Artist Bio
Influences: Allan Holdsworth, Mike Oldfield, Devin Townsend, King Crimson, Jeff Beck, Vangelis, Steve Hackett, Peter Gabriel, ELP, Zappa, Brian Eno, Steely Dan, Yes, Bruford, Dixie Dregs, They Might Be Giants, David Bowie, ZZ Top, Joe Satriani, and there's a big list of other influences in the link immediately below:
http://headfirst.www.idnet.com/about_groups.htm
I'm an old dude who is absolutely obsessed with music and trying to create tracks that teenage me would have loved.
2022 sees me taking part in my 14th FAWM. Thanks to Covid and an overwhelmed healthcare system here in the UK, I'm still waiting for surgery for a large stone in one kidney and a cyst in the other (and believe me, they _really_ don't improve your lifestyle). So I don't have a job right now and I've been spending most of my waking hours making music. It keeps me relatively sane, but I've become even more obsessed with home recording than I already was. I've released twelve full-length albums in the past year on Bandcamp: https://headfirstonly.bandcamp.com/
I live stream from my bedroom studio—and generally get sidetracked a lot—on Thursdays and Sundays at 19:30 UTC over at
https://www.twitch.tv/headfirstonly
I'm keen to use the show to share tips and tricks to help you get better results from your recording setup, so if you have any good advice, please send it my way, or just come and say 'Hi' in the chat!
I've been an Ableton user since version 8. If you want to see photos of my setup, find out what gear I use, or (god forbid) read a lengthy account of why it is that I've ended up making the sort of music I make and how I do so, it's all here:
http://headfirst.www.idnet.com/about_music.htm
"Leonard Cohen meets prog" - PROG Magazine
"The Bob Ross of prog metal" - ductapeguy
Chris Harris
(he/him/HFO)
Songs (42)
A Book Worth BurningSoundboard
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@chriddof Mar 2022
Thank you for the comments on "An Inexplicable Concept...". And also my apologies for taking this long to thank you!
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@mahtowin Mar 2022
… and good wishes for the healing of your kidneys. I had a stone in one kidney two years ago and I know how it hurts. 3>
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@mahtowin Mar 2022
Thanks for passing by and leaving a comment on Green Saxophon.
I am still discovering wonderful music like yours. -
@miga Mar 2022
thanks for listening and commenting on "here with you" - very kind! Since I like the melancholic feeling of that song, I was glad you did too.
Enjoyed one of your twitch broadcasts (after the fact) and maybe I'll be able to tune in again someday, though I'm on the other side of the pond. (That comment about Zoom breakout rooms really cracked me up! too true!!) I'm on the other side of the pond, but I hope to get back to listen again, even if I don't make the livestreams. -
@audrey Mar 2022
Thank you so much for listening and for the kind words about two of my pieces. I appreciate it.
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@mishykatz Mar 2022
Thank you for the thoughtful comment on Where I am Headed I Really Don't Know, I love the details you notice and bring up, very cool.
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@davidtaro Mar 2022
Thank you for the Big Man comment! I hadn't heard that Lehrer song, so a pleasure to become acquainted with it :)
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@katestantonsings Mar 2022
Thank you! I got Koyaanisqatsi, too. I will watch that one next week. They didn't have the entire trilogy at my library. I'll keep what you've said in mind when I watch the rest of Einstein; sounds like a unique perspective. If I view it that way, I won't be so baffled at what they're trying to communicate. Or not? Maybe the creators just want you to feel something? I couldn't figure it out, but I thought it was intriguing. Perhaps that is the point. The actors were stoic.
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@katestantonsings Mar 2022
I got Einstein at the Beach on DVD at my local library. I am on Act 2. I will be completely honest. I wasn't sure what to think at first. I thought it was strange. I felt like I didn't get it. Once the train scene with the very pretty minimalist woodwind arrangements came in, I started to enjoy it more. The facial expressions during the trial scene were evocative. I think this must be very moving in person! I can't say I've ever seen anything like it...will check out the rest this week.
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@scottlake Mar 2022
The harmony lead lines is actually just one line played through a patch on my Zoom G5 that I have never used before. I like how it turned out. I usually don’t use that kind of stuff but it seemed oddly appropriate here!
