FAWM: "life raft"

life raft

1 day ago by @burrMod

life raft

burr

00:00

Liner Notes

#Psychedelic #ChamberPop #Orchestra #FolkRock #Fuzz #Flanger

some of my favorite records are weirdo folk/rock/pop albums with orchestras but also synths and fuzzy guitars, like jeremy enigk's "return of the frog queen," beck's "sea change" or "morning phase," and my brightest diamond's "all things will unwind" or "this is my hand."

i've been collecting orchestral VSTs for a couple years with the goal of trying to do something like this, and i'm sick of using my 4-track by now this FAWM, so decided to go back "in the box." last week i wrote an EP where i asked an AI to give me a "roadmap" of BPM, meter, song structure, and instrument suggestions, and i wrote songs to those constraints. i did that again for a "chamber pop" EP and this is what i came up with based on its suggestions for track 1.

i used ezdrummer / ezbass / ezkeys for the core of it, and then painstakingly "divisi'ed" the keyboard part i rounded across all the orchestral voices (ditching the original piano plugin). i tried to make it sound realistic, but i'm sure real winds players would get pretty mad at not letting them breathe when they needed to! but hey, i'm pleased with this as my first attempt at the vibe...

i'm NOT pleased with the vocal take, but it's FAWM so... moving on...

i pretty much had all the instruments recorded before writing lyrics and melody, although i had been humming the "slowing me down" line very early in the process. i don't know if i'll get through the other 3 songs in this EP before FAWM is over... this one took me 2 days and was a LOT of work! but i'll try. going to post them as i finish them, though, and not all at once...

Lyrics

i remember feeling weightless here
as the vessel surged on and disappeared
diesel and seaweed
why are we are speeding
so fast
it's throwing me down
and the life raft
just spins me around

floating adrift on waves of uncertainty
losing a grip on what matters to me
white knuckles gripping
why are we are slipping
so fast
it's slowing me down
and the life raft
just spins me around

the azure expanse, brutal but beautiful in a way
we ride out the storm, or we drift away

Comments

@jamesh411 1d

Love it right from the start! Drums are crazy and perfect.

@mikegtz 1d

This is pretty great, Burr with a good, strong message. The instrumentation which is also cool is well done but it's the message, man that hits home. I think I can see the Beck influence, too.

@b3nut 1d

I really love the arrangement you've put together...you put in a lot of work and it shows. All the diverse elements come together to make a marvelous bowl of sonic chili that beautifully underpins the picturesque lyrics. Excellent!

@scottmcb 1d

I'm a sucker for pop/indie/rock songs with unusual instruments. This is so good. Well produced, and the different sounds all work so great together. I always wish I could write songs like this

@jimdgreen 1d

this is so . . . . big.

love it, love it. love it.

this is music to sit down and listen too, i suspect each time you've find something new in the composition.

@whispermouse 1d

I like this idea of making a series of EPs during FAWM, and I like the use of AI to give you a starting point for each song. I don't know the albums you're referencing, but I'm curious now.

This vocal melody and rhyme is quite engaging, it just keeps drawing the listener forward. Nice job!

@gazebo 1d

The diesel and seaweed line is great.

The keys give a sense of being on the water.

Has a feel of the Beach Boys, Good vibrations era.

Also - good memorable chorus- was singing along by the end!