Al Jourgensen played a very important role there. It could also be the fact that almost everything that came off that label, was done in an in house recording studio... and the bands and side-projects, they were all hanging around when other bands on the label were recording their music, so there would be this, cross-pollination between the bands. It's funny cause, it's actually a lot of the modern bands that I'm listening to these days that are actually drawing me back to the Wax Trax! roster. Like, the bands INVA//ID or Cocksure... the style and sound design is very reminiscent of the Wax Trax! sound (granted Cocksure is an obvious one, as Chris Connelly was in the band Revolting Cocks and that influence is definitely there), Malekko is another one (once again, fairly obvious why... Paul Barker is the main songwriter for Malekko, he also was Ministry's bassist for, well a loooong time, as well as vocalist for his other project Lead Into Gold), but I find it interesting that there are these modern bands that when they are writing their albums, the sound design is specifically and intentionally done in a way that is reminiscent of the bands that were on Wax Trax! Records... and quite frankly, I'm glad there are people/bands/artists that are doing that, cause A) I like their music, and B) It reminds me of the Wax Trax! roster and I find it highly inspiring!

(Revolting Cocks)

I just love the history, I love the stories, I love the sound, the bands... all that, and just listening to the music from that time and trying to decipher how they went about in creating those songs, and the sound design... yeah inspiring! And, when hearing modern bands do that, it's like hearing a piece of history, but a modern take on it, which is also inspiring!!

What is keeping you inspired these days?

Studio Diary: Was in the studio last night... things need to change (May 22nd/2020)

Yep, was in the studio last night, and things certainly need to change! I tried to fit everything and make sure everything has it's place and there some kind of sense of organization a few months ago, but... this current set-up is not optimal to being creative, so... I'm probably gonna have to move some things around and kinda see if there is a better way of setting up my gear, so that it's good for live streams, and it's good for being creative as well... (although, I like the idea of standing at my synth to do whatever playing, sound design, synth tweaking and all that)... we'll see... Not gonna get into all the details, but if you want a confirmation, yes last night I was being creative... in what capacity, well... you are going to have to wait and find out 😉! I will post another update later today, regarding the solution to this situation... just feel my Yamaha EX7 Synthesizer is too far away from my main desk.

Isolation, and Maybe The Answer to Having A Semi-Social Life...

(Photo courtesy of Katja Moeller)

Well, as you may have read in one of my previous blogs "Embracing The Isolation" here, the last little while I've experienced a bit of isolation, a kind of forced isolation (not really my choice, more of just, not being able to get out with friends as much as I would like to, and also kind of trying to achieve some goals monetarily-wise), and I want to touch upon the subject again, as a couple of days ago, I went for a long walk, and I was thinking about some things I could do to get out and just be in social environments... and I was reminded, that waaaay back in 2001, I used to have this routine, where every Friday, I would hit up an internet cafe, here in Calgary, and surf the net and just be around people, every-once-in-a-while I would play some team based games (Counter-Strike) that they had available as well, I fuckin sucked, I died a lot but, I think just being in that environment allowed me to just be around people, even if I was only there to surf the net. I remember when that stopped, cause I got internet at home, so there was no reason to do the usual internet cafe routine...

...Sooo, I was thinking about it, and I'm like "Maybe I need to do that again..?", so I think I'm going to re-introduce that into my routine... just so that I'm out and around people, even if I'm just doing my own thing... then at least it's an evening that I'll definitely be out, and get in some social time. Not sure where I'm going to hit up yet, but I'm thinking I could spend a couple of hours in a pub or a coffee shop with my laptop, and work on creative endeavors... I mean if I wanted, I could work on writing music (as the software I use to write is on my laptop), or other creative things I want to do... The time I spent in that internet cafe, even though I wasn't really chatting with anyone, it was good to just get out and be in an environment where I could be social if I wanted to... sooo, I think in this New Year I'm gonna try that again and see if it helps alleviate some of this isolation (I know I can't get away from it completely, but at least I'll be doing this)! Not sure what day I'm gonna pick to do it, not sure I'll be able to pick a specific day anyway, as our rehearsal schedule is generally dependent on when my live guitarist is available, and shows can be on weird fucked up days too, but maybe it doesn't have to be a specific day of the week, maybe it's just, a day during the week I have available that I make the decision to force myself to get out and be around people.

