'Projects III' - Individual Song Breakdowns ____________________________________________________________ “Fantasist” (73 BPM, 74 BPM at 0:23, 75 BPM at 0:36, 76 BPM at 0:48, 77 BPM at 0:55, 78 BPM at 0:58, 82 BPM at 1:02, 75 BPM at 2:56)        As elucidated upon in the ‘Dotty Ditties, Volume 1(?)’ breakdown, the ‘portal’ at the end of ‘Ditties’ is the first guitar chord in “Fantasist” (processed), as well as a hint of the ‘synth air’ that comes before said chord. When composing this tune, those ideas came after, as I hadn’t yet formulated a tracklist. The ‘sound’ that I was going for with this one—at least for the A section—was Return to Forever’s superlative tune “Vulcan Worlds”. After that, it got a wee bit off the rails. Towards the end of the B section, there’s a groove that I submitted for Vic Firth’s old ‘VF15’ vids, back when Instagram allowed only 15 seconds of video per post (if only it had remained that way).        The melodic theme ‘played’ by the synths at 1:38 is important, as it’s reprised in a more intense fashion later in the record. The rhythms there are extremely dense: patterns of 5-32 and 7-32 interlocked. The snare outlines the 5 (complementing the synths and bass), while the kick and large ‘stack’ pummel the 7 (guitar). After the transitional section, when it rolls back around, the snare illustrates a backbeat for about half of it, then reverts back to the 5 (orchestrated differently with a ride and a closed hat); the synth is in tow with this feel change. Then, we arrive at the first part of the bridge (which is a variation on the transitional section between the aforementioned theme), which features layered polyrhythms and Sinha’s vocal entrance.        Lyrics:        I’m a memory in the haunt of an echo’s sundry impulse        And I’m looking over my own, my shoulder        No signal        Your mistake, your mistakes        They are not welcome here anymore        Godless, without thought        We march as we’re taught        The second part of the bridge (2:56) is another theme that’s later explored in a variety of ways. Then, it’s back to a variation on the intro and the first theme that I highlighted. ____________________________________________________________ “Bleeding Resonance” (97 BPM, 132 BPM at 1:25, 97 BPM at 1:07, 85 BPM at 4:14)        This was composed almost in tandem with “Fantasist”, with the intention of immediately segueing into it. I wanted to really take advantage of the heaps of talent at my disposal (Raf, Cam) and write some batty shit with shredding and weird/trippy chords. At 1:26, we have our first quote from a previous ‘Projects’ release: the C section/chorus of “Buttery Follicles”, including a triplet lick that's also elsewhere in the song. The triplet lick segues into the section that follows, which features the same guitar chords and synth flourishes that comprise the opening of “Florid”.        Under the reprise of the C section, the main melodic theme of the album emerges. Because of the slow, odd phrasing (it’s actually quite pedestrian (half and dotted half notes), but set against a barrage of quintuplets), and sound/texture of the synths employed, it isn’t totally obvious.        Writing the solo section was a lot of fun and made me realize that I’m gonna need a sax player, haha. Thankfully, Rafael recommended Alexander from Panzerballet, and he was a total pro! After a heavy bridge climax, it’s back to the intro ("Whaddya Want from Me?" quote on the sax at 4:10), then an outro section. There is a melange of sound design happening there, including multiple doors slamming (I used the same heavy metal apartment complex door that I utilized in “Disturb a Deterrent”), backwards screaming, Stylophone feedback swells, giant snare reverb, and reversed-audio bass guitar pops. ____________________________________________________________ “Necropolis” (66 BPM)        Starting with a heavily-processed field (phone) recording taken from the inside of a noisy backstage mini-fridge, it segues into a loop that I created, also taken from tour: the inside of a tour bus bathroom whilst driving. I believe it’s the fridge door closing that punctuates the mix and triggers one of the themes first presented in “Fantasist” (second part of the bridge). I had probably too much fun screwing around with various plug-ins on the drums and general sound design experimentation. Side note: I also used a recording of a trash bag being sucked up into a vacuum, hehe.        The drum feel changes around 1:31 (ooolllddd breakbeat-esque thing that I came up with), and the main theme mentioned in “Bleeding” makes a far more scorching re-appearance. The ending of this piece features one of the same field recordings, just super-washed-out in reverb; I also layered some of my Vermona E-piano, awash in the same ‘verb, outlining the chords from the theme.        