so, i've finally wrapped up this dang cavity layout, with band approval and everything.
for something so seemingly simple it took a lot of doing, but that usually seems to be the case... the fewer elements you choose to use, the more crucial choices about their placement and treatment become. i've posted only parts of the complete layout below as i didn't want to give the whole thing away just yet. the release date is in march, don't know the specific day, but i'm guessing in the middle of the month. excited this is finally going to see the light of day after literally years in the planning stage.
next up will be the layout for the forthcoming torche album. it will be a collaborative effort between torche guitarist juan montoya and myself. juan has done a series of 32 character drawings, for which i will create a landscape for and populate with their beings. going to be a ball buster, but should lead to an exciting end result. we shall see - just sent preliminary sketches off to the band today - hopefully they'll like the idea or i'm back at zero.
Q+A time: someone asked about training ones voice to do the type of growling/screaming that i do in isis. i have no practical advice for this.... i just started screaming one day and that's what came out. i've found that regular practice and some sort of cardiovascular exercise will help stamina and consistent performance, but beyond that there's no secret i've discovered to making your scream sound a certain way - either you like your natural sound and you develop it or you give it up - no other way to go as far as i know. i do know there are vocal coaches these days that specialize in training "screamers" but i have no idea how valid this area of instruction/expertise actually is.
someone else asked if the burial that is doing an ISIS remix on the "not in rivers..." single is the same burial that just released an album called "untrue". yes, it is indeed the same burial. now, if he'd only deliver that damn thing!
in the last couple days i have enjoyed the following: san-sui sushi restaurant, los angeles / 25 degrees hamburger restaurant, los angeles / deadwood season 1 DVDs (hooked on this shit at the moment) / radiohead "in rainbows" / birchville cat motel "astro catastrophes" 3xCDr / high on fire "death is this communion" / alcest "souvenirs d'un autre monde" / burial "untrue" / danial higgs "metempsychotic melodies" / pet genius "elvis unreleased" / etc....
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
ISIS nirbid single pt. 2
soooo, i really had every intention of getting another posting up late last week.... and then i threw out my back and spent several days in bed. this event put me behind on the cavity layout, as well as this ISIS layout for the forthcoming "not in rivers, but in drops" cd single, which is currently slated for feb. release but may be pushed back. in any event i'm getting caught up now - the ISIS single is complete, and the cavity is damn near finished as well (i should be able to post some more previews from that in the next couple days).
also, i fear i may have offended some of the polish folks with my posting of the "scary polish bathroom" photo. while the bathroom was scary indeed, i did not mean for that picture to stand as my public statement on my perception of poland. i've found many aspects of my trips to poland to be quite interesting, engaging, and sometimes beautiful, but the bathroom pic just happened to be the first one that i posted from many shot there. i'll do my best to give a more even representation next time and post something lovely along side that which is not so.
while laid up in bed i had the chance to catch up on some reading, some movie viewing, and some record listening - here is a amended list of those items which have kept me entertained/sane over the last 5-6 days: deadwood - season 1 DVDs, ocrilim "anwwn", mütiilation "sorrow galaxies", "summer blonde" by adrian tomine, "lost girls" by alan moore and melinda gebbie, bohren and der club of gore "midnight radio", "shadow of the wind" by carlos ruiz zafon, metalocalypse - season 1 DVDs, ghostface killah "big doe rehab", "it's fine, everything is fine" directed by crispin hellion glover, jesu "pale sketches", etc.....
the end.
for today.
a
also, i fear i may have offended some of the polish folks with my posting of the "scary polish bathroom" photo. while the bathroom was scary indeed, i did not mean for that picture to stand as my public statement on my perception of poland. i've found many aspects of my trips to poland to be quite interesting, engaging, and sometimes beautiful, but the bathroom pic just happened to be the first one that i posted from many shot there. i'll do my best to give a more even representation next time and post something lovely along side that which is not so.
while laid up in bed i had the chance to catch up on some reading, some movie viewing, and some record listening - here is a amended list of those items which have kept me entertained/sane over the last 5-6 days: deadwood - season 1 DVDs, ocrilim "anwwn", mütiilation "sorrow galaxies", "summer blonde" by adrian tomine, "lost girls" by alan moore and melinda gebbie, bohren and der club of gore "midnight radio", "shadow of the wind" by carlos ruiz zafon, metalocalypse - season 1 DVDs, ghostface killah "big doe rehab", "it's fine, everything is fine" directed by crispin hellion glover, jesu "pale sketches", etc.....
the end.
for today.
a
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Dec. 04 pt. 2
below: more photos from isis euro tour. top - mop streaked floor in the same italian venue featured in the last photo posting. middle - mike gallagher from ISIS riding a mechanical bull at an austrian festival we played. we sucked that day as did the "crowd" that was watching us, but mike's champion run on the bull more than made up for it. bottom: scary polish bathroom - looked like a backwoods murdershack. fortunately the toilets themselves were reasonably clean....
