Wednesday, December 14, 2011

House On Fire (I really really need to stop ignoring my blogspot)







Download: "Houses On Fire"


“House on fire” is the first track off of my next album ‘Ghostwater’. It’s texturally a departure from some of the album and a lot of my previous songs. It consists of heavily looped vocals, with keyboards/synth, piano and clarinets layered over them.

It invokes, I hope, something haunted. I wont go into it too much. I love it a lot and I hope you do too. The lyrics are below. The link to download is above.

"…Darling, wasn’t this our dream?
To live in a haunted house, on the cliffs, overlooking the sea.
Well everyday, the coastline is shrinking.
While you and me are growing farther apart.
I used to think the dream was ours…"

Monday, October 10, 2011

Milagros: A Full album. I forgot to post most of it in the past two months, my apologies.








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Sunscreen” - Swimmingpool The Band



Download the Album, Milagros, here: http://www.mediafire.com/?6gg9rmm9v6xod6h



In the hard stretches of one of the many heat-waves this summer, I wrote Sunscreen. It remains one of my favorites as it’s somewhat punchier/more accessible than some of my other work on the album. 


It was also the first song I recorded with found-sound sampled beats (mostly me kicking things, hitting things or clapping). The lyrics are simple and very straight forward. Beyond that, it’s all interwoven guitars and vocals. I play everything on this song (as well as the whole album). 


Milagros grew out of a frustrated period of writer’s block and, though five songs long, as a running length of a short LP (30+ minutes). I consider it to be a full album in its pacing, structure and pieces. I am very happy with the end result and I hope that you enjoy it as well. 


Let me know what you think!


A special thanks again to divespell who helped me come up with the album title. Go follow him. 



The tracklisting (with links to the previous songs) is below:



  1. Witnesses

  2. Chocolate

  3. Stephen

  4. Halloween

  5. Sunscreen


As for my other recent releases (click to download each album):




The Lyrics are below. 



“come over tonight
it’s too hot outside
in the day it’s too bright
the sidewalks are full
of strangers
And I feel small 
I feel like I’m being watched 


It gets hard
to wake up in the morning
I don’t want to be alone
with my dreams
they get hard for me”



 



Monday, August 29, 2011

CHOCOLATE (heavier guitars, loads of feedback)








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'Chocolate' - Swimmingpool The Band


Chocolate is the second song off of Milargos (I've already posted two, Witnesses and Halloween, from the album already). It's heavier sonically than my previous few releases. The guitars crunch, which is something they don't typically do in my music. 


Dynamically, I suppose, it carries the heavier post-rock influence with a bit more feedback and distortion. I've been told by a friend that the piece is very fitting for summer. His words were that it "melts" with summer. If this is true, I figured it's fitting to post it now before it gets cooler (wishful thinking). Lyrically, I find myself reaching back to previous drama in other (not current) relationships. Similarly, this also fits the thematic concept of "summer". 


Here for you, fair tumblrites, is a lot of guitars, drums, feedback and melodrama, served up the only way I know how. 


The lyrics are below. To download the song, click the linked title above. 



…burned ever book I had
and every picture of me
in the trail that lead to the woods
on a pile on an abandoned box spring


the trains rolled on
the kids stayed out too late
and I waited like I used to
on sandlewood and it started to rain


I tried to make a real end
to the trails on route one that we left


on the beach, in my bed
I tried to burry it…


Sunday, July 17, 2011

New, Full Free Album, Physical








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"The Bad Year" - Swimmingpool The Band


To download the album "Physical", click here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/c6356faw1tyr6qs/Physical.zip


The Bad Year is the last song off of my album "Physical". Sonically, it's the sort of track where everything blankets, rather than shifts. The guitars layer over each other until climaxing in a shimmering wave of drone, reverb and vocals. Towards the end of the track is a rhythmic chop up of the harmonic vocals (fuses together to make something of a loop/beat). 


Lyrically, and I won't go too into it at the risk of forcing a point of view, this is one of my more political numbers. Utilizing the narrative of someone talking themselves through rationalizing/burying a crime, it's a meditation on the art of strategic amnesia. Consider the concept of "selective hearing". My parents used to tell me I'd hear only what I wanted to. When ordered "clean your room and maybe we'll go to the video store" I'd not really clean my room, but I would eagerly await the semi-promised trip to the store. I heard what I wanted to. Similarly, on a wide scope, especially with foreign policy, many choose to forget what they want to (in the hopes of being remembered for the few successes in their administration). I can only imagine the process of ignoring decades of failed