This was the penultimate tune composed for PIII. Much like ‘Finite III’, I felt that the energy generated between the first two tracks was really extreme, and a ‘palate cleanser’ of sorts was needed to bring the dynamic back down; otherwise, how the hell do you keep that up? ____________________________________________________________ “Florid Celerity Toppled by Turbulence” (113 BPM, 125 BPM at 1:11, 115 BPM at 1:49, 111 BPM at 2:33, 115 BPM at 2:55, 113 BPM at 3:08, 109 BPM at 4:09)        The first tune composed for the record, initiated on 10FEB20, based entirely around the Algerian scale—C# to be exact, although Raf’s solo (which he composed, and is one of two guitar solos that I didn’t compose) may veer out of it (love the quintuplet unison towards the end!). The intro is a press roll recorded on the snare, chopped up a zillion different ways out of time, processed, and looped; it sounds electrical. The main theme from “Bleeding” is again briefly reprised at 0:20 with an absurdly distorted synth patch.        Not wanting to solely inflict physical and mental anguish on the other musicians, this tune features some polyrhythmically-weaved interdependence feats in the B sections on the drums, with the second B section culminating in 8th-note quintuplets on the left side of my body against straight 8ths (phrased in 3s) on my right.        The sample of glass breaking at 1:57 is one that I actually made, the very same from the “He Slept like a Maniac” session. Also, the synth at 2:44 was programmed manually from samples that I took; I purposefully didn’t lock it completely to the grid so that there was more flamming/push and pull. The synth in the section quotes a transposed melody from “Buttery Follicles”. ____________________________________________________________ “Hell to All” (135 BPM, 115 BPM at 0:20, 110 BPM at 0:49, 97 BPM at 1:38, 95 BPM at 2:45, 135 BPM at 2:51)        The title of this all-too-pleasant toe-tapper is derived from a jokey tweet that my pal Courtney made, which is something that really happened: an e-mail from a co-worker that was either sleep-deprived or simply non-observant enough resulted in a hilarious subject title that she then screen-capped and shared. It makes for a proper fit, methinks.        The 9 rhythm that underpins the A sections is derived from a pattern I heard emanate from a Keurig machine. The B sections utilize a quote from “Zombie Tyrant” to act as a vamp for the guitar solos. Again, I wrote some pretty zany stuff and Raf handled it with aplomb. Then, at 1:38, we see a quote from the bridge of “Project 15”, with an added section that features some chordal stabs (on the guitar) in the left channel, and a “Safari” quote in the right, while the drums play a variation of a fill-in (as a groove) that's also in “Project 15”. When said section rolls back around, the left channel ramps down in volume while the “Safari” quote seems to swallow it up. Towards the end, the quarter-note pulse is briefly revealed, then the 9 pattern is re-assembled into actual nonuplets for a bar, hehe. Love that bass/drum unison fill near the very end - goddamn, Cam rules. ____________________________________________________________ “Tryst” (64 BPM, 74 BPM at 2:34, 64 BPM at 3:29)        I can’t recall if I based this tune on a scale or some other musical concept, but I do remember thinking that it felt like a highly sophisticated and harmonically-dense endeavor (for me!) at the time of composition. Really quite proud of this one, and it wouldn’t be much of a tune if Sinha didn’t absolutely knock it out of the park.        Lyrics:        (Chorus)        Have we met here?        Who knows        Are you without fear?        Blue rose        I could have sworn        By the warmth of your skin        All our time spent within        Have we met here?        Who knows        Are you alright, dear?        Blue rose        Wracking my brain        Sifting through obscure views        Was not my heart for you?        (Verse)        Gold hue pours down onto        Our shoes, the avenue        Upside down, side by side        Entangle me        I don’t know why this feels so new        Misty views        Beige and used        White fields of gelid glue        My fingers are so cold        Leave me alone        I don’t know why this feels so old        (scatting)        (Bridge)        All of your mistakes are not welcome here        I’d give anything to go back to those days        You are a wraith        I know your shadow better than you know yourself        Go back to your place        And I ache        (Repeat chorus)        Both bridges of this tune again feature Alexander, and the scat/sax unison is one of my personal highlights of the whole record. Returning to additional percussion (ashikos for this tune, bongos for “Fantasist”) is Graham Shaw, who also tracked some stuff for me for ‘Delectable Machinery’. ____________________________________________________________ “Moire Congeries” (108 BPM)        I believe this tune contains the most quotes from the two previous EPs: “Ellis Alley” in the A sections, “Vice” in the B section/setup for the solos, “Roughhouse” during the solos, the synth solo of “Time’s Up” at 2:06, and even the chord that ends “Whaddya Want from Me?” is at 2:24. I may even be forgetting one or two, hah!        