So we are already at the 4th release and how exciting is that! It’s getting better and better now because with every new release we get closer to the music I am making right now, which to an artist is always going to be special.
Now, I wanted to quickly jot down a few thoughts about this full moon release. It is special in a few ways and that makes it exciting to talk about before releasing it.
It is a full-length album that is 63 minutes long. It is also an album that was produced as one single project. It is a style of production I cooked up to make swathes of music on a given theme or structure, in one go. But most importantly, it was done to keep the flow absolutely smooth, like hearing a good DJ mix up rhythms and keep the grooves flowing and ebbing smoothly.
This album wasn’t the first one that I tried this production style with though. There was one more before this but I am yet to dig it up out of my dearly retired MacBook Pro because somehow I remember it being just a very fast few days of music-making to test this new long-form idea out. It definitely did work out though, because it inspired me to create this new album, which at the time was called 5/80.
Edit: I ended up releasing this earlier project under its original name: Outer Explorations.
So that’s what you have attached with this post, the artwork that I was using for 5/80. I have in fact played a few live gigs with this as my base for a live set. And it was the desire to play a live set that had brought on the idea in the first place.
A few of my very dear Kolkata (my hometown) friends and a few from all over elsewhere, have supported me in making this music. They have supported me by encouraging me to play to a live audience at music events and even some non-music ones too. This gave me a taste for playing live and I have always been inspired by watching accomplished live musicians (of which Kolkata has plenty) play on stage. And then there were DJs who could just keep the groove flowing along all night long. I would say these two aspects dictated a lot of the structural ideas for this project.
Because unlike individual tracks (even if made specifically to fit a certain idea) which are usually spontaneous creations, this type of production is usually a somewhat planned affair in my part. I know that I am going to weave in and weave out from one movement to the next, riding the groove but also slowly evolving it, morphing it. This was also the first project where I experimented with time signatures that are not 4/4. To my delight, I then realised that I really enjoyed producing in 5/8 and 7/8. 3/4 is also really fun to work on.
And so then, I had the idea of layering different time signatures to create what would ideally be nice polyrhythmic grooves. So I used it sparingly in this project and was fairly pleased with the results. This specific part of the idea – to layer different beats to a get a polyrhythm – was further explored in a more recent project with very entertaining and fascinating results. It contributed to the densest project I have ever made (a learning experience in terms of mixing to say the least). But that is for later.
In the melodic structure, I think my influences will be quite obvious to anyone who knows. This is also one of the few projects where I have used recognisable movie quotes and bits of sampled vocals from a couple of singers and songs I really like. The overarching influence of Dub is all over the album with its syncopated rhythms, heavy delays and reverbs and half-time grooves. In certain parts, I have also used sounds that are somewhat more orchestral. Scattered through the majority of the album are instances of melodies that evolve in the style of Indian Classical music. But since I am a self-taught musician, the resemblance is a passing one. I just enjoyed making parts that resemble the sounds I revere so much.
So get ready for a brand new journey. The storyline that is attached with this album is already under development but will only come out as I finish publishing the stories for the three releases that came before this one. However, the title of the album will give you a fairly large clue as to the kind of story it is going to be (and there will be more clues in the description and the titles). Thus, stay tuned and keep that support coming. Lend me your ears and hearts and I shall enthral you with music and tales of fantastic feats and events.
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