Hi fam,
So, we finally finished the video edit. This was a huge undertaking for us, but really happy with the outcome, & I’m happy to share it with y’all.
[Warning, don’t watch this video past 3:50 if you have epilepsy.]
Here’s some details that OP-1 nerds might appreciate:
"<span style=“background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px;”>This process was extremely challenging, as not only were we working with four mono tracks, (& no automation, no undo!) but our OP-1 was having an issue at the time where the battery would only last a short time (sometimes 20 minutes), which was extremely disruptive to our creative flow… So it’s with a lot of joy, and triumph that we present to you, the finished track. In light of the journey this has been, we wanted to share a bit of behind the scenes info with you about the process.
<p style=“margin: 6px 0px; font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”>--------<p style=“margin: 6px 0px; font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”>We used a bunch of experimental and crazy techniques with recording this, i.e. we ran the tape at different speeds for various elements, meaning we recorded it in about 5 different keys, i.e. the main guitar was 5 semitones lower (& slower) than the song you hear, some vocals were recorded up to 3 semitones faster (higher), or s(lower), and the trombone harmony was recorded a tone lower, to give it an alternate timbre… We also recorded some backing vocals while running the tape backwards, and singing the lyrics in reverse. To us, all these various timelines are symbolic of the overlapping of our lives with one another, young and old, what time would be like if we could reverse it’s direction, and go back to our pasts… We also recorded some of the heavier guitars through a handheld micro-cassette recorder with the input gain overdriven, with the recorder actually inside our acoustic guitar (only one acoustic guitar was used to record the song) with the tape running extra fast, in order to achieve a gritty tone, with lots of sustain, kind of like a bass running through a hot guitar amp.<span style=“background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px;”>Throughout the process, we were frequently tempted to export our progress so far to<span style=“background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px;”> Ableton<span style=“background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px;”> <span style=“background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px;”>or<span style=“background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px;”> Avid Pro Tools<span style=“background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px;”> <span style=“background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 33, 41); font-family: “SF Optimized”, system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, “.SFNSText-Regular”, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.12px;”>in order to have more tracks, and editing, etc. and all the mod cons of a DAW, but it is satisfying to have finished the full track without any edits or automation (we applied some basic EQ and compression to the stereo master track)."
The noise outro was a fun bunch of master fx track bouncing mostly. I’ve never put out anything so mercilessly ambient / noisy, but I’m getting into that stuff more… To me, the outro represents the journey to the afterlife which is heavily thematic to the lyrical content.
Peace 