Spin us Still

AHM 3507
2012-2013
Samuel Hodgson
Spin us Still

Spin us Still
The aim of Spin us Still (SUS) was to produce an album of music that progressed in several different ways from the first song to the last. The sonic quality of the album should flow from acoustic, recognizable instruments to more digitally influenced computer manipulated and created audio. In line with this concept, the use of recording studios, multiple micing techniques, audio effects & computer composition increases the later on in the album the track appears. The lyrics throughout the album become less and less literal as it plays through, finally concluding with lyrics void of any meaning to the listener. Within the lyrics are arching themes such as British countryside and flowing water. Even the last track of made up language contains the word ‘tay’ after the Dundee River. Each track aims to experiment with the fusion of genres with continuous folk references to bridge the gap for listener expectation. This report will give an overview of these topics in the context of the album.

Production Concepts
Bacton Shore starts the album with three completely acoustic instruments and vocals. In Tzoots the instrumentation becomes a little less clear during the bridge section. A reverse reverb is added and the panning of the instruments gives the sonic environment an unreal quality. An electric guitar replaces the acoustic guitar from the previous songs in Drift. The bass sound becomes samples of tapping flute keys pitch shifted down. This sample sound is used in Wash and Current. The trumpet and clarinet are mixed in a way that makes them sonically less clear. The song ends with all the instruments glitching and shuttering, creating a sonic quality like crashing waves. In Wash instruments sit above a drifting undercurrent of slowly evolving textures. This soundscape textural quality becomes part of the sonic identity of the album from this point onwards. The track ends with a sustained wash of reverb that is then used for the undertone soundscape for the intro of the next song. Current is a less electronic sounding track, giving a slight moment of respite from the progression. This acoustic, DIY feel references earlier on in the album and creates a ‘linear cycle’. Chime samples are introduced that are in every track from then on. A texture, taken from a flowing river, sits underneath the instrumentation. Rail n Stile is the first track that uses synthesizers, making the sound more electronic than previous. An acoustic guitar and clarinet references the sonic quality of the previous tracks. The whole of Tay Derru is a textural soundscape with little indication of the instruments that create it.

Part of the inspiration of this production concept came from reading a book on Radiohead by Marianne Letts. The book describes the themes in which the production, arrangement and lyrical content of OK Computer, Kid A and Amnesiac are conceptualised. She talks of a “triumph of electric over organic sounds” as representing the growing technological supremacy that exists in modern day society. The different production qualities on Thom York’s vocals, for example, have a specific indication to the listener of what is happening in the story of the album. The albums give both sides of the argument , at times admitting the hypocrisy in selling music about the negative consequences of over consumption and corporations. I have mimicked this idea by using natural and electronic sounds to represent and add emphasis to the lyrical content. For example in the ‘drain’ section of Rail n Stile the instruments swirl around the stereo field as if being sucked down a drain, this is especially apparent if listening through headphones.

Brian Deck
Deck has worked with other artists but the influence for SUS came from his recording and production with Iron & Wine. An interview with Deck on Podbay.fm gave some ideas for the recording and production of the earlier tracks on SUS. Toozts and Drift especially take from his drum micing technique and his philosophy; “Always try to be minimal, it’s a groove, not a science.” I concentrated on getting a good sound with a simple micrphone set up which I went on to mix in great detail. Later on in the album the drums are recorded more thoroughly, changing their function within the mix and adding a contrast that suits the album’s production progression. Deck’s use of good sounding & comfortable recording spaces, as opposed to recording studios, especially influenced the sound of Bacton Shore, which was recorded in several rooms to compare and decide on the best location. I found a certain spots in an empty room that produced a full sound for the percussion and acoustic guitars. For the album Shepherd’s Dog , Deck produces a very distinct backing vocal sound. I have tried to emulate this sonic quality, especially on Drift and Wash. I did this with drastic EQ, wah and reverb.
Figure 1. An online interview coupled with this snap shot of a Deck recording session gave me some knowledge to get a nice, roomy drum sound.

Other Production
All vocal recording happened at home. Several environments including different studios and St Paul’s Hall were tried out but the performance was always significantly more passionate and in tune with no restrictions of time and general comfort. This lead to some interference and inconsistencies in recording that were left in Bacton Shore and Current to add to the feel of the production progression.

The drum recordings in Tzoots and Drift were recorded in a large, open, unusually shaped room that I knew to produce a good reverb. The drum sound throughout the album is based on the production of Two Gallants. Their drum production usually has a dominant side in the stereo mix, always has a distinct reverb or spatial quality and has a wooly kick drum sound. The drums in Wash were captured in the main recording studio in the University. They rely on artificial reverb - so to keep the space of the drums interesting the reverb settings change with the structure. The undercurrent of washing sounds represents the rising water in the lyrical content. The sonic space of the track therefore can be allowed to move with the current. For example, the spatial change between the intro and first chorus, at 1:34, allows the track more room. Like a confluence, the flow of the last passage of music merges with the sounds of the new. This widening of sound coincides with a key change and changes in mood & lyrical content.

