Lucifer Rising Recollection #3
The reason I killed my first blog (the Thoughts Section on my site) was because I knew it was becoming more of a talk-back box for my ego and had very little substance. After seeing all the horrifying poofests that people sometimes call blogs, I felt my own writing was at best equal to the garbage that aggravated me. So it was killed unceremoniously.
As long as people can post such insights like `OMG Global Warmin sUXX11!’ and other brilliant colloquialisms applauded by febreze scented syncophants, I think on occasion I can break silence for a bit and chat a little about some of the work I do. Writing about it helps me understand it and myself a little better. Maybe even understand the motives behind undertaking the project. I’ve never been proficient with diaries, journals or any sort of record-keeping.*
*Management says I need to provide more content anyways.
For the detractors, rest easy. There’s only one more after this. *
*Until I start talking about local activism, mountain biking, and promoting xenophobia.
Some basic timeline info:
Recording began on February 14th, finished on March 21st and released on April 3rd.
Probably one of the best recording experiences I ever had. No setbacks, no technical difficulties. Ironic considering the general mayhem that pollutes the history of the film and soundtrack.
The Drone
In the original soundtrack Page used a Tambura that you can hear through most of the 23 minutes.You know the sound if you have heard any Indian music in your life.
The reinterpretation takes a page from the Page (hah hah I slay me) songbook. The drone I used is a violin bow on an electric guitar; a signature of his. The bowed guitar was multitracked as well as run through a pitchshifter to give that grind effect.
The melodies
The original features the ARP synthesizer doing all the melodies. On this version, vocals replace all synthesizer tracks. The vocal style is a little more harsher and more `wail oriented’ than previous works of mine. You would be right in assuming that there is a Diamanda Galas feel to a lot of it. Screeching, microtonalities, it’s all there. The extremely high HIGH vocals had to be run through a pitchshifter as well. Despite hitting (personally) the highest note ever on one of my own recordings (Bb) there was a need to pitch up the notes that are closer to the hearing range of a bat.
Diamanda Galas: Composer, singer, Lucifer’s answer to Nana Moskouri
Recommended Recording: Plague Mass
I didn’t want to use synthesizer sounds for the main melodies in favour of the voice. One reason was because I like to use my voice while I still have it. The other reason is based on the act of summoning. Through out history and hollywood film, rituals’ main sonic output is the voice. It’s our raw humanity that is the conductor to the nether reaches of our psyche and dimensions. It takes effort, it takes dedication and it sure as shit is an act of vulnerability being a foil for true inner strength. Regardless of who or what is being summoned in said film, I felt the voice needed to be present.
Though I’m no expert of necromancy, sorcery, divinity or anything metaphysical, I would assume that the use of organic materials to expel precision energy would be more well-received by an apparition/god than the plinky plink of a Korg Triton.
The chants
Chants were multitracked alone and then run through a ringer of processors and such that would end up mutilating the sound. A little bit of Latin is peppered through out the track. A lot of the quick syllabic sounds are the chant tracks being severly modified.
Other stuff
One instrument I’ve been itching to use is the Mellotron M400 (link) it’s strings, flutes, and choirs have added so much character to albums by the Moody Blues to Radiohead. The mellotron is probably the earliest interactive sampler (the Fairlight was the first digital one.) Before the days of akai samplers and other boop boop beep beep devices that loop lovers use, you had to use tape reels. Mellotron was fashioned with anywhere from 1 to 12 tape reels in the machine. You had a choir tape, string tape, flute tape, etc. And you would curse the day when any of those tapes broke.
Part of the Mellotron’s charm is its durability. Notice that it makes a respectable replacement for a garden gnome
Reality check: A real physical mellotron to rent is very hard to come by. To buy one would have meant spending over 7000 USD. Since I’m not a hipster or have a hard on for perfect authenticity, I am NOT going to part with that much money for any musical device. Thankfully, technology has progressed enough that some innovative fellows sampled this analog device and could use its sounds on a modern synth or computer, which I ended up doing. Fuck the purists. The following math equation sums it up: $7000 + free downloadable mp3 = Lunacy/How a record company operates.
One instrument that becomes a dominant player in this version is the Bulgarian dulcimer. The microtonal ascension at the title screen is that instrument. I’m a big fan of the Italian group Goblin who did the soundtrack to the film Susperia. I wanted to capture that vibe for a few moments. Besides, any instrument that can be bought for 6 bucks off of Ebay and can sound unique and brilliant deserves the track time.
Drums
The hardest part to perform. Reason being is that the original Tabla track is off time and heavily improvised; so the syncopations are never-ending. I was tempted to go with the `have a sweet groove and loop it’ route, but that would’ve been too easy and would have defeated the attention and incidentalism of all the previous parts. It was a bitch to score out every single staggering beat and off time hit then do it `in time.’ Ugh.
Swapped out the tabla for deep taiko drums that shake the speakers, threw the taiko drum tracks through an amplifier, recorded it back into the system to give the drums a bit more bite.
I’m going to stop here as this has metamorphisized into one of those gear-fag pages I used to see in guitar magazines as a kid.
In the final installment: `Why,’ the `copyright/artistic expression thingy’ as well as the bizarre synchronicity of the artwork and closing arguments from the prosecution.
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