Numbers Station

My entry for July's monthly music challenge, a spy-themed beat featuring samples taken from numbers stations.

Also, previously on MetaFilter

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by Hoopo (12 comments total)

Nice. Glad more spies are infiltrating. Coming in from the cold, as it were.

Just a guess: is that Mitch Mitchell on the drums?
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:30 PM on July 15, 2008

Just a guess: is that Mitch Mitchell on the drums?

No, but that's quite an ear you've got: it's a live recording from the same era, same genre and everything.
posted by Hoopo at 7:59 PM on July 15, 2008

What a cool idea--those numbers stations are so robotically menacing. It's my favorite spy entry so far.
posted by baltimoretim at 4:39 AM on July 16, 2008

That's a great groove.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:39 AM on July 16, 2008

I was just listening to Amon Tobin's Supermodified, then played this... they integrated seemlessly. Good work, I like it a lot!
posted by spiderskull at 1:04 AM on July 17, 2008

I dig it. I'd like to see it elaborated a bit, though. 1:25 doesn't really give the innate creepiness time to breathe.
posted by chimaera at 10:30 AM on July 17, 2008

I'd like to see it elaborated a bit, though

I know what you mean, and totally agree. I'd been off sick a couple of days when I was working on this, and I tried so many different directions for continuing the song beyond the 1:25 mark. Problem is, I'm finding it next to impossible to do an extended spy-themed beat without sounding like a second-rate Portishead knock-off. I think I'm going to have to consult with my partner-in-crime to see if he can come up with a "second movement" or something.
posted by Hoopo at 10:58 AM on July 17, 2008

This is awesome.
posted by boo_radley at 3:17 PM on July 17, 2008

Great groove, and thanks for linking to that blue post, I had missed it. I'm going to have to look into that myself for use in some future composition. Very cool.
posted by edlundart at 8:45 PM on July 17, 2008

Man, what a great idea. I hope this is just a proof of concept and there's more to come, because I think the numbers station samples have a lot of potential.
posted by danb at 7:19 AM on July 18, 2008

Ha! Very cool!
posted by snsranch at 8:09 AM on July 18, 2008

Oh. I love the numbers stations; hearing them on shortwave bands as a kid spooked me out. Nice and subtle use of them.
posted by not_on_display at 12:26 PM on August 6, 2008