Armed with a Fender Rhodes Keyboard, Robert Farren and Colin Behram take few prisoners as they assault the stereotype conventions of piano rock.
-Mark
http://www.isleofrhodes.com
https://www.facebook.com/isleofrhodes
I wrote the song “Run” when I was working on demos for my upcoming album, Sun & Mirror. The process of demoing became a much more involved project once I discovered the joys of engineering and producing. These demos turned into my EP, Bedroom Series. I began working with Logic Pro, a condenser mic, my Nord and Yamaha keyboards, and my acoustic guitar. Having all of these options and learning how to layer tracks and use Logic to create the entire arrangement gave me a lot of freedom in regards to songwriting. It also led way to a wave of musical inspiration.
The need to create permanent and complex art can be satiated with much more ease without the stresses of a budget and timeline. The many, many months I spent recording my upcoming LP (which will be released October 8th) at Redwood Studios in Denton with some of the most talented musicians I know was an incredibly fulfilling and satisfying experience, but there was also something special about spending all that time alone in my apartment recording my EP.
Once I started writing this song it came together very quickly. I remember writing it on a chilly Saturday morning. The lyrics deal with a personal struggle that I was particularly struck by at the time, and one that recurs time and again. I think a lot of artists push away people they love (initially only in their heads) and create a kind of isolation that can be destructive. This song is about that feeling of self-imposed quarantine and the way being so in-your-own-head can affect relationships.
Musically, I wanted to reflect the feeling of strange calm using the open D tuning (major key) mixed in with a more eccentric, almost middle eastern scale on the ends of the choruses and on the bridge. I tend to have the most fun experimenting with vocals. On this track I doubled, tripled and eventually quadrupled the lead vocals, including octave doubles and harmonies. I used panning effects and different EQs for different vocal parts. The hardest part of demoing this song was trying to find the right way to record my acoustic guitar. It’s a relatively cheap guitar, and my apartment is not acoustically treated. Not to mention guitars are notoriously tricky to record. Eventually I found a spot that was close enough, but not perfect. Does anyone really want “perfect” in their favorite music anyway? I’m not sure I do.
“Run” was a song that I didn’t ask myself a lot of questions about. I edit plenty of my songs, but once it was written I decided to just let it be. These first demos felt like a time capsule. I didn’t want to lie to my future self. It’s interesting to look back on a song and try to recall the exact feelings that brought it into existence, but while the music stays the same, the feelings that are conjured while reminiscing are rarely static. As much as we sometimes want to change ourselves, we are each our own variation on a theme.
facebook.com/
Oh poor me
I’m just a lost heart
Oh pity me
I need my comforts
Pretty soon
I’ll be brave
I’ll be traveling through
Every single state
Run boy
You might catch up to me
Oh sad night
Is there an end to you
Time and time again
I have been lost to you
Pretty soon
I”ll be brave
I’ll be running wild
I’ll misbehave
When pretty soon ain’t soon enough
And the rocky graves are flooding
I will find a place with open skies
And begin the fall
I will have to be brave
We cannot be saved
Run boy
You might catch up to me
We cannot be saved
Lyrically, it’s a bit of a collage of themes, all centring around nostalgia with a load of images based around memory and such. It’s pretty loose to be honest, not overly complicated.
We recorded the whole EP in about 5 days using all our own (cheap) gear in the bassist’s living room. All mixed and recorded ourselves. We just wanted to make some stuff we liked, didn’t really expect an industry response, let alone a fan response on the scale it has done.
We ended up with something like 100 audio tracks on Logic so, in terms of instrumentation, it was all about layering. Loads of vocal harmonies, double tracked guitars, trumpet takes etc. The track originally started as just the first part, without the second instrumental but while we were recording we knew we needed something else. The trumpets were added in after getting the basis of the track done, just to add another dimension and an element of surprise, which I think we managed to nail.
The album art was done between myself and our friend Joe Cheetham, an LA based artist who’d done a few paintings which we blended together and put the text to. But yeah, Joe takes the credit for the really striking paintings he managed to create.
You say it’s coming out, well its coming out
It’s colder than before just like everyone else
I can tie my shoes, I can watch you too
You say it’s coming out, well its coming out
It’s colder than before just like everyone else
I can tie my shoes, I can watch you too
You say it’s coming out, well its coming out
It’s colder than before just like everyone else
I can tie my shoes, I can watch you too
Going back to the burning south
I could walk all night, I could take you out
And go
Go
Go
There’s a ghost in the house, I can hear it talking
Talking all night about a better time
Days in the sun and days in the summer
I’ve got time if you’ve got time
And if you’ve got time I could take all night
Turn off your lights and turn on the radio
You say it’s coming out, well its coming out
It’s colder than before just like everyone else
I can tie my shoes, I can watch you too
You say it’s coming out, well its coming out
It’s colder than before just like everyone else
I can tie my shoes, I can watch you too
You say it’s coming out, well its coming out
It’s colder than before just like everyone else
I can tie my shoes, I can watch you too
Accompanied by a simple piano melody, the lyrics of this song really comes across as being believable, unlike so many cliches that we hear nowadays.
Another notable feature of “Don’t Want To Fall” is the phrasing of the verses. Unhurried and without haste, even with a quickened tempo. Absolutely amazing.
-Mark
The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack-Liars
[audio:http://indieverse.emasters.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/liars-other.mp3|titles=The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack – Liars]The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack appeared in the comedy-drama film 50/50, just before the main character Adam Lerner (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) undergoes surgery for his cancer.
Be warned, this song is not meant for people in a hurry. In fact, the acoustic intro lasts about 53 seconds before the harmonization kicks in.
Alot of thought and inspiration went into building the tension and setting the right mood for this song. The lyrics are kept simple, but meaningful.
-Mark-
Continue reading The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack by Liars
“You’re Not Here” was composed by Akira Yamaoka and sung by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn for the game Silent Hill 3. Yamaoka also played the guitar accompaniment.
I’ve always appreciated video games with a good soundtrack – I think it enhances the overall gameplay. This is especially true for psychological horror games like the Silent Hill series, in which the atmosphere created by the right song can make all the difference.
Keeping true to the concept of the Silent Hill series, Yamaoka’s music often has haunting and melancholic undertones. In the song You’re Not Here, those undertones are then combined with the Rock & Roll of sleepy town Americana.
-Mark
Lights Out – Matthew Pop
[audio:http://indieverse.emasters.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Matthew-Pop-Lights-Out.mp3|titles=Matthew Pop – Lights Out]Lights Out by indie rocker Matthew Pop achieved popularity after featuring on British teen drama Skins (Season 2, Episode 6).
Everything about this song, from the reverberations to the intentional static in the background – has a very authentic garage-band vibe to it.
In today’s music industry where most studios aim for a clean and deliberate recording, Lights Out offers a different kind of sound.
-Mark-
Featured in the Nikon commercial I Am Part Of The World, “Welcome Home” is a song by Ben Cooper, known professionally as Radical Face.
Never have I wanted to buy a Nikon as much as I do now! The power of advertising in action is truly remarkable.
-Mark
Originally written and sang by Ryan Adams, “When The Stars Go Blue” is one of the most celebrity covered songs that I know of. Notable performers of this song include The Corrs featuring Bono, Tim McGraw and Blake Lewis.
However, out of all the versions I’ve heard so far, I still prefer the original. I feel that Adams captured the mood of this song just right. Simple and honest.
-Mark
Combined with the whimsical vocals of Galia Durant, this song makes for an interesting listening experience.
Made famous by being the main theme for the American television medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy. It’s also my current ringtone.
-Mark
