February 4

Downtempo

A bit of a departure. This is a bit of living noodling with a drum machine and a couple of tracks laid down with an OP-1. There's no real tune here, just an atmosphere. Something that's probably impossible to recreate, so enjoy.


January 24

Soothin' Synths, Part 2: a Synthy Lullaby

We have a Prophet-6 at work right now and I just found out that the sequencer is polyphonic. Programmed a chordy little loop and messed around with it a bit while grabbing it on my H2. Hope you enjoy the pure, unaccompanied sound of this gorgeous synthesizer!


January 23

Sebastia

Song about the creeping realization of depression while in a beautiful place. Features guitar, horns, electric guitar, percussion. [more inside]


January 19

Damping

Slowly mutating melody with some clicks, bass, and wobbly lead.


January 18

Big Indie - Project Stem

A more completed version of the song I posted a couple of weeks ago


January 12

Taps.

A noisy version of the piece where every instrument is played through at least two overdrive pedals. [more inside]


January 8

if you want me

vocodin' [more inside]


January 7

These Few Hours (Original Soundtrack)

Instrumental piece I recorded for the Short, "These Few Hours".


January 5

Big Indie

A work in progress, think drop nineteens mixed with modern indie pop


January 4

Moab Meteor Discovery

Utah 1988


January 3

warm for december (christmas cheese mix)

Song written with my old band, Big Ghost, about unseasonable New England weather. Bit of an oldy but goody, I threw together this recording to send to my old bandmates on the east coast as I live in sin in California. Hope you enjoy. If you can, please help me with toning down the harshness while keeping the excited sound. [more inside]


January 1

Keener Sounds

Ramon Fernandez, tell me, if you know, Why, when the singing ended and we turned Toward the town, tell why the glassy lights, The lights in the fishing boats at anchor there, As night descended, tilting in the air, Mastered the night and portioned out the sea, Fixing emblazoned zones and fiery poles, Arranging, deepening, enchanting night. Oh! Blessed rage for order, pale Ramon, The maker’s rage to order words of the sea, Words of the fragrant portals, dimly-starred, And of ourselves and of our origins, In ghostlier demarcations, keener sounds. - Wallace Stevens


2019

It's here


December 31

Another Year And Most Of Us Have Made It

A song for the new year, about making it through another year, and doing it together, and finding the ways to do it without the folks who didn't. [more inside]


Loro

I did a cover of my favorite song by Pinback. It's as close as they get to church, I think.


December 30

When Green Leaves Spring (It's Good To See You)

This short (1:16) instrumental ditty is what happened when I started learning a new recording platform that came with loops of instruments I'd always wanted to play or include on my recordings: pedal steel guitar (I was super excited about this especially -- I've wanted to work with pedal steel for a really long time), baritone guitar, and mandolin. And did I mention the bossa drums? Not sure if I went overboard but I had fun and liked the result. [more inside]


December 25

2005

"I can't do anything without thinking about you next"


December 22

Fucking the Snowman

This is a song that I deeply regret, but it's been going around in my head for weeks now so I have to get it out. I originally thought that it would sound good as a thrash version, but this seems quite nice. Please feel free to add an instrumental and send me a copy :)


December 21

The Barefoot Polka

"Gymnopedie" is just a pretentious word for "Barefoot". I made this for DJ Stashu's Homemade Polka Contest on WFMU. [more inside]


December 18

Three Way Mirror

Track one off our most recent release, a dual album set called Infrared & Ultraviolet. This is the first song on Ultraviolet. For once we get right to the point, & make a short & sweet 8 1/2 minutes. Made up on the spot - totally improvisational. Titled such because there's three of us & we mirror one another as we play. Plus, it breaks space. [more inside]


December 16

Superior Hiking Trail

bluebar wrote a sweet little ditty on guitar, and I doubled him on the wurlitzer


December 8

Georgia

Another weird, haunting indie folk song from yours truly! There is also a weird, haunting music video located here. This is all part of my first official release, which I am super excited about, under my stage name MK Ellison.


December 7

Prelude & Groove

A groovy bit sandwiched in between two playful piano improvisations a la Kate Bush sort of 3 movements, if you will 1. Prelude 2. Groove 3. Postlude or 'Outtro"


December 4

Pickin'

Just having a play on my day off


December 1

Brackish

Just some four-on-the-floor.


November 27

Sunroof glass

Trying out a new thing with an honest song about actual life. [more inside]


November 21

Meek

Walking with pushchairs to make the little one sleep forces you outside. [more inside]


November 20

Scheme

'Scheme' is a new song by Sredni Vashtar. [more inside]


November 19

Third Song, by Bulbs for Leonard

"Space Calliope Noise" is a good descriptor for this, the first "song" from my new la la blah blah dum dum dee dah music thing, Bulbs for Leonard [more inside]


November 17

Told Me So

Chiptune fun, dressed up with a vocal sample


Sundown

Happy Birthday Gordon Lightfoot


November 16

Nothing but the Rain

So I feel like I owe a thank you to MeFi Music--this is the first place I started putting all my works in progress, even when it was just iPhone voice memos. Getting a few thoughtful comments was really encouraging and lovely. Then I graduated to better home recordings on SoundCloud and here, and today I put out this "official" first single everywhere. Yet another intense, moody alternative folk song with a real guitarist this time. [more inside]


November 15

I Will Work For Honey (Tim Long's Unidentified String Band)

"'I will work for honey!' This girl looks at me and goes, 'what?' I go 'yeah, it goes like this.'" [more inside]


November 12

Dance46

Finally taking the full rig for a proper spin again!


November 6

An Even Newer Kind of Beat 2

Fanfare for the common synth


Entropic Landing

Wrote it in Garageband on a plane from Seattle to Austin. Electronic, trying to make synthwave. Maybe it's transgaywave.


November 3

Remote! // Kanye Made This Ok

The last song on the album Magic 8 Ball that I made with my bandmate Ari Brown; Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and everywhere else [more inside]


October 28

The Process

Heavy and overdriven


October 27

The wildest place I know

A restrained simple thought of a song.


October 26

Squares are the future

I put together a kraftwerk-y ditty based on a kids drawing that you can see here.


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