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2nd Album: Walker (A Retrosepctive)
7 years ago
General
It occurs to me that it's been almost 2 and a half years since I posted a journal, much less offered any real detail regarding any of my projects.
My second album, Walker, began the winter after I dropped out of college. It's funny, it seems like all of my projects really come into existence and eventual completion whenever I return home from an extended time away. In any case, I found myself within the throes of emotional turmoil, blaming myself excessively for the "failure" that was being unable to stay in college. Music offered me an outlet that didn't require coherent thought but still allowed me emotional release. Songs like "What if the Answer is No?" and "And You'll Never Be Pure Again" are sonic exploration of the darker emotions of uncertainty and worthlessness I felt after coming to terms with my situation and the some of the experiences I had. Obviously, things turned out for the better, as indicated by songs like "But the Answer is Yes!" and "And, At Last, His Heart was Whole". I eventually found the direction my life was meant to go and developed a better understanding of myself both as an artist and as a person.
If you notice a difference in sound between some of the tracks, that's likely because some of them are pulled and reworked from older projects that I didn't finish. Although I used the same programs (FL Studio 10 and 11, if I'm not mistaken, recorded using Audacity for compression and editing), the fact that the tracks represent two different state of minds seems to be inescapable in the listening.
As always, Daft Punk is a huge and obvious influence (for me) in my work, but I also see a lot of Mr. Oizo worship in tracks like "Dysphoria" and "Prelude to a Rainbow". Shades of Justice in the Cross era also stand out a bit to me, and someone long ago paid me a huge compliment by pointing out "Transit" as something that reminded them of early to mid Aphex Twin.
If I had to pick out a least favorite track, I think it would have to be "Back on Track". Although I enjoyed the track after I created it, it was one of the older projects (as if that wasn't obvious) and I don't feel as though it has aged well sonically or emotionally for me. My favorite track from this project, without question, has to be "The Tale of the Wolf and the Raven". I don't mind sharing that this track involves recognition and resolution of romantic feelings for my best friend who is straight, and coming to terms with the fact that our relationship, as amazing as it is, would never be what my heart wanted it to be at the time. With its slow, eerie buildup and abrupt switch-ups, the song makes me imagine someone getting in a car in the middle of a rainstorm and driving to the coast to go careening through the guardrail and into the ocean. To this day, I'd rank it within the top five of all the songs I've ever made.
If you took the time to read through all of this, I greatly appreciate it. If you have any questions or would like to hear something more from future retrospectives, feel free to ask or offer suggestions. Thank you for your time, consideration, and listening.
Very respectfully,
Tryphe (aka Indigo Outlaw)
My second album, Walker, began the winter after I dropped out of college. It's funny, it seems like all of my projects really come into existence and eventual completion whenever I return home from an extended time away. In any case, I found myself within the throes of emotional turmoil, blaming myself excessively for the "failure" that was being unable to stay in college. Music offered me an outlet that didn't require coherent thought but still allowed me emotional release. Songs like "What if the Answer is No?" and "And You'll Never Be Pure Again" are sonic exploration of the darker emotions of uncertainty and worthlessness I felt after coming to terms with my situation and the some of the experiences I had. Obviously, things turned out for the better, as indicated by songs like "But the Answer is Yes!" and "And, At Last, His Heart was Whole". I eventually found the direction my life was meant to go and developed a better understanding of myself both as an artist and as a person.
If you notice a difference in sound between some of the tracks, that's likely because some of them are pulled and reworked from older projects that I didn't finish. Although I used the same programs (FL Studio 10 and 11, if I'm not mistaken, recorded using Audacity for compression and editing), the fact that the tracks represent two different state of minds seems to be inescapable in the listening.
As always, Daft Punk is a huge and obvious influence (for me) in my work, but I also see a lot of Mr. Oizo worship in tracks like "Dysphoria" and "Prelude to a Rainbow". Shades of Justice in the Cross era also stand out a bit to me, and someone long ago paid me a huge compliment by pointing out "Transit" as something that reminded them of early to mid Aphex Twin.
If I had to pick out a least favorite track, I think it would have to be "Back on Track". Although I enjoyed the track after I created it, it was one of the older projects (as if that wasn't obvious) and I don't feel as though it has aged well sonically or emotionally for me. My favorite track from this project, without question, has to be "The Tale of the Wolf and the Raven". I don't mind sharing that this track involves recognition and resolution of romantic feelings for my best friend who is straight, and coming to terms with the fact that our relationship, as amazing as it is, would never be what my heart wanted it to be at the time. With its slow, eerie buildup and abrupt switch-ups, the song makes me imagine someone getting in a car in the middle of a rainstorm and driving to the coast to go careening through the guardrail and into the ocean. To this day, I'd rank it within the top five of all the songs I've ever made.
If you took the time to read through all of this, I greatly appreciate it. If you have any questions or would like to hear something more from future retrospectives, feel free to ask or offer suggestions. Thank you for your time, consideration, and listening.
Very respectfully,
Tryphe (aka Indigo Outlaw)
