Audio! Video! Out Now!

Man, this week has been utterly insane. I thought I’d been intense before when it comes to output, but this has definitely been something else. And I’ve got the bloodshot, baggy eyes to prove it! But I am done. Finished. Allowed to just sit on my behind and spend the rest of the weekend getting into the second season of The Walking Dead. It’s a bit slower-paced than the first, and they sure do get a lil’ bit preachy in this one but it’s still – easily – one of the best tv-series I’ve seen in years.

Anyway, finishing up the final details for The Norliss Tapes It’s Halloween EP yesterday I decided to make a video for it on the spot. The song was great (Staffan had the verse finished, I wrote lyrics to the melody and he finished up with the chorus) and hearing the finished audio track I knew I just had to get going. And I totally lucked out choosing Herk Harvey‘s 1962 chiller classic Carnival of Souls as it has great tone, some beautiful photography and a truly great performance by lead-actress Candace Hilligoss. And lots of the edits in the video just came together so beautifully I can assure you it was such a fluid process it really didn’t feel like “work” at all. Easily one of my all-time favorite horror movies it was made for a ridiculously low amount of money and is considered by some to be an independent cinematic masterpiece. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it! Considered to be in the public domain you can find it online at Archive.org.

I gotta say that with this EP the whole project sure took some strides forward. Me and Staffan were truly riffing off of each other and like I already stated what began as an idea of doing one seasonal song and give away for free we ended up with a five-track mammoth offering tons of variety. We’ve got some Carpenter, some Kraftwerk, some Beastie Boys influenced weirdness and cool samples from horror classics like Dracula starring Bela Lugosi and George Romero‘s Night of the Living Dead. Check it out on Bandcamp here and how about a tiny taste? Maybe you wanna sing along?

Bonfires light up the night, offering protection
As we slowly retreat to the warmth inside
Under the full moon’s light, somewhere in the cold
There’s a sudden howl, come closer child
It’s Halloween
It’s Halloween

Soon skeletons walk, they’re the dancing dead
Demons gather in shadows, they’re allowed to feed
And as lovers caress, clutch themselves for safety
They pass through the trees, shrieking with delight
It’s Halloween
It’s Halloween…

 

 

New Artwork!

Yeah, well I told you I was a workaholic baby! Coming soon: The It’s Halloween three-song EP from The Norliss Tapes! And for a band that really throws everything plus the kitchen sink into their output this one’s really got a couple of surprises to offer. Off the top of my head we’re talking some Carpenter-esque qualities, some Kraftwerk, some 80s New Romance, some Beastie Boys, some Disco (???) and even some slight modern dubstep influences. Whoof!

For someone who’s very much involved in the process I still gotta admit the huge amount of creativity and gutsy “just create and damn the consequences” attitude even surprises me from time to time. But I am enjoying myself immensely. Anyway, I’ll make sure to post a link when the EP is up and running.

Propellerhead Reason 6

Wow, just wow! Now, I’m not one for pushing any special computer software to anyone – frankly they all have their advantages as well as drawbacks – but after stumbling across the promotional video for Propellerhead‘s Reason 6 featuring Adam Horovitz of The Beastie Boys as well as some tutorial videos, that baby do seem like a little slice of heaven for computer musicians! Nothing wrong with the stuff I’ve been using so far for The Norliss Tapes (if you wanna know I edit samples in NCH‘s WavePad Sound Editor, arrange the samples in freebie Audacity and then master using IK Multimedia‘s excellent T-RackS 3 Deluxe Edition software.  All available for free (or trial versions) so check ‘em out if you’re curious) but this thing takes it to a whole other level!

You can pretty much start off with one sample, edit them, arrange them, add various instruments (it has synth emulators etc. that you can play using the computer keyboard), mix and finally master – all in one place! That sure saves a whole lot of time, especially if you notice something wrong and wanna re-edit (that used to be a nightmare if you’re using the above mentioned programs).  So I’ve done my fair share of research lately and so far heard nothing bad about this whatsoever. I’m definitely checking this out! More promotional videos:

In Memorium

Bummer news after a pretty creative weekend; Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch of The Beastie Boys passed away at the age of 47 after battling cancer for some time. Mostly famous to the world as a hip-hop outfit, the band started out as a classic hardcore band and their debut EP Polly Wog Stew is a pretty cool release fetching some pretty big bucks on the collectors market these days (and it has been re-relased on a CD with some cool bonus tracks as Some Old Bullshit).

Moving on from their punk beginnings, the band was somewhat shunned by the underground punk community, even though the members stayed pretty active politically and actually used the money earned from their success to fund various projects like the Tibetan Freedom Concert and New Yorkers Against Violence. Creatively speaking the band also seemed to do and produce whatever the hell they felt like, and you gotta respect true creativity like that. More info via the band’s official website here and you’ll get two of my fave songs below: