New Wave

There's a new wave coming and it’s coming from somewhere, but we’re not sure.
There’s a new wave coming.
Maybe, it’s coming from the north and it’s making it’s way down.
Maybe, it’s coming from the south and it’s making it’s way up to the United States of America.
Maybe, it’s coming from across the ocean and maybe it keeps circling around us.
There’s a new wave coming and it’s made of something.
However, we are not sure of what.
In fact, it may not be made of something yet. 
Maybe it’s water? 
Maybe it’s culture? 
Maybe it’s dust? 
It’s dust.
And maybe it keeps circling around us. 

What’s the idea behind the song? (Art Corner)

Well, I hate to say it, but it’s unusual for me to have a clear idea of an artistic statement when initiating the writing process. Ideas swirl around with music usually coming first and lyrics coming later. This is a common approach though not always ideal since lyrics are the most important part of presenting artistic ideas in rock/folk/pop, etc. I don’t have a consistent or specific approach to songwriting and music making, but generally, this is how it happens for me and this is how it occurred with this song.

Initially, when working on this piece, I had no idea if it would have lyrics, be instrumental or be something at all. Eventually, it started to make sense to have lyrics in a spoken word format. If you’ve listened to my music, you’ll notice that I have a variety of vocal stylings, which could mean I’m searching for a clear voice. I enjoy spoken word (not singing) in music in a variety of genres. Music is littered with great art from bad singers. (uh, ever heard of Bob Dylan?) I appreciate vocal excellence, but like David Berman said:

“All my favorite singers couldn’t sing.”

To me, what you are saying is more important than how well you are saying it. Spoken word lyricism/Sprechgesang/talk-singing is everywhere in music, but some particular influences are Florence Shaw of Dry Cleaning, Sue Tompkins of Life Without Buildings, and of course…Diamond Dave.

The song’s lyrics attempt to express the concept of constant change and how small shifts relate to the fear of big overwhelming change. Currently, there is a collective perception that we are living in the midst of tectonic social shifts and generally terrifying events that feel apocalyptic. Sure, the world might be ending, but the end is likely to be drawn out and it’s difficult to tell the difference between a beginning and a conclusion.

When we talk about waves, we think of the apex of the wave—the part that is most visible—but there are hidden undercurrents, subversions and modulations.

New Wave’s lyrics mention knowing that a wave is coming but express uncertainty regarding what it is and from where it is coming. This straightforward metaphor attempts to capture the feeling of knowing drastic shifts are on their way but for the moment, everything is calm. There’s mention of the wave coming toward the United States. This speaks to an American perspective that overwhelming changes originate from a foreign place, even though shifts and influxes are constant.

Lastly, with respect to the lyrics, there is a part that speculates about the nature of the wave. Is it water…is it culture…is it dust? A wave made out of water might be the most common perception. It would likely be the top answer on Family Feud if the question was: “ what is a wave made out of”? Survey says! Water. 100 percent. Water is frightening when there is either too much or too little of it. Both the overabundance and absence of water are tangible current problems.

Additionally, waves are commonly referred to as cultural phenomena. For example, “New Wave” is a genre and the term “wave” can refer to a cultural change.

Dust refers to what someone would think of as physical dust—the stuff floating in the air that must be periodically removed from ledges and furniture—and it also serves as a metaphor. There are waves of sand and dust and there is the idea of everything being dust—as in we are all made of “stardust”. As Carl Sagan famously put it:

“We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

It’s all dust and it all keeps circling around us.

How did I make it? (Gear Corner)

The music primarily comes from running guitars through an ARP2600. Ok, fine, it’s a Behringer 2600. But, it’s the Blue Marvin edition and it’s fabulous. I go through angst when selecting a new piece of hardware. Almost any item is going to be a big financial commitment, commitment of space and commitment to sound. Of course, there is a ton of gear out there that I want, but it is a challenge to find affordable or semi-affordable hardware that I know I’ll use for a long time. The recent affordability of high-quality analog synthesizers has enabled me to make electronic music. So don’t blame me, blame Behringer. Also, getting new equipment helps spur inspiration and the “beginners mind”, which is helpful to my creative process.

In writing New Wave I had a different song in my head. This other song continues to linger and I have yet to record it without starting a different song. This is odd, because the tune in my head is a catchy-pop song. I’m curious if I will ever get the pop song out without it transforming into something else. Regardless, I appreciate having an idea that spurs a variety of material and hope that I can milk the situation for all it is worth.

Will I ever record the catchy pop tune that is in my head? Subscribe to find out!

To create the bassline for this song, I plugged my bass into the 2600 and fiddled until I found a gnarly sound that periodically fluctuates between frequencies. The frequency and tonal shifts on this track come from a modulation that I certainly cannot explain and probably cannot recreate. I found that you can get some distortion effects coming from the 2600 and I like these sounds. After finding the tempo and accompanying bassline, I plugged a guitar into roughly the same 2600 settings and fiddled until I had some nice sounds and proceeded jamming and tweaking and jamming. This was fun. After a few extended guitar takes, I cut through the material and it didn’t take long to identify the wheat from the chaff. There are four distinct guitar tracks and one bass track. For the drums, I recorded a couple of different beats. One beat uses Ableton standard drum samples that come with the software. I went for something “rock” sounding and made adjustments. I used a Drumbrute Impact to create another rhythmic layer that you hear in the quick double kick drum and the high hats.

Then came the mixing…sound mixing and engineering are things that I am muddling through on my own. I feel pretty good about my mix on this one; mainly because there are so many wild frequencies going on in the track. Getting it to sound not too harsh, not too mellow and being able to hear different parts somewhat distinctly was a challenge. I had to pay close attention to the frequencies and EQ everything. This process helped improve my ear and helped me learn how to use some of the tools and plug-ins I have more effectively. I’ve been using Solid State Logic (SSL) plug-ins on my tracks while mixing and here I am using SSL plug-in compressors and channel strips. I did not pay much attention to mono vs. stereo, so maybe listening in mono seems a bit off, but why are you listening in mono? Did you listen on your phone or computer? Use some headphones.

The track was mastered using Landr…we don’t have to talk about that now.