Efterklang & Sigur Ros
These Nordic bands are post folk rock with an electronic twist and have inspired some of the more intricate production techniques used on SUS. Their musical exploration has led them to experiment with field recordings, samples, synthesis and glitch. Their music has a modern, unique and interesting texture and mood partly because of this use of contemporary techniques. Location recordings of flowing water, ambient forests and crunching footsteps are used for connecting songs, setting scenes and creating texture on SUS. Samples, glitches and synthesisers are also used, especially towards the end of the album. Recording individual percussive hits and notes then programming them into a sampler allowed more freedom in the computer composition stages. Efterklang especially use varied instrumentation that evolves through a track, often making dramatic use of orchestral sounds and creating contrasting sections using different arrangements. Sigur Ros’s use of made up; non-literal language was inspiration for my own and their song structures, floating and wide, leading to a climactic moment are inline with those on SUS. Sigur Ros often get their instrumentalists to improvise over music in the recording process rather than arranging anything specific. The trumpet part at the end of Drift was produced by giving the player improvisational freedom.

English Folk Music
The Daemon Lover, collected by A.L Loyd is an old Scottish folk song. A version found on youtube by James Findlay was a spark for the composition of Bacton Shore. A Sailor’s Life on Unhalfbricking by Fairport Convention is originally an English folk song. Its build to an explosive yet melancholy ending is a desired effect in Drift. The relationship between the vocals and instrumentation on A Sailors Life has a looser connection than on a lot of popular recorded music. The song was originally written for solo voice and has recently been arranged for accompaniment. This compositional technique was used for the writing of Drift and therefore the relationship between the voice and instruments has a similar association. Putting the vocal melodies and lyrics as the focal point for building the album gave a center to the project but also introduced new issues. Tempo tracks on the DAW projects are complicated and therefore were difficult to assemble. The bpm on Drift changes over ten times during the course of the song.

Tool
Tool are advocates of alternative life styles such as meditation but apply a level of seriousness that demonstrates the difficulty and discipline required and remains level headed, often disputing both sides of an argument within a passage of lyrical content. They attempt to do so by using language that does not force a bias but rather encourages further thought and research. Their production style is thorough and intricate and their use of computer composition, changing the sounds of instruments through technology and effects has influenced SUS. ‘Ænema’’s contrasting sections, surprising structure and beautiful climactic moments have all been desired features in SUS. It is the contrasting crunchy teasing distorted passages that build to a moment of clarity at 5’05” (of ‘Ænema’) are imitated by the songs on SUS. These moments are used to represent themes within the lyrics. In Tzoots, the female character “stepped back and opened her eyes”, which is a reference to the ‘third eye’ in meditation that represents seeing things beyond ordinary sight. After the female character uses an alternative way of thinking she can transcend usual means of understanding. The main riff in the Pot influences the riff at the end of the Tzoots chorus. The lyrics of The Pot have a very similar meaning as Tzoots – the hypocrisy and judgment of certain social and lawful rules and regulations. This theme is a progression from the ‘oh decree’ in the song previous.

Philosophy
Spinoza’s writings on interdependent relationships and his use of language were the influence for a lot of the lyrics. The chorus of Current, “We are not the droplets, we are the sea” is influenced by two Spinoza concepts. Firstly, his use of language; he states that a person cannot be ‘in’ a band, with the conventional meaning of the word ‘in’. To understand the deduction of one thing from another accurately, according to Spinoza the band has to be in the members. Secondly the idea that an omnipresent substance necessarily exists - God - (in my analogy I use the sea as a loose reference) and that there is no separation between God and the ‘parts’ (droplets) that make it up. God is causa sui whereas all the parts are completely interdependent, meaning none of them exists as separate entities in anything other than language.
Everything being as one is a concept often used in religion. The idea that God is all people or that everything collectively equals god is an ancient eastern belief that can still be seen in the lifestyle of many Hindus and Buddhists. I believe that this way of thinking can connect people and spread love and kindness – this idea is embedded in the nature of many philosophies and religions. A genre of music that often spreads this message (often through Rastafarian beliefs) is reggae. In the final chorus of Wash I wanted to emphasize that although the lyrics may seem bleak they carry a message of liberation, love and calming acceptance. This is why the song has been given an ending moment of reggae influenced music.
Nagarjuna is cited as founding the Madhyamaka sect of Buddhism. His reflections on opposites, language, dependent origination and existence are similar to those of Spinoza and Blackmore. The words by Nagarjuna and The Dalia Lama in Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction and The Middle Way: Faith Grounded in Reason encouraged a thought process that lead to the composition of Tay Derru. The philosophies in this book are of understanding beyond language and are therefore too difficult to explain in this document.
A similar concept extracted from a chapter in Steps to an Ecology of Mind by Gregory Bateson was the inspiration behind the lyrics of Rail n Stile. Bateson discusses the interconnectivity of opposites and the limitations of language in ‘A Theory of Play and Fantasy’. More specifically he discusses frames and messages translated by what they contain and don’t contain.
Figure 2. Separation between whole and part is needed to create logic from the box below. You need to separate out the individual statements from everything in the box and yet understand that all the statements are in the box. (Taken from ‘A Theory of Play and Fantasy’)