still working on the cavity. currently stalled. i'm sure it'll pass, but frustrating at the moment. will likely move on to some other projects until i feel i'm sufficiently unclogged to return to that. the forthcoming torche album is next up on the chopping block, as well as the second of 2 forthcoming ISIS singles. the first ISIS cd/12" single for the track "holy tears" is now in production as is the ISIS 12xLP box set. we obviously didn't get either those done in time for the ISIS 10th anniversary tour, but it's not for the lack of trying. we want these things to be perfect and we hit a couple unanticipated snags. they're both really close to completion now, so keep your eyes peeled.
someone asked about old man gloom, specifically about what album to start with for the uninitiated. i would suggest the most recent full length "christmas". it runs the spectrum of what OMG was and is, and is my personal favorite...
lastly, i would like to suggest a wonderful source of records for those mailorder junkies out there. the place i refer to is called aquarius records, is based in san francisco, and can be found here: http://www.aquariusrecords.org/. many of you may already be familiar, but in case you're not here's my take on this place: great selection of aural oddities - everything from dubstep to black metal to minimalist composition, AQ has got some or a lot of just about everything that is good. they also have a knowledgeable and friendly staff - none of that elitist record store nonsense you're likely to find else where. they also have some of the best descriptions/reviews available anywhere, and clips of almost everything they carry. they're a bit on the pricey side, but well worth it. these bandits have made off with more than their fair share of my money, but i won't hold it against them.
people seem to be enjoying the playlists, so here ya go...
soundtrack for dec 4th 2007: nex "zero", angels of light "we are him", kayo dot "blue lambency downward", anenzephalia "ephemermal dawn", om "pilgrimage", ......
still working on the cavity. currently stalled. i'm sure it'll pass, but frustrating at the moment. will likely move on to some other projects until i feel i'm sufficiently unclogged to return to that. the forthcoming torche album is next up on the chopping block, as well as the second of 2 forthcoming ISIS singles. the first ISIS cd/12" single for the track "holy tears" is now in production as is the ISIS 12xLP box set. we obviously didn't get either those done in time for the ISIS 10th anniversary tour, but it's not for the lack of trying. we want these things to be perfect and we hit a couple unanticipated snags. they're both really close to completion now, so keep your eyes peeled.
someone asked about old man gloom, specifically about what album to start with for the uninitiated. i would suggest the most recent full length "christmas". it runs the spectrum of what OMG was and is, and is my personal favorite...
lastly, i would like to suggest a wonderful source of records for those mailorder junkies out there. the place i refer to is called aquarius records, is based in san francisco, and can be found here: http://www.aquariusrecords.org/. many of you may already be familiar, but in case you're not here's my take on this place: great selection of aural oddities - everything from dubstep to black metal to minimalist composition, AQ has got some or a lot of just about everything that is good. they also have a knowledgeable and friendly staff - none of that elitist record store nonsense you're likely to find else where. they also have some of the best descriptions/reviews available anywhere, and clips of almost everything they carry. they're a bit on the pricey side, but well worth it. these bandits have made off with more than their fair share of my money, but i won't hold it against them.
people seem to be enjoying the playlists, so here ya go...
soundtrack for dec 4th 2007: nex "zero", angels of light "we are him", kayo dot "blue lambency downward", anenzephalia "ephemermal dawn", om "pilgrimage", ......
Saturday, December 1, 2007
CAVITY laid insignificant pt. 2
below are the first few stabs at the cover for cavity's forthcoming reissue of "laid insignificant". these are rough to be sure, but heading in the right direction. probably will go through a few more possibilities before settling on something, but there's one in particular that i'm already drawn to - need to sit on it a while though...
the original version of "laid insignificant" was packaged in a multi layer sleeve with illustrations by pushead and design by hyperstoic. i knew there was know way i'd be able to surpass the original either in terms of the illustration or the custom print work, so i went the opposite direction: seeking something simple, clean, and hopefully iconic. maybe i've been looking at the peter saville book a bit too much lately... hmmnn....
in any event here's a preview of the possible outcome of all this.
today: cavity "supercollider", cavity "laid insignificant", aesop rock "none shall pass", elysian blaze "cold walls and apparitions"....
the original version of "laid insignificant" was packaged in a multi layer sleeve with illustrations by pushead and design by hyperstoic. i knew there was know way i'd be able to surpass the original either in terms of the illustration or the custom print work, so i went the opposite direction: seeking something simple, clean, and hopefully iconic. maybe i've been looking at the peter saville book a bit too much lately... hmmnn....
in any event here's a preview of the possible outcome of all this.
today: cavity "supercollider", cavity "laid insignificant", aesop rock "none shall pass", elysian blaze "cold walls and apparitions"....
