New Album Influences: Pieces in a Modern Style

Now that I've covered some classic electronic artists, I have to mention a couple of modern-day influences that have also built on those sources.

Synaesthetic- A Positive Life: I'm primarily rock oriented, but I'm open to anything that's spacey. When I ventured into Trance, Dub, Techno, whatever you call it, this one got a lot of play in my headphones. I was into the concept of synaesthesia at the time, so this made a good soundtrack for my reading. Check out "Pleidean Communication" for a sample.

William Orbit-Pieces in A Modern Style: Just as above, when a space rock fan ventures in the classical world, it should have a similarly spacy style. Just because it's "classical" doesn't mean it needs to stay in powdered wigs and pantaloons. So I latched onto this album pretty quickly; it fits in nicely with the Jarre/Vangelis/Eno style and avoids the "Switched on Classics" sound (not to downplay the pioneer that is Wendy Carlos.) Orbit is also the link between the dancy stuff above (his work with Madonna) to the more instrumental style.

And finally, "Light Powered" by Deastro: a newcomer out of left field, Cartoon Network's ADULT SWIM, to be exact. I heard this on a commercial "bump" and was hooked. It's one of those things I wish I wrote, and it wound up influencing the final song on Earth and Exile. Speaking of which, I really should get back to work on that...(It's almost there, actually working on the artwork at this point.)

New Album Influences: Rick Wright/Pink Floyd

I'd be amiss if I didn't mention the late Rick Wright from Pink Floyd. While there wasn't anything particular that influenced Earth and Exile (it's all good!), I've been a devotee of Pink Floyd since birth, and keys were my first instrument. I'd sit there and work out the best lines of Rick Wright. I've always wanted to create a synth album inspired by his work, and his influence is all over my playing.

Shine on, Rick...

New Album Influences: Bowie and Eno

Ok, we've already added Vangelis, Jarre, and Oldfield to the pot, but a stew like this wouldn't be complete without a dash of Brian Eno's work with David Bowie. It was a bit strange for Bowie, known more for traditional song forms, to release the spacy instrumentals during his Berlin trilogy... but then, Bowie is a true space cadet, being the star child of Syd Barrett...

While the instrumentals from Low are just as good, the pieces that influenced Earth and Exile comes from the "Heroes" album, the three-part "Sense of Doubt/Moss Garden/Neuköln." The description of these pieces lend themselves to the theme behind Earth and Exile. "Sense of Doubt" is dark and foreboding, while "Moss Garden" is more tranquil and ethereal. This is mirrored in the "exile's" attempt to find a sense of serenity within his own inner space. "Neuköln" particularly adds an extra poignancy; in keeping with the exile theme; according to David Buckley's book Strange Fascination: David Bowie-The Definitive Story, "the music has been interpreted as reflecting in part the rootlessness of the Turkish immigrants who made up a large proportion of the area's (Neukölln) population," while musically, the final section features Bowie's plaintive saxophone "booming out across a harbour of solitude, as if lost in fog." (From Wikipedia.) I find the sax to be rather "Floydish," and in turn, I find the sax on "Terminal Frost" from A Momentary Lapse of Reason to be reminiscent of this.

New Album Influences: Ommadawn

While this album is classic Mike Oldfield; (before his own foray into electronic music), the music still made it's way into my brain for Earth and Exile. I think it may have been a subconscious reaction to pair up Oldfield with Jean Michel Jarre; during his..."involvement" with Werner Erhard's est therapy... Oldfield made a disparaging remark towards Jarre, calling his music "shit." I hate when my favorite musicians try to pit fans against each other, so I'm making them play nice here.

Anyway, the particular piece is Ommadawn, which features an intense section of Afro-Celt rhythms, ominous Celtic chanting, and Oldfield's unique guitar. The section was to suggest musically a violent "re-birth" of sorts, while on Earth and Exile it's more of a "last stand" before exile. I've merged Oldfield's climatic emergence meets Jarre's keyboard attack in a "Wagnerian" battle for the soul of Terra Fractal...

New Album Influences: Jean Michel Jarre

Today's influence on Earth and Exile: Jean Michel Jarre. I grew up listening to Equinoxe. Literally, I can remember being four years old and seeing my mom's 8-track in the car, in the house, everywhere. She had the cover with the one guy with the binoculars, imagine my surprise on seeing the whole album cover years later with the same figure repeated. It's only recently that I've been exposed to the more popular Oxygene. Equinoxe is, as a result, my preferred album, though I do think it's not just the fact that I grew up with it, but that it's also a more realized album musically. But both are an influence, and getting their due today. Here are a couple of versions from a Youtube poster, Gattobus, who recreates them quite nicely. (Check him out, he even does Blade Runner.)

New Album Influences: BLADE RUNNER

Because I have no shame in wearing my heart on my sleeve...

Movie soundtracks seem to have been my primary influence as of late; Empire of the Sun was my tribute to Ennio Morricone and spaghetti westerns...Earth in the Balance, while not so much musically, was influenced by Conan the Barbarian. (Oddly enough, that album morphed into a story about the 44th Inaugaration...which was made even more odd by that man's professed love of Conan, even if I view him more like Thulsa Doom.)

Earth and Exile, fittingly enough then, is inspired by both the story and soundtrack of Blade Runner. The idea of exile of humanity while the replicants embrace theirs is mirrored in the electronic Vangelis score perfectly, and that provided the seed for this album, which grew to embrace the music of Jean Michel Jarre, the Afro-Celt sound of Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn, and the sound excursions of David Bowie/Brian Eno collaborations.

New Album update: Earth and Exile

I usually keep to myself all evidence of new work until it's done except to one or two objective ears, but I thought I'd share this time around. The new songs are all but done, just doing some minor corrections and post-production, then the song titles and artwork. The working title is Earth and Exile, a coda to Earth in the Balance. Thematically, it's a sadder, yet calmer and more forward-thinking response to the anger and events of the last album; an acceptance of what one control, and more emphasis on what one can. Musically speaking, however, it's light-years away...hence the exile. It's also a return to the original intent of Spaceplayer, exploration of musical strangeness. Spaceplayer was never about accepting things as they are, but what they could be. The past few projects have been more...terran...in their influences, which was intentional, as I wanted to get a better handle on form and melodic development. Armed with a greater understanding of the past, I can now return to a more "interstellar" approach.

While I finish up Earth and Exile, I'm going to share a few posts of the musical influences that went into the writing that will give a hint of the shape of things to come...

Old School Meddle

I just discovered the "Spinning Vinyl" clips on Youtube.
I love it. This is the best way to listen to this album

(on vinyl, that is, not on youtube...)