Many of these philosophers believe existence has both cyclic and linear qualities. As some songs on SUS have repeating sections I wanted to incorporate this idea of ‘linear cycles’. In Tzoots, for example, riffs and chord progressions repeat through all the changes of the song and the chorus doubles second time round. The chorus of Wash changes on every repetition and Drift starts and ends with the same lyrics but with a guitar part from later in the song. This gives the structure of the cycles within the songs a linear quality.
All these philosophies add up to an idea that once all is understood, nothing remains individually. Nagarjuna is quoted to have said something that roughly translates as; "Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor from no cause, does anything whatever ever arise at all anywhere." This is the general concept behind the album. It is why the town disappears in Bacton Shore, why some parts of songs can’t be understood without the aid of others on the album and why the lyrical content gets more and more all encompassing.

Wash
‘Free Until They Cut Me Down’ by Iron & Wine was a main musical influence for Wash. The lyrics are about the freedom and release involved in death. They are submissive and acceptant yet strong and liberating. Wash uses the phrase ‘take me’ from Iron & Wine as a tool to illustrate these meanings and feelings. Phrases such as ‘so be it’, ‘let it’ and ‘take a bow’ are also used for this effect. In Ten Zen Questions Blackmore’s struggle to explain the contrast between what she knows to be true and what her perceptions tell her highlight both the benefits of deep thought and the limitations of language. Like ‘Free Until They Cut Me Down’, Ten Zen Questions demonstrates submission and frustration as well as acceptance and liberation. Wash aims to capture this contrast in musical tone and lyrical content.

Language
One of the most important concepts throughout SUS is its reference to and use of language. Metaphor and reference are used regularly and lyrical topics link all the songs. In Tzoots, for example, the line ‘a book unread’ links with ‘ink is dripping off my page’ in Wash. A table showing the linkage of lyrics throughout the album is enclosed within this document, Figure 3.
‘Behold it all, the whole and part’ in Rail n Stile and ‘we are all the sea’ in Current are reference to the oneness of everything. According to Bateson we externalise a complex physiology and rationalise unification into parts by ‘living in a world of frames’. Frames are used for the order and organization of the perception of the viewer. In doing that a false separation is added, especially within language. Use of language and conversation, emphasis the separation of “whole and part” /droplets and sea.
A key lyrical and sonic theme throughout SUS is water. Every song contains some reference to it from the seaside town of Bacton Shore to the drain of Rail n Stile. In Tzoots the theme of water is introduced outside the parameters of lyrical content for the first time with an opening sound of an encroaching rain. The bouzouki under the rain is a reference to a tradition of folk music, playing outside.
Figure 3. A table demonstrating the language link between the songs on Spin us Still. Huru comes from the Swahili word for liberation/freedom, Uhuru.
Figure 4. This is the lyric sheet for Tay Derru.

Conclusion
The end product is a unique folk package with lots of interest. It can be interpreted in several different ways and like the work of Tool, Radiohead and Susan Blackmore it intrigues the listener rather than forcing any bias. With more time these moments of interest and the conceptual ideas within the album could have been expanded on. In hindsight the plan at the beginning of the project didn’t allow enough time for experimenting with university equipment and mixing. The project was ambitious and a lot of time has been taken up arranging and recording instruments and sounds. It has strayed away from my original plan in several ways – female vocals were never used, a song was added and some instrumentation altered. However none of these changes have had a negative effect on the sound of the album and it has achieved its overall aims.

Discography Tool, Aenima, 61422-31087-2, CDMFN 247 Fairport Convention, Unhalfbricking, Island Records CID 9102 Efterklang, Tripper, 7652347-40 Radiohead, Kid A, 7243 5 27753 2 3 Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days, 6674260 630 Iron & Wine, Shepherd’s Dog, Sub Pop Records Fairport Convention, ‘A Sailors Life’, Unhalfbricking. Island Recrods Tool, The Pot, 10,000 Days, Tool Dissectional Sigur Ros, Dantalogn, Valtari. Parlophone Records