What the Thunder Said/The Purification Ritual (Epilogue)
May 13, 2012 11:27 AM
After writing/arranging, recording, and mixing the first five sections of The Wasteland, I found myself a bit spent, and struggling with the final movement, so I took a few days off to back away from it. I finally returned to it tonight, and, renewed, even managed to squeeze an extra track from it. Thus concludes the tour. Enjoy!
See if you can guess which instruments are samples, which ones are real, but effected in post, which are completely dry with no post effects, and which are synthesized! Mouse over the instruments for the answers!
INSTRUMENTATION:
Timbill Corder (me) - Tank drum over timpano, Korg MS-10 "Wind" and "Thunder", Italian/French Vocals, composer, arranger, engineer, producer.
Kerry Folsom - Snake rattles, Banjo, Mandocello.
J. Benton Gross - Narrator
Program notes: Yes, I changed the "co co rico" line--blasphemy, I'm sure. Had Eliot ever actually seen a chicken?
The Epilogue track starts at approximately 7:24. I didn't want to split the tracks here because they flowed into one another in a way that wasn't practical to split, in this instance. Once the Bandcamp release is up, they'll be split there.
The bits that became The Purification Ritual were originally supposed to be the main instrumentation of What the Thunder Said, but they were recorded in reaction to my own demo vocal recording, which had a very different feel than the narration eventually delivered by Ben (my narrator for this section). I couldn't, for the life of me, get it to fit at all, but I thought it would be a damn shame to throw out such beautiful string work, so man vs sun suggested I make them their own separate track--another interlude, or an epilogue, like I did with Death by Waterphone. Turns out, it all worked, and the other parts I recorded for this track worked on their own, to better suit the ambience of the vocal delivery.
See if you can guess which instruments are samples, which ones are real, but effected in post, which are completely dry with no post effects, and which are synthesized! Mouse over the instruments for the answers!
INSTRUMENTATION:
Timbill Corder (me) - Tank drum over timpano, Korg MS-10 "Wind" and "Thunder", Italian/French Vocals, composer, arranger, engineer, producer.
Kerry Folsom - Snake rattles, Banjo, Mandocello.
J. Benton Gross - Narrator
Program notes: Yes, I changed the "co co rico" line--blasphemy, I'm sure. Had Eliot ever actually seen a chicken?
The Epilogue track starts at approximately 7:24. I didn't want to split the tracks here because they flowed into one another in a way that wasn't practical to split, in this instance. Once the Bandcamp release is up, they'll be split there.
The bits that became The Purification Ritual were originally supposed to be the main instrumentation of What the Thunder Said, but they were recorded in reaction to my own demo vocal recording, which had a very different feel than the narration eventually delivered by Ben (my narrator for this section). I couldn't, for the life of me, get it to fit at all, but I thought it would be a damn shame to throw out such beautiful string work, so man vs sun suggested I make them their own separate track--another interlude, or an epilogue, like I did with Death by Waterphone. Turns out, it all worked, and the other parts I recorded for this track worked on their own, to better suit the ambience of the vocal delivery.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM (4 comments total)
The full album is now up for purchase/streaming on Bandcamp.
If anyone would like a physical copy, I'm doing a limited pressing (one for everyone involved, and can make extras for anyone who wants one). So far, there are only about 8 physical discs/booklets planned, but more can certainly be made. Enjoy!
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 12:29 AM on May 14, 2012
If anyone would like a physical copy, I'm doing a limited pressing (one for everyone involved, and can make extras for anyone who wants one). So far, there are only about 8 physical discs/booklets planned, but more can certainly be made. Enjoy!
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 12:29 AM on May 14, 2012
Eerie and unsettling, but in a good way ;)
I once read that the poem could be about impotence, sexual and/or physical. If so, this whole work fits that idea perfectly for me, so good work dude, well done.
(I am not sying you (or your music) are impotent btw just in case it worried you!)
posted by marienbad at 10:39 AM on May 14, 2012
I once read that the poem could be about impotence, sexual and/or physical. If so, this whole work fits that idea perfectly for me, so good work dude, well done.
(I am not sying you (or your music) are impotent btw just in case it worried you!)
posted by marienbad at 10:39 AM on May 14, 2012
Thanks for sticking around for the full ride! I'm glad you enjoyed it--it was rather exhausting to do, and I'm glad I was able to finish, and didn't leave it inchoate.
The way I read interpreted this movement, in particular, was with a bit of ironic sadism--the narrator dies of thirst and dehydration, moments before the heavens finally burst forth with rain. He's driven mad in his struggle, but arises, enlightened after death. There's more direct, obvious symbolism in what comes after, but there's a sick sense of humour about the whole thing.
It's kind of like the third part of the second movement, during the conversation during the game of chess; they're having this calm, tedious conversation about rotting teeth, loveless marriage, and abortion, and the narrator (possibly the author himself) is constantly interrupting them, essentially screaming "YOUR CONVERSATION IS BORING AND STUPID, YOU SHOULD DIE." Finally, the final straw is laid when she says she married the guy because they had ham. Then it turns into "I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ON THIS PLANET ANYMORE," and he pulls an Ophelia.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 5:06 PM on May 14, 2012
The way I read interpreted this movement, in particular, was with a bit of ironic sadism--the narrator dies of thirst and dehydration, moments before the heavens finally burst forth with rain. He's driven mad in his struggle, but arises, enlightened after death. There's more direct, obvious symbolism in what comes after, but there's a sick sense of humour about the whole thing.
It's kind of like the third part of the second movement, during the conversation during the game of chess; they're having this calm, tedious conversation about rotting teeth, loveless marriage, and abortion, and the narrator (possibly the author himself) is constantly interrupting them, essentially screaming "YOUR CONVERSATION IS BORING AND STUPID, YOU SHOULD DIE." Finally, the final straw is laid when she says she married the guy because they had ham. Then it turns into "I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ON THIS PLANET ANYMORE," and he pulls an Ophelia.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 5:06 PM on May 14, 2012
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 12:45 PM on May 13, 2012