Always hard at work in underground bunkers and laboratories at the beautiful, sprawling California Bay Area campus of The Static Cult Label, our Undisclosed Musical Advancement Division (UMAD) continues to develop the very latest in sonic pleasure.

The Sound of Breasts

I'm going to document the slow-motion process of writing and recording a Breasts song from start to finish. I have no idea how the song will end up, I'm just going to start with a couple guitar tracks and then keep adding more instruments to it until it feels good, man.

I'll try to add at least one new element per week, but I can't guarantee that the updates will be on schedule here, I have to do some actual work at my day job sometimes.

Friday, August 14, 2009

So here goes, here's the raw guitar(s).

Proliferation Model v1 MP3, STEREO, 3.5MB

It's three guitars, main one is panned a bit left, then a fuzzy vibrato line to the right, and a third accenting line creeps faintly around the middle.

See you next week!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Proliferation Model v2 MP3, STEREO, 3.5MB

Added drums and bass. Not sure how I feel about either addition. Drums were recorded with just one room microphone, about 6-8 feet away from the kit (28" kick, 402 metal snare drum, 16" vistalite floor tom and 30" cymbal), played with weird dreadlocks sticks. Bass is a beater epiphone through a small homemade combo amp I got at the flea market a few months ago, tone knobs all toward "as much low end as possible".

I liked the sound of the guitars all alone, kind of like syrup. I didn't want to add drums that were so busy or loud they would compete, but still I think the drums are maybe not right. I'll give it a few days and come back to listen to it, but these drums (and bass) might get removed later.

Time for some vocals?

Monday, August 24, 2009

Proliferation Model v3 MP3, STEREO, 3.5MB

Added vocals (0:27-1:31), bells (0:14-0:25, 1:00-1:02, 1:33-1:44) and a guitar line (1:30-1:49). Vocals were done in two sets. First run was with a baby bottle at about 6 inches (panned left), and an electrovoice 666 a few feet away (panned right). The second run was an overdub with the baby bottle at about 6 inches (panned a little bit right), just doing the "s" sound at 0:33-0:34, then doubling the vocal line at 0:45-0:50, and trying a little harmony at 1:12-1:15.

Vocals: bit the nails too short / you're superstitious, superstitious / here comes the fucking sun / shine on the damage done / by the rising river / it's just the sound of engines / here comes the sun again / dawn upon the phantom twin / like insects hunting / it's coming through, it's coming through, it's coming through

A coles 4038 in the corner of the bedroom captured the bells being shaken in the living room, panned a little right. This actually took a few takes because the preamp was cranked up pretty loud and was picking up loud cars driving by, airplanes overhead and the dog breathing. Confession: I shifted the time a little bit on this track because it was dragging behind the beat a little.

Guitar solo (!) was the Teisco through a Morley Power Wah plus delay, into the direct input on the Mercury m72 s/1.

So maybe I'll come back and listen in a few days, I'm worried it's sort of busy and unfocused right now.

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