Listened to Saul Williams / The Rise and Inevitable Liberation of Niggy Tardust! on Sunday for some inspiration (if you haven’t heard it, it’s a masterpiece, Saul’s poetry combined with Trent Reznor’s production is amazing). One thing I really noticed was how sparse the percussion was at times, so that’s what inspired the minimal drums in this track.
The Bassline is the Matriarch with its LFO attenuated and patched into Cutoff 1 for the filter in stereo double low-pass mode. Pretty close setup otherwise as she was on “blood and wine.”
The lyrics were partially inspired by my friend but also by my little man Indio who passed on Halloween last year. There’s also a theme of sadness related to me just reflecting about my lack of hope for the future in general. As much mourning about the recent past as it is about the present and just how things could have been different.
I wanted to make this the last track I released this year (it will definitely be the last one on the album) though I wrote it on the 14th. I’d already made good progress on its sister track (in progress) and so wanted to release that one next but this is what happened tonight.
Fell into this sleepless dream
Where everything is what it seems
No magic left
Close my eyes and count the promises I
Never kept
And what lies beneath
The face behind the curtain
Isn’t me
I had everything
Watched outside myself
Watched me throw it all away
Could have kept you warm
Kept you safe from harm
But I threw it all away
Fell into this sleepless dream
Where you’re no longer here with me
Thought I knew
What I wanted but all it ever was
Was you
All that’s left of me
Only just this shell appears
Every road to hell runs through here
Loss is always with us
Just under the surface
Sometimes it comes up for air
I had everything
Watched outside myself
Watched me throw it all away
Could have kept you warm
Kept you safe from harm
But I threw it all away
Hold you in my arms and let you go
Kiss you one last time and let you go
Holding you so tight, can’t let you go
Hold you in my arms, watch you go
@gm7 Mar 2022
Such a clear sound I can hear everything. The bass is subdued but effective. Lots of air! This has a hint of Bowie as @cowboydick said.
Great job
@djtjb Feb 2022
Oh man when that pulsing bass comes in at the 2 minute mark I lost it. This is so beautifully arranged. And the lyrics and vocals are wonderful. I particularly love the cadence and phrasing of the chorus. Awesome song man, and perfect song for the end of the album!
@cowboydick Feb 2022
Love the space in the arrangement, how I can pick out every element in it. The sparse percussion track is ideal ... the vocal sounds like you're channeling a bit of Bowie on this one.
@jibbidy34 Feb 2022
Sweet heartbeat groove set to a sparse backing of raw emotion and synth heaven… happy accident to wander over here and check out your stuff.
@heliosonorous Feb 2022
Lots of feeling in this one, the sparse percussion works really well, nice lyrics in here too.
Regarding Saul-
I got the Year Zero Remixed cd in November 2007 and it was unique as it had a disc of all the wav files from the album so anyone could make their own remixes.
I put the cd in my car cd player and opening track this dude is singing over Hyperpower and I was taken aback but after a few seconds I realized that track was fire. Thanks for the memory, how fast time moves along.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6qiLSRZDL8
@candle Feb 2022
Oh yeah! You know how I love your tracks with vocals :D This one is no exception. The sparseness of the composition gives this a sense of massive space, which juxtaposes amazingly well with the intimacy of the lyrics & the vocal delivery. That bass really grabs you when in comes in & the piano lead adds a little bit of hope to the mood of this wonderful song. But what really grabbed me the most was this lyric:
"All that’s left of me
Only just this shell appears
Every road to hell runs through here
Loss is always with us
Just under the surface
Sometimes it comes up for air"
Wow. Those words are powerful & I sense, that they capture exactly how you're feeling right now. Well, I need to press repeat (again, for the second time) & just lose myself again in this wonderful track. I'm looking forward to the sister song.
See You In The Shadows…
@captainvulpine Feb 2022
Amazing. Devastating, and the production makes it doubly so.
It's beautiful, and being in a similar headspace, it hits pretty hard.
I'm gonna give you a big ol' hug when our paths finally cross.
A perfect album ender as well. I'm on listen #3.