FAWM: "◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎ on the corner of the unwed sailor"

◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎ on the corner of the unwed sailor

5 hours ago by @burrMod · @nancyrostMod · @yarimurray · @fourtracktape · @peccary

◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎ on the corner of the unwed sailor

burr +4

00:00

Liner Notes

◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎ TAPE 7 for the #Cassette #4Track #Collab challenge!
https://write.fawm.org/forums/2947

T1: @peccary - bass
T2: @nancyrost - electric piano
T3: @yarimurray - electric guitar
T4: @burr - drums

burr says: this tape arrived TODAY, so i decided to turn it around ASAP! i'm not really sure what kind of life it lived before it got to me, but i had a hard time figuring out what to do with it. there didn't appear to be a click track anywhere (maybe it was accidentally erased?), and tracks 1+2 were really quiet — i could barely hear them even cranked all the way on my deck...

so i "cheated" a bit. i imported tracks 1-3 into logic and used plugins to boost volume and clean things up a bit. while i was in there i tried to use logic's "smart tempo" to find the BPM and make a click track for me, but to no avail... it couldn't really make consistent sense of it either. i decided to be brave and make a stereo mix back to the deck with the bass panned left, piano right, and drone guitar sweeping randomly from side to side.

then i recorded live e-drums in stereo on the other two tracks. amazingly, i did it in only 3 or 4 segments, punching in where i lost my way. it's not perfect, but it's OK and better than i thought i could do under the circumstances. i could only lock on for 4-8 bars at a time, so the drums are kinda stop-and-go, but hopefully that adds to the sonic interest a bit? dumped everything back in to logic, dirtied up the drums a little more with a distortion plugin, and added some plate reverb in the final mix to glue things together.

to me, the final result feels a little bit #AvantJazz like "on the corner" era miles davis, but filtered through #IndieRock #Instrumental groups like "unwed sailor" — so that's why i titled the piece the way i did.

Lyrics

(instrumental)

Comments

@nancyrostMod 1h

Love the title. It does feel kinda avant-jazz, which fits with drums that are more give-and-take than backbeat. Yep, oops, didn't see the click was on track 2 and recorded my part there, mystery solved! I appreciate the thought and effort that went into finishing a puzzle of a tape!

@peccary 1h

Holy smokes, that was GOOD!

I had the idea to send a pretty traditional chord structure on guitar and when I want to record it I pulled out my Jazz bass, which I almost never play, and this little droning riff came to me, and that's what I went with. I'm glad I canned the chords!

@burr I put the click on track two, so it's possible/likely it got recorded over before it got to you. I didn't make a note on that, my bad. But if I remember correctly it was recorded 4/4 at 130 bpm.

I don't know what's up with the levels, though. That's wacky. I have a tendency to push it too hard, usually.

You recovered incredibly, though! Playing drums without any ideas of the time is just nuts - well done!

And the electric guitar and piano are killing it! I just really love everything about this song and can't believe I'm a part of something so rad.

Thank you all who contributed to this, I'm super pumped to have been a part of this song and I can't believe what you all did with this and how much I love it.

I remember listening back to that bass line after playing it and thinking "You've been listening to a lot of Young Marble Giants lately, haven't you?" 😂

I feel like that tracks with the path this took and how it finished.

@nancyrost I think that the click being recorded over was fated and that the world is better for it.

@zecoopMod 1h

What a cool vibe! I am really digging the eclectic avant garde feel of this one. The drum breaks add a ton and really give it some sections. But as others have said, this could have been planned from the start - way to overcome technical difficulties and create new art. Fun song!!

@harryklippton 2h

This is wild. Demonstrative of the magic of the FAWM 4 track collab

@george 3h

yeah, this is coooooooool ....

@whispermouse 3h

I agree with @beto, this all feels planned. This made the perfect soundtrack to the final exchange in the chess game I just won.

@betoMod 5h

Oh, my! I like listening to the song before reading the liner notes, and I would not guess that this was not planned. Great way of tying everything up, it's an amazing atmosphere — I would love to listen to a full album from this band.

@tspoon 5h

cool, spooky and jazzy. like the vibe. great collaboration of talents here.

@elliet555___ 5h

I really like this and the slightly drifting timing... interesting textures...

Command Center

◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎ on the corner of the unwed sailor

Liner Notes

Lyrics

Comments

New to FAWM?

Recent Discussions