(Photo courtesy of Katja Moeller)

If you folks haven't guessed yet, I'm a very social person, and I need a lot of social time... that's why I feel isolated a lot, cause I'm not getting in enough of the social time I need. I think the one thing right now, outside of my job (Mon-Fri) and the one day I have set aside to do music stuff (Saturday), I don't really have a routine thing I do (like I work-out almost everyday of the week, and I do meditate on Tuesday evenings, and spend the evening not doing anything music related [need to have one evening just to relax], but outside of those things, my social schedule is all over the place)... our rehearsal days could be any day of the week, and as I stated above, my guitarist, his work schedule is usually all over the place, so we have to work around it, unfortunately... and we never know what day shows happen (not that I mind that though)... and I never really know when I'm getting together with friends (there have been times I've gone a couple of weeks or longer without actually seeing anyone, except when I have to get groceries or I force myself to hit up a coffee shop or something), so I think I've got to make more of an effort every week to get out and be in a social environment. I guess the other thing is, I feel like this isolation is actually helping me to be productive, and creative, and I want to maintain that level of productivity... so maybe when I do go out to a pub or coffee shop, I'll make sure I'm working on something creative, whether that's music or music related stuff! What do you typically do when you feel isolated? Let me know!

Thank you for reading,

(Your Canadian Goth / Rivethead)

Shayne "Daemon_w60" Lawrence

Resources for Industrial Music Production, Recording, Writing!

(Trippingonacable Studios)

These days there really isn’t a lot of Industrial music production forums and blogs anymore, so I thought I would share the resources from as many sites I could find, that have been archived or are still around to help anyone who is interested in getting started in writing, producing, recording, or performing industrial music. I figured I would try and compile all the resources I could from places that I frequented on the internet, and various sites and such, from when I was younger... I hope you find these helpful!

New York Industrial Front: this site is now archived... but I found this site very helpful when I was getting started, and to kinda get perspective when doing industrial music, and performing live and all that stuff. Here is the site: https://www.oocities.org/sunsetstrip/studio/4696/

Here is a couple of resources from that site:

How to make industrial for free: https://www.oocities.org/sunsetstrip/studio/4696/howto.html

How to make industrial for next to nothing (You’re all spoiled): https://www.oocities.org/sunsetstrip/studio/4696/howto2.html

Advice for Industrial bands playing out: https://www.oocities.org/sunsetstrip/studio/4696/howto3.html

Note: I do realize the content from these links are a little dated, but the advice is still solid, so take a read and apply this to a modern industrial band.

Knobs & Sliders: This blog is/was run by Michael Arthur Holloway, you probably better know him as Dead When I Found Her. You can find tips and info regarding industrial music production, especially when creating sounds that are reminiscent of older Skinny Puppy: http://knobsandsliders.blogspot.com/

Koney-Industrial Blog: now this blog was a little more geared to industrial techno, and industrial hardcore, but they listed a lot of cool VSTs (software synthesizers for you noobs), and the odd production technique and such: http://koney-industrial.blogspot.com/

Gearslutz (Charlie Clouser forum): I’m sure some of you are aware of this but, Charlie Clouser of Nine Inch Nails fame (The Downward Spiral, and The Fragile Era’s) participated in a very long discussion regarding gear and such that was used for the various eras of Nine Inch Nails… the forum posting is quite massive, but there’s a lot of good stuff there if you are patient and curious… you can find it here: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/605445-nine-inch-nails-synths.html

WaveFormless Blog: This blog was run by Tom Shear of Assemblage 23... there's gear reviews as well as reviews of VSTs and stuff like that, all stuff pertaining to the electronic/industrial/ebm type scenes, you can find it here: http://waveformless.blogspot.com/

There are also Reddit forum topics discussing this as well, but I am not too familiar with Reddit, and have only used it a couple of times (but not for industrial music production itself)... so, I'll leave it up to you to find those specific posts!

Here are a couple of Reddit posts that I found about Industrial Music Production:
https://www.reddit.com/r/industrialmusic/comments/2eexk3/anybody_else_starting_to_make_industrial_music/

https://www.reddit.com/r/industrialmusic/comments/9wih9w/industrial_music_makers_how_do_you_make_your_music/

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndustrialMusicians/

Note: There are also a ton of resources out there on Youtube and such, when it comes to general knowledge in music production, mixing, and mastering! There are not a lot of resources for industrial music production specifically, but there are tips and tricks for general music production.

