64 posts tagged with rock and alternative.
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Paper Scissors Stone
Chance. [more inside]
Reconstruction (Nothing but the Rain)
This is a "reconstruction" of my most popular song, "Nothing but the Rain," that came out last fall. Formerly a more mellow folksy song, the vocals are different and there is more energetic instrumentation. Can be found in all the usual digital places (Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud, etc.) under my name "MK Ellison." Enjoy!
Time
It's been a while but I'm back with an evolving sound (and a changing voice). My new "official" single, "Time," is a midtempo, mysterious, moody alternative rock song with rich vocals. [more inside]
Lazy Rock
I miss the lazy rock of the 90's. Lean into the derivative. [more inside]
There with you...and some things never change...
the latest experiment in creativity...
Tides of Sand
Alternative rock, 3 chapters, mix in progress, would appreciate any comments which I'd try to implement in the mix. [more inside]
Lama by @Ummagma
Two of my favourite bands in the world are Stereolab and Cocteau Twins and another band whose music I find greatly inspiring is Pink Floyd. This song is a pure project of this triangular love for these three bands. Enjoy!
Cuando Viene El Mal
A song from my new acoustic band Love Monkee, from our set at the His Lai Buddhist Temple last month. Special thanks to drlith, who translated the chorus for me in this AskMe. Video of the last half of the set. [more inside]
Back to You #dreampop #shoegaze
When Sonic Youth surprised the whole world by pulling off the most amazing cover of a song by The Carpenters ever (I couldn't really fathom listening to any of the originals, to tell the truth), who would've thought what a big impact their version of 'Superstar' would have had. Still to this day, this songs is constantly referenced whenever people speak about Sonic Youth. Here's presenting one track with a similar vibe. 'Back to You' by Ummagma [more inside]
Photographer
Psychedelica as embodied in music is not always about rowdy trippy cagey delivery and a catchy spacey or 'wow' riff…. sometimes psychedelica can drift unassumingly into the realm of melancholia, which is where this Ummagma song firmly rests. [more inside]
Learning web dev and reflecting on lifetimes lived long ago
I took a four week vacation, partly with the intention of recording some vocals for my many instrumental tracks.
However I spent the whole holiday learning web development and getting drunk in the evenings and recalling fonder memories of times past...
I only managed to record vocals one day for about 4 hours and it was almost a total loss. I only managed to get a single line down really. I wrote more lyrics but the takes for those were unusable.
Well, here it is for better or worse with the single line repeating over and over on a loop... [more inside]
Back To You
Sonic Youth has been a big influence on many modern-day bands and Ummagma is definitely one of them, as is evident from one listen to "Back to You". The hazy gazey sounds here build into a kind of intentional dreamscape. [more inside]
2 days left
I haven't written a song in a while (or it feels too long to me at least). This is just some more guitar rock with a hint of electronic programming. It fits the mood I'm in mostly. Two days lefts to go until I start my three week holiday. I've been working full-time without a vacation for about 2 1/2 years. I need a break...
almost time
This is a guitar-only outtake from another song I did. I was going to use it as a outro on that song but the original clocked in a 9 minute time already so it got discarded. But still, I like the feeling of it...especially as it's guitar with no other instruments ;)
native
I was really happy with this one when I first recorded it about 19 months ago. Listening to it now, I realise it was given way too much compression in the mastering phase. unfortunately I have lots the master project now with a faulty hard drive so it it what it is... [more inside]
Lawn Mower Times
Another combination of Guitar vs. Keyboards. Guitar gets the first move this time.
guitar track
just a guitar riff I've been working on. Not sure where to take it exactly.
it would take an hour...
Feeling a bit down tonight so I went looking through my projects and tried to fix up old throw away songs. This is one that's not too bad. An idea I hadn't quite fleshed out instrumentally. But why not throw on some improve vocals to make it feel more whole?
patience
I think this may be one of my favorite things I've done guitar-wise. I started out with a very basic chord progression and just played out as many variations of that as I could think of and then took my favorites and combined them into a simple quiet/loud dynamic. [more inside]
downshift
So...I didn't think I'd have time to work on a new song but the last 24 hours have freed up so... [more inside]
Upsurd
Fusion confusion. The meshing of musical genres found in this Ummagma track represent a fusion, reflecting the confusion that is so commonplace nowadays in this world - simply absurd and rising. Hence the name Upsurd.
battle t
I was going to "throw this one away but instead I spent like 8 hours on trying to make it better and still didn't really get where I was going. It was one of those nights when I just couldn't get inspired or the magic wasn't happening. But struggling as I was, I still felt it was kind of fun and thought I'd go ahead and share. [more inside]
a complicated render
I'm trying to come up with vocals for this one and really struggling tonight. I had an idea, which was to just use pitch correction. I actually kind of liked it. At the risk of sounding like kanye west, i think it helped me get the melodies from my head onto the track without me immediately deleting it. I think maybe I'll use it as a guide track to get a usable take.
Night at the beach in the dark with more vocals
I let a few people hear this before (both here and elsewhere) and they all wanted a mix with higher vocals (despite the fact that I've assured everyone the vocals were total rubbish). So I've re-mixed it and re-mastered and now you might be able to hear my voice. If you still can't understand me, I've included the very depressing lyrics below. [more inside]
where's the exit?
