The Vertigo of Time Acceleration
The Arkanist releases the last of a string of 11 singles. Let's take a look back to those & see what's next !
The Arkanist has a new track available today: “The Vertigo of Time Acceleration” is the last track of 11 singles that have been released over this past year.
It’s a perfect time to take a look back on this string of releases and unveil a bit of what the future holds for The Arkanist. This new track is also special for other reasons that I’m about to share with you.
A retrospective of the past year in 10 tracks:
For those among you who are new to The Arkanist project, and others would like to take a ride on memory lane, here are the 10 “official” singles.
Note that extra tracks (for compilations, remixes & sample flips) are also available. You will find those on Bandcamp and YouTube.
The Vertigo of Time Acceleration:
The track is available now on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms.
As I said, it’s special one, for the following reasons:
The track is based on samples taken from a live-looping improvisation I made with a piano as the only sound source. This made me realize the improvised live-looping soundscapes I make with my other project K⏣LYDER are an excellent source for quite unique and characterful samples.
On top of those samples (which are everything you hear in he first part of this track, except for the drums, bass and the vocals), I recorded my own guitars and vocals (that's in the 2nd part) which is a first with this project.
The speech you hear in the bridge section of the track is Alan Sparhawk from the band LOW, an all-time favorite of mine. The core of the band was Alan & his wife Mimi Parker. Sadly, Mimi passed at the end of last year. The track was already done then, which gives a strange resonance to what Alan is saying. This makes the message even stronger, and makes the track an unintentional homage to Mimi. (More about LOW at the end)
What’s next ?
My intention with the Arkanist had always been to develop a unique sound & style. The 11 official releases were a way to experiment with different genre and music production techniques / ideas. They were a way to get to know what this project wanted to be. In time, they will sound like exceptions to the sound I am about to develop. Yes, it’s about to change…a lot !
Using samples from a live-looping soundscape was a huge step toward this… and what’s not to like ?
It’s unique material, already very close to who I am, that is prone to be the foundation of a unique sound.
It’s also a good way to overcome to more and more critical copyright issues that come with using samples, even when those are legally acquired (like when two artists release a track using the same legally purchased sample, which can cause plagiarism issues). A.I. based analysis softwares that are able to find the source of even the shortest of sample (like a single note), are starting to appear.. We can expect to see a hurricane of copyright claims pretty soon.
Last but not least: I have gigabytes of them already.
So using samples from my live-looping soundscapes, will be my default way of operating from now on.
You’ll get a hear some of that on my 1st EP, that will be coming out on June 2nd.
It’s a 7 track EP that will be available in 2 versions. I don’t want to say much more about it right now, but, if you’re a music creator, you might be interested about that other version…
Recommanded watching & listening:
I want to include some listening/viewing/reading suggestions at the end of every post. Thing are particularly like or that I just found out about & currently appreciate. I’m looking for a nice name for this section: if you have an idea, please share it in the comments!
LOW - Live at the Fitzgerald Theater (Double Negative Tour) - 2019
It’s hard to find a bad performance from this band, so I went for a performance from their latest tour.
They always rely on the quite minimal formula of: live vocals by Mimi & Alan, Guitar, Drums (played on a minimalist kit), bass, with a bit of keyboard on some songs.
If you’re new to Low, be aware that their studio records became very different from their performances in the 2nd half of their career. From the release of “Drums & Guns” in 2017, they began experimenting with a different studio setting for each record, using a new style of production to “filter” their original sound.
It’s particularly true with the last 3 records: “Ones & Sixes” (2015) was produced like a HipHop/Electronica record. “Double Negative” (2018) takes a lot from industrial, shoegaze & power electronics (yes !). “Hey What” (2021), their last one, is full of guitars that try, and manage, to sound like vintage/lo-fi synthesisers.
I know very few rock bands, who have kept innovating after a 30+ years career. They are definitely worth diving in !
Mark Stewart & The Maffia - Live 1985:
Mark Stewart, singer of UK post-punk band “The Pop Group” is another very important musical figure who passed recently. The news did not make a tremendous noise because he remained underground for all his solo career after the end of The Pop Group.
His, Dub infused post-punk, political Spoken Word music has influenced a lot of people, so much that the musical landscape would have been very different without him. Just have a look at the list of people he collaborated with: Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Tricky, Massive Attack, Chicks on Speed, Primal Scream. Richard Hell, Lee Scratch Perry among many others. Nick Caves cites him has a huge influence.
This live performance features Doug Wimbish (Living Colour) on Bass and Adrian Sherwood (from UK Dub Label “On-U Sound”) on the mixing deck.
If you want to discover Mark Stewart studio work, I highly suggest his record “The Politics of Envy” featuring a lot of guests.
St. Vincent - She Is Beyond Good and Evil (The Pop Group Cover) - Live @ Fallon
As proof of what I just said about Mark Stewart’s influence on the current music world, and because it’s one of my favorite live performances of all time, I’ll leave you with this live cover of The Pop Group “She’s beyond good & evil” by St-Vincent.
I could write a whole book about how Annie Clark (aka St-Vincent) is one of the great genius of our time, on a musical level but not only. She perfectly gets how our era works and how to navigate it, which makes everything she does very relevant. She is what David Bowie was to the 70s and 80s. People only will realize that in 10/20 years.
She has released a bunch of very electronic, almost robotic stuff, but you don’t get more raw than this video. She sings as those lyrics were writtent for her.. or by her. “Western values means nothing to her… Western values means nothing to me…”.. You got to watch some of her interviews to get how this totally applies to her….
Until next time…
koyl