One word of caution; if you are new to industrial music writing/recording/production/etc... don't get too caught up in who used what gear to achieve what sound for what album type shit. In the end, it really doesn't matter what gear you have or don't have, be resourceful and create those sounds with what you have. I find too many people get caught up in the "What gear should I buy to achieve 'x' sound?" syndrome... nowadays it really doesn't fuckin matter (if you read through the New York Industrial Front stuff above, you will understand where I'm coming from)... get creative, and maybe you'll create a sound that sounds like you, rather than someone else!

Anyway, let me know if you find these links helpful! And, if you have any other resources that should be added to this list, please leave those sites in the comments… I would like to make an exhaustive list of all the available resources online that we have today!

Dreamtime in Shayne's Dreamland: Part 3: I don't know what the fuck...

Well, this time around I have nothing to report... I dreamt last night, but nothing I could remember, unfortunately... but I think from the last couple of days, the two dreams that I do remember... have their own meaning separate from each other. While I was writing about the first one (here) I found it quite easy to discern meaning from it... and as I wrote the second one (here), once again it was quite easy to discern their meaning! So, on that note, I'm not going to continue to post this kind of stuff on social media, and in my blogs and such... as I don't really think anyone is interested in reading about my fuckin dreams in dreamland... but, I will say... as an exercise, I liked the idea of typing them out or writing them down... I may to continue to do that in privacy... but, as I stated in the first blog in this series, I do remember most of my dreams... and normally I can quickly discern what exactly they are about, and what my mind is trying to tell me, (granted that is not always the case, as some nights I can't remember exactly what I dreamt about, but that does happen sometimes) and if it's not revealed in the first dream I have it is often revealed in the third dream... but this time around, as stated above, blogging about this series... I was able to discern, as I was typing them out, what they were about! So, if I were to offer anyone advice when it comes to dreams and such, and trying to figure out exactly what your subconscious or mind is trying to tell you, maybe write or type out your dreams and keep a dream log somewhere... you never know what may be affecting you psychologically, and sometimes the answers come to you in dreams. Course this is all subjective, what I dream about I'll interpret differently than someone else who has had a similar dream, and the way I interpret my dream might be interpreted differently than someone else reading about and assessing my dreams. In the end, I look at the bigger picture of what is going on around me at the time, what is stressing me out, or other concerns or things I'm thinking about at the time, and then look at what happens in the dream, and determine what my mind is trying to tell me!


Speaking of dreams... I dream of a better world! We've got an album on the way here, here's something to listen to while you wait:

Industrial Music, Inspiration, and some Tips

This last little while I've been highly inspired! I'm not even sure why... not that it's a bad thing or anything (I welcome it), but the other night I decided to get out and grab a coffee, I hung out in a coffee shop, and then afterwards I went for a walk, and now I know what direction I want the album that's coming after the next album to sound like musically, and lyrically (I actually forced myself to go for a walk, and because of it, I benefited)! Inspiration is a funny thing... sometimes it comes at unexpected times, sometimes it comes out when you are wanting it to come out... (I was actually listening to Pop Will Eat Itself, when this inspiration decided to strike... not that I wanted to sound like PWEI, but the combination of getting out, going for a walk, and listening to them, I felt inspired)! I love music! I love being creative! I love where things are going right now!! Soo, much inspiration out there! If I were to offer up advice or tips for anyone that is a creative; keep a notebook around, take it wherever you go... cause you never know when all the sudden you feel inspired, and you need to get those ideas out! Also, if you have a small recording device of some kind (your preferred iOS device has a nice little voice record function)... you can record little audio pieces to get out ideas and such! You never really know when inspiration will strike, and you want to be ready to get out ideas!! I will say, sometimes changing up your environment is also helpful in being inspired and creative! I know when I travel, I find that the writing process almost seems effortless... for some reason the change in environment aids in the process of writing music and such! Anyway, I thought I would share some of these tips, and I hope that some of these tips help you get inspired, and you feel forward momentum in your projects!

What has been inspiring you folks lately??