My third album for 2024 is a collection of 10 cosmic instrumentals that tackle the mysteries of space vs. the ordinariness of everyday life on Earth. It’s macrocosmic vs. microscopic. It’s about time and existence. Stylistically, the album covers a wide breadth of genres: from ambient electronic to glitch-hop and chillout, from lofi vibes to epic cinematic to 80s retrowave. Here at Acid42, we’ve got it all for you.
What Does It Sound Like?
Lots of drums, lots of percussions, and lots of lush, spaced out synth pads. And in the first track, my own backup vocals.
Song Notes
- Don’t Hate the Slacker, Hate the Slack: This started as a voice memo I recorded on January 24, 2018 on my phone in the car on the way home from work. It lay in my notes folder forever until I dug it up for this album and turned it into a full on track. This is why you should always record your ideas wherever you are and then come back to them and work on it.
- The Persistence of Misery: This track was inspired by Japan’s “Swing,” but with added trumpets and a Groove Armada chill vibe. I added a guitar melody (but played on a retrowave VST I had lying about) to complete the chillout sound.
- Feedbucker: This one is driven by the glitch noise drums and the harp rhythm, which was inspired by the famous Massive Attack track “Teardrop,” but it eventually turns into a melodic B-section that is very much like an Air track.
- Atlantis: It starts with a clock ticking using a kulintang rhythm, then I added a honkytonk melody and a bunch of expansive synths.
- Floridian Chill: On this track, I used a bunch of free samples from a Discord group I am part of: the result is this lo-fi vibe in major 7ths with a koto melody.
- It Takes Time to Make Things Beautiful: No drums, just plucky synths, ala Suzanne Ciani. Then I added piano and turned it into an EPIC cinematic track.
- Condense Meaning Out Of Nuance: Again, no drums, just synth pads with an ascending bass track, I also used Blue Nile tones and synth washes.
- Unfunny: What do you do when you combine soul organ + piano + noise + plucky synth horn leads and a cello? Something unfunny.
- The Neverending Disengagement: A glitchhop shuffle + electrocution synth drone + a “Blue Monday” vibe if it were played by 808 State.
- Dream of Falling Into Cars: This started with a melodic percussive synth tone beeping from left to right and then adding some synth pads atop it. The beeping turned into a solid groove. And then some melodic bells.