The ‘Moire’ of the title refers to the close juxtaposition of the polyrhythms, and ‘Congeries’ the cobbling together of so many themes. Even though it sounds like the instruments are in different freakin’ area codes in the A sections, it still sounds groovy to me, haha. The effects on the master channel in the first A section sound quite lush and ethereal. ____________________________________________________________ “The Indomitable Hoi Polio” (155 BPM, 148 BPM at 1:11, 155 BPM at 2:03, 135 BPM at 3:14)        I remember setting out to write a fairly long tune and this taking a while to sound right; it is based on the E Hungarian minor scale. I wanted to muster up something epic, to provide The Big Climax for the record (or one of them, at least), and I felt like this could be achieved with distorted/screaming vocals. I met Lindsay O on a tour with my band back in 2018 - she was doing merch for Cephalic Carnage, also on our tour, during the UK leg. After following her on Instagram, I had no idea she could do such awesome, brutal vocals; I had to utilize her!        The section (second part of the bridge) featuring Lindsay is a reformatted quote of the first major theme that I mentioned in “Fantasist”. But, of course, prior to her entrance, Sinha eviscerates the first part of the bridge with vocals that are not only harmonized to the goddamn stratosphere (and here she wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it!), but also quite syncopated.        Lyrics:        The quietest person in existence admits        That this is all bullshit        Plebeians and misfits        Come get diseased        Begrimed for the next crime        Destroy the paradigm        Come get diseased        Savor the human spectacle        We’re expendable        Disposable        (Lindsay O)        Burn it all down        Slap the taste out of God’s mouth        Looking over my shoulder        Everyone serried, to smolder        On and on without thought        Marching in color as we are taught ____________________________________________________________ “Susurrant Plangency” (75 BPM)        This was the last tune written for PIII. Towards the middle of the Summer (2020), I set out to make more of a soundscape piece, in the vein of “Stentorian Echolalia”, to sorta bridge the dynamic gap between what I knew would be the crushing end of “Indomitable” and the relatively mellow beginning of “Project 16”. I had a restriction in place: use only tracks that were made specifically for this record, and do not record anything new (I could process and manipulate them in any way).        While literally constructing the song in Pro Tools, I had this vocal hook bouncing around in my head, so I took it down. Well, it sounded too good against the vamp of the second theme that I pointed out in “Fantasist” that I had to keep it. As I kept receiving tracks from the other musicians, the song kept growing in length. ____________________________________________________________ “Project 16” (132 BPM)        The second tune composed for PIII, initiated two days after “Florid”. Quoting the big breakdown from “Greasy Mustache” with a cascara rhythm on the cowbell, rumba clave rhythm on the sidestick, and a samba BD pattern is good, clean fun (same tempo, too!). When it breaks off into the ride bell/closed hat, the rumba clave is retained, just orchestrated differently. A “Demassify” quote comprises the B sections/choruses.        Because this tune was written so early on, it could’ve turned out a train wreck since I wasn’t entirely sure how to approach the vocals. I just went for it, and Sinha’s prowess made the song magical.        Lyrics:        (Verse)        Lying served you well        You can go to hell        Conceptually unperceived, precepts I don’t believe        While glowing with glee        You rot in mediocrity        (Chorus)        You are only where you’re at now because of me        You know it        But you will never show it        (Verse)        Don’t have time for my own problems, let alone all of yours        You’ve never earned anything you’ve achieved by your own honor        The anticipation was better than the participation        You’ll see our time together was a cesspool        (Extended chorus)        You are only where you’re at now because of me        You know it        And you will never show it        All your mistakes (mistakes are not) not welcome here anymore        Now I’m godless, without thought        And my heart is on the floor        After the second chorus, the song takes quite a turn into the second/ending Big Climax of the record. The ‘Greasy’ breakdown is again quoted, with the melodic riff eventually entering. I wanted the OG Adam Edgemont to close it all out with a ruthless solo, since he was so heavily involved with the first two EPs. He decimated the role, using and abusing his whammy-bar-equipped axe. Or, to quote him during the recording of it, “I think my hand will now come off.” There’s a poetic bookend to his involvement along with the title of the tune (“Project 16” was actually the tentative title of ‘Greasy’).        After Adam's solo comes to a frenetic end, the main melody of the album makes a final appearance (played via a Moog Rogue). Because this is the conclusion of the ‘Projects’ series, and because the ‘Greasy’ quote is vamped to death, I wanted it to sound as if I were setting the riff ablaze and abandoning it. The sound design portion after Adam’s solo hopefully reflects this. If you read all of this and—especially—if you critically listened to this record, thank you.

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