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@marthie Mar 2022
Thank you for listening
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@electrocelte Mar 2022
Just got my MOOG last summer... am just starting to scratch the surface for using this thing... so far so good... thank you for listening! A real bagpipe tune for a real mascot, serving in the UK! ;)
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@mishykatz Mar 2022
Thank you for the comment on Hands Up Hands Free!! Much appreciated <3
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@dreamscuba Mar 2022
Thank you for your comments on several of my songs. I have been buried in my day job the last few days...
The Womble - Yes, I use a free plugin for ADT. I use it quite a lot. A tele copy with a Direct Drive pedal...love teles.
Fluff - I remember Alan Freeman, although his shows in the 70s were before my time - I was only 10 in 77. And the experiment worked a lot better than I imagined.
Pump It Up - Thanks for the reference to Rush...my favourite band. I do love riffing bass players, as a guitarist I cannot stay in the pocket ... haha. -
@wolfkier Mar 2022
Just teasing my good buddy Deez. He's in on the action. Thanks for all you do.
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@trebled Mar 2022
Thanks so much for your comments, and I’m glad to know I’m not the only one here who remembers Tomorrow’s World! According to them, by now we should all be travelling by jetpack and have household robots attending to all the domestic chores! :-))
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@silvermachine Mar 2022
Yeah sorry about that, tbh 28 days of this place and the misanthropic loner in me can't wait to escape. I deleted the Dropbox folder in my joy.
Are you not doing Christmas albums any more? I felt maybe you were producing so much music nowadays it just wasn't feasible? -
@povosos Mar 2022
Thank you for your comment :)
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@ggallagher Mar 2022
thanks for your comment on trust the trail that blackbird story is so cute! that's awesome!
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@ryako Mar 2022
Oh, I forgot to tell you that, in the story, "zik zik" is Nurse Lang's way of saying "sick sick", meaning something that is a permanent illness, which, in Kaleb's case is Alzheimer's disease. It's his "disease of the mind".
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@whispermouse Mar 2022
You've GOT to fade out the guitar solo, that way everyone things you're hiding all the really good licks.
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@ferry0123 Mar 2022
Thank you kindly for your words on 'One more cycle'. I really appreciate it!
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@candle Mar 2022
Hey Chris,
Thanks for the great comment on Land's End. Yeah, I'm quite impressed at how good that "bass" sounds. Amazing what a good pitch-shifter can do.
And thank you for the looping tip. My loops are usually a little cleaner then that one. I find timing is the big thing to keep them clean, since I do live looping for the most part. But sometimes my foot gets a little heavy & I miss the mark by a few ticks. :D
See You In The Shadows… -
@ryako Mar 2022
Sorry for commenting so late! I had to get some game music done!
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@downburst Mar 2022
Not at all! I owe you many listens as well (but there's SO MUCH to listen to).
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@davidsnyder Mar 2022
Thanks for you kind comments Chris! This week is catchup for me, and I will be responding more thoroughly and listening to more of YOU! :) Bear with me. I will get there!! :)
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@gilhari Mar 2022
Thanks for your comment on "counting birds"! I miss my days of living in the countryside and try to mix the mysteries I saw and felt during those times with my current life and emotional landscape.
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@gordon Mar 2022
Hi Chris, thanks for having Pete and myself on your show last week. It really was a lot of fun and very reassuring to talk to like-minded people! (I'm just back from visiting my dad in Scotland and trying to catch up with what's been happening in FAWM while I've been away.). Keep up the good work sir!
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@litorne Mar 2022
Thank you very much for your comments and advice! I didn't know where to answer and thank you for the comments! :)
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@thedutchwidows Mar 2022
ha ha! That is a much higher brow reference than the one I'd thought of! I had in mind this from the Hitchhikers' Guide To The Galaxy: "Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist, but that's just peanuts to space." I need to raise my game..!
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@mal Mar 2022
I was unfamiliar with Ozric Tentacles so I had a listen and I like them very much. Thank you for the compliment!