Just another instrumental rock song. A few more electronic elements added in this time but overall, still very much guitar based.
is it the beach at night
Another attempt at songwriting. Unfortunately the vocals were so bad I almost deleted them. Instead I just backgrounded them.
The long queue
I used to have to commute through rush-hour traffic. You spend a lot of time thinking or zoning out when your car is not moving very fast.
mid-autumn festival
The last song of the project formally known as Old Ship Arcadia.... [more inside]
Old ship church
Another one from the afore mentioned project from a few years ago. Not quite up to my current standards but I like the energy in this one anyway.
device or vice
This is obviously kind of an experiment...or in other words, it's a bit of a mess. [more inside]
there are other things also
I was feeling another bunch of unsettled feelings so I thought I better do another discordant, frustration-venting song.
[more inside]
garage lately
Very hesitant to let anyone hear this one. [more inside]
carefully optimistic
I thought I'd try to write something more upbeat. I couldn't think of a vocal melody so I just filled it with different guitar parts.
Ambiguous Sense of the Future
Powerful swirling and driving full sonic force, enveloped in a mishmash of postrock, shoegaze, and noise rock. [more inside]
equals66
just a rock song (instrumental). I played around a lot with some organs and synths but still guitar based overall...
simple plastics
Another day, another song.
Rock, indie, alternative, etc...
A bit of hit and miss..
A bit of an experimental, weird intro. I was inspired by someone I once heard trying to play the guitar with a mallet.
Some keyboards and organ are thrown in underneath (probably to try to make up for the lack of verse vocals!).
I Also tried to throw in a vocal idea on the chorus here (written below)
[more inside]
it takes a long time to become whole again....
Instrumental. This was actually a song I wrote as early as 1993. I kind of stumbled on a really terrible recording of it from back then (you would not want to hear it, believe me), and I thought why not revisit it, so I jammed out some parts on the chord progression and eventually recorded this. [more inside]
crashing is not safe
I got in a car crash about a month back. No one got hurt but it was still kind of scary (I had my 13 month old in the car and she was screaming and crying) and afterwards, it was really depressing/distressing. It was really hard to get to work and I couldn't go anywhere and then there's the money I had to borrow to fix the car. [more inside]
ode to an imaginary bicycle on a grassy hill
I wrote this song night before last because I haven't written much lately.
No vocals because, my vocals would only make it worse. Really. But feel free to sing your own! [more inside]
Balkanofellini
Eastern Europe has long been known as a mysterious place when it comes to music, spanning multiple genres, including music with a particular ethno-folk component. This is one of those songs. Well done Ummagma. [more inside]
HF
For decades now, I have been inspired by songs that make you think beyond just a lovely melody (hopefully they'd go hand in hand together). On that note, here's a song about unwinding and placing greater value in human relations (at a time when we so greatly need this).
Kings & Queens
Alternative rock, indie, inspired by Radiohead although it took a different turn and doesn't sound that much like it anymore. [more inside]
Outside
When a band "dances" on the border between 6 or more musical genres and one of them happens to be progressive rock, the listener is often in for a delightful surprise. Hopefully this song qualifies as one of them. This is "Outside" by Ummagma. [more inside]
Human Factor
Imagine a carefree diva singing in a non-chalent way as she looks out the window of the passenger side during a road trip. The soundtrack to her ride is based on an indie rock slide-guitar laced tune, which builds in intensity throughout the ride until bang - confusion and collision. That is this Ummagma song in a nutshell, message and all. [more inside]
Visualization
This instrumental explores not only ambiences and walls-of-sound seemingly inspired directly by cosmic travels, but also features electronics, samples, drones, and beautifully melodies peppered with a lot of dissonance, creating sonic tapestries perfectly suited for reflecting, reading an Arthur C. Clarke (or Isaac Asimov) book and taking a journey through the stars. This is Sounds of Sputnik.
Photographer
Whispy male vocals and plenty of air for dream-weaving delicately frame this ethereal song. While "Photographer" is one of Ummagma's more melancholy songs, it's far from depressing. This one stands in the light.
Features male vocals by Alexx Kretov (Ukraine).
Ambiguous Sense of the Future
Post-rock always seems embedded with the sense that something is dire; however, shake it up a bit to get a kind of post-rock indie shoegaze vinaigrette and Sounds of Sputnik is likely what you would come up with. This is Ambiguous Sense of the Future.
Risky
It's funny how sometimes it takes all but a few minutes to write a song, while the development of another song can really stretch out. This was one of those stretches - "Risky" was a song that was written "in chunks" - the basic instrumental bit was written in Kyiv, Ukraine before a big move to western Ukraine and then to Canada, where the rest was written & recorded before finally being dragged back to Ukraine, where it was properly mixed and mastered. The time span from start to finish: 5 years. All that moving around was us, by the way, not just the tracks bouncing around in cyber space. Thus is the history of this track. I'm posting the lyrics too if anyone wants to have a go at them or "sing along" …. yeah, right… any feedback is welcome. Peace. [more inside]
Away
This song was recorded with my old band, Niche, 7 years ago. That's me as an angsty teenager, putting on my best impression of mid-90's alternative. [more inside]
Circus [EP Mix]
The final track on our four-track demo EP. I posted a very early version of this a while back, but since then it's gone through quite a transformation. [more inside]
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