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@mikeskliar Mar 2022
thanks for your great comments on 'meaningless stats' and 'sun turns grey'.- both of which are on that new bandcamp album, btw https://mikeskliar.bandcamp.com/album/interesting-times
and i need to check out lots more of yours- wow, you had quite the productive fawm! -
@fuzzy Mar 2022
I was going to say rocks.
Or maybe someone else's satellites. -
@fuzzy Mar 2022
Plasma seems a bit impractical; I'd think it would be much easier to just drop a bar of metal.
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@fuzzy Mar 2022
I'm imagining that cast iron might melt during the heat of travelling through the atmosphere, which would be a wholly different sort of effect from a solid mass of tungsten. Both would definitely get the job done, but I'm thinking that tungsten might provide for more accuracy.
Just the thoughts of someone who has little idea of reentry temperatures.
As always, thanks for your comment! -
@frey Mar 2022
Thanks for your comment. I've actually never even heard of David Sylvian so thank you for introducing me to a new artist!
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@toms Mar 2022
Thank you, Chris! My colleague here at the college who is supposed to to do the vocal went on spring break all of a sudden, so it might be a while. Can you imagine that? Spring break over finishing a FAWM song? Sheesh. :D
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@sci Mar 2022
amazingly, I caught myself before I actually burned out, but even now I'm still trying to take it easy.
thanks for your kind words, especially in post-fawm march :) -
@logrinn Mar 2022
Thanks for the comment. Went over to Bandcamp to check out your music after reading your bio.
Enjoying the By the Numbers right now. Sounds great. -
@nadine Mar 2022
Wow, thanks for your words on "At your command". Reading his from a prog aficionado means a lot to me. @chrismyth02 did an awesome job here and we will finish the song.
... and also thanks fir the podcast feature and the podcast itself. It has been such a pleasure to hear new things and see the faces. -
@outinpublicdrummer Mar 2022
thanks for the feedback! I was planning on running it through retro-fi from waves to give it more texture/warping
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@highmountain Mar 2022
Howdy! Thanks for kind words on Cave Man! I will communicate them to him (back in history).
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@daveyboy103 Mar 2022
It's almost miraculous Chris and I cannot believe how easy it is to construct these classical pieces from individual simple parts.
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@katestantonsings Mar 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSX9F6ETTDQ
I'm sure you've seen this cover of Heroes, but just in case! Gorgeous. Stripped down. Ethereal. -
@katestantonsings Mar 2022
Holy smokes! How have I not listened to those?! To say I am excited to delve into this is an understatement!! I bet you're excited about 3 Cities Baltimore then! I received that notification for his birthday because I am subbed on YouTube. I subbed for Metamorphosis. I was very moved by that piece--in the realm of Satie, Debussy, and other enigmatic composers. Adding them all to my YouTube playlist. Perfect music for my office. Thank you so much!
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@katestantonsings Mar 2022
Thanks for the link Chris! I will most definitely watch that trilogy to capture it all. I've only listened to Phillip Glass's Metamorphosis piano movement. Going to deep dive into his sound!
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@wolfkier Mar 2022
:) The only time I was happier was when I was poking at it in my DAW and realized how magical it was gonna be thanks, my friend.
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@edward9thstreet Mar 2022
Thank you for the listen and comment. I appreciate it!
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@ayehahmur Mar 2022
I honestly didn't know anything about Jane Yorke before this. I know that Helen Duncan definitely made an alleged spooky connection to a loved one who had passed over serving on a ship that the MOD hadn't officially announced as lost yet, but I didn't get the feeling that Yorke was ever really suspected of doing the same (beyond "military secrecy" being another reason for prosecuting her at all). Basically as far as I can see, she was a cheap fraud, preying on the vulnerable and deserves to be forgotten - which means I'm in too minds about actually releasing it.
In a not altogether unrelated note, I've been enjoying learning about the magic that is spectral editing this lunchtime. Now that's real sorcery. -
@mikeb Mar 2022
Thanks for the comment on 'Madness' - had to cut it short for the 100 second challenge!
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@dragondreams Mar 2022
Well done on reaching the "answer" Chris. Thank you for your comments, support, and friendship once again this February. I am so looking forward to listening my way through your always quirky songs during March. :-)
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@kenmattsson Feb 2022
Thank you and @ianuarius for playing my bardic song on FAWMtalk today. I'm so honored!
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@erucaesounds Feb 2022
My head is spinning with the number of songs you've done..... 42? I just got to my 14 and I am so spent! :)
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@ianuarius Feb 2022
Congrats on the 42!
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@fuzzy Feb 2022
Thanks for cranking out so many great tunes this month as well as for all of your comments!!
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@nagavaeoe Feb 2022
35?! What the... I'll be listening this week. :O)
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@fuzzy Feb 2022
Thanks for your comment.
I specifically asked for a bullhorn for Xmas. :) -
@erucaesounds Feb 2022
Cheers Chris on Techno Prisoners..... yes, that first synth was a little loud wasn't it, ...now I listened to it through headphones..... sorry about that, fixing it now.
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@sw1n3flu Feb 2022
up to 35 songs? seems you may have smashed your previous record?
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@beat Feb 2022
Enjoy being.
I’ll hear you next year.
Greets from Vienna. -
@odilongreen Feb 2022
Thank you so much for listening to all three (current, as of this comment) Pogonos Crossing songs. It's hard to get people to listen to a connected series -- I absolutely understand why people don't want to get involved in a multi-song arc when there is SO MUCH to listen to here -- so I do very much appreciate the time you took. (Especially as you left such nice comments too!)
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@clownresidue Feb 2022
thank you so much for your lovely comment, and for featuring my song!! :)
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@berni1954 Feb 2022
YOU SAID:
I've tried and tried to do harmony vocals so many times this year and I've crashed and burned every time.... What's your secret, oh wise one?
Basically, you need to get yourself to as many folk clubs as still exist in the UK and join in the singing sessions. You'd soon pick it up. It helps having been a choir boy too... But groping hands under your cassock might be too much of a price to pay for learning to sing in harmony ;-) -
@dragondreams Feb 2022
Thanks, Chris!
I may end up buying a Ricky at this rate! :-D -
@radioovermoscow Feb 2022
Thanks! Gotta say after 20 years I'm not sure why I keep trying, lol
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@radiobenedetto Feb 2022
Thanks for the comments on air and off on The Boy Remains. I hear you on the lack of guitar. I find I write completely differently on piano than on guitar and that’s definitely a song I would never have written on guitar. Couldn’t resist the urge o throw some fuzz in there to spice things up though. Enjoyed the rest of your show too!
Looking fwd to listening to your stuff as well. Looks like you’ve been prolific this year so let me know if there’s any in particular I should check out otherwise I’ll follow the hearts. I’m still rushing to flesh out two more ideas before fawm turns into a pumpkin but I plan to catch up on my commenting shortly after collapsing over the finish line early next week. Cheers! -
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@bri4n Feb 2022
Thanks for the comments on my sloth core attempt for 2022 ;) the actual tempo of the track was 28, but I did fiddle about with.... just fitting more notes in with all that space. The fact that you were reminded of one of my favorite movies ever was pretty much a high point for the week for me ;)
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@beat Feb 2022
Thx for having an earful.
Ja, everything for the Queen! -
@ltunes Feb 2022
Thanks so much for your comment about Outside the Grind. So glad I was able to catch the feeling. I love my work.. a public servant.. but there are days!
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@povosos Feb 2022
Thanks for your comment. More I listen to it, more I think it needs vocals.
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@woodhornhank Feb 2022
Thank you for your comments !
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@artie Feb 2022
Well now that I’ve read your bio I guess that answers my question! ;) Great stuff! Teenage me would definitely be enjoying this… adult me, too.
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@coolparadiso Feb 2022
Ha! It wasn't that bad at all. I just wanted loud guitar and drummer be damned!
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@fuzzy Feb 2022
Thanks for your comment on "Puppy Dewormer".
We will indeed have more, probably tomorrow. -
@katestantonsings Feb 2022
Just had to respond to the Rudolph comment.
Petroleum jelly to suffocate them out. Oh yes, botfly larvae removal is the stuff of nightmares! If I could wish one thing today, it would be that the world is rid of parasitic relationships. -
@metalfoot Feb 2022
I'm not using the Axl impersonation on our song. Just so you know.
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@fuzzy Feb 2022
Great reviews for "I Forget"!
Thank you for your comment!
Yes, I want a cello as well.
And yes, bot flies are, um, *interesting*.
"Bot Fly"; makes me want to run fly buzzing noises through a vocoder.... -
@sph Feb 2022
Oh really? I thought *everyone* knows how to get the sounds that start David Torn's Cloud about mercury album. ;-)
https://youtu.be/z7XtjckLrUI
He's awesome -
@sierain Feb 2022
I can't believe I missed Ziltoid even though I've watched quite a few of the live streams!
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@gm7 Feb 2022
Love your FAWM show. More people should watch it... a wealth of knowledge you can get from this. And you sir are like an Oracle of music trivia and facts ...great stuff. See you tomorrow.
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@corvisier Feb 2022
Thank you Chris, happy you like my last composition.
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@mmmmarcus Feb 2022
Thank you for the comment on In the Wake of Anger. Reception has been a bit mixed for it and I'll take your suggestion into consideration regarding guitar. Did want to write without using guitar as a challenge but might consider it for a potential release version.
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@sci Feb 2022
thanks for your kind words!
and of course I meant boards of canada. I typed "boc" not "böc" ;) -
@jamkar Feb 2022
:-)
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@fuzzy Feb 2022
Thank you for all your great comments.
They are one of the reasons why I continue to do this thing. -
@toms Feb 2022
An old free VSTi vocoder called Vocov by g200kg., and I don't really know how to use it properly! So, the soloing was a Squire Tele! Sounds amazing.
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/vocov-vocoder-by-g200kg -
@fuzzy Feb 2022
Ian McDonald has passed away!
You're the only FAWM member I know who probably cares as much about that as I do. :( -
@marthie Feb 2022
Great bio: made me smile. I know apple cider vinegar helps with kidney stones(that is what my patients say). You have and ste very busy!
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@marthie Feb 2022
Thank you for listening
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@slightlydrunk Feb 2022
First of all: you’re too kind, but thank you for the comment on The Old Man and the Cat!
I listened to maybe 2 bars of "Eta Carinae" before immediately watchlisting you, if only for one more track (but hopefully more) this year. Currently listening through all of your songs and so far, they're all fantastic! I'm absolutely blown away! -
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@dragondreams Feb 2022
You are a star, Chris. Not heard it yet. Very excited though! :-D
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@dzdandcunfsd Feb 2022
I wasn't watching the time and my Instrumental corpse Delta piece ran a bit long
https://files.fawmers.org/FAWM_2022/dzdandcunfsd/instrumental%20corpse%20delta%20extended%20cut%20dzdandcunfsd.mp3
I was quite fond of the ending and since nobody has to follow that mess I don't know if it'll make it too long or not, of course feel free to use whichever/do whatever with, but here's a trimmed under 1min section as well
https://files.fawmers.org/FAWM_2022/dzdandcunfsd/instrumental%20corpse%20delta%201%20min%20dzdandcunfsd.mp3 -
@sbs2018 Feb 2022
Thanks for the advice! Now what did I do with those “smart” bells - lol!
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@coolparadiso Feb 2022
Yup i remember those covers! As i sort of mentioned, i had an accident and hurt my back, someone then gave me one if his to read, i laughed so much i put my rehab back a few days i reckon!
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@sbs2018 Feb 2022
You've captured the sentiment well. Tired here, too. And a sore elbow from too much music production. May have to take a break after my 10th one now in progress. Carry on. :)
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@coolparadiso Feb 2022
Yup i listened to blott as well. I loved those books, much better than show though! That clip i sent you was “gold - memories of get down shep i hadnt thought of for years! how dare the BBC have a man with such a strange non BBC accent! A different era!
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@quru Feb 2022
Thanks for your comment on Konsepti! It would be super interesting to explore on deeper level how our brains decode sounds into something it kind of recognizes (like the didgeridoo you mentioned), a bit like wording tasting notes from wine or whiskey or something is a lot about pattern recognition.
I hadn't heard about Alvin, may he rest in peace. -
@kenmattsson Feb 2022
Thank you for encouraging me to get out of my box. It's a scary thing!
How have I not been following you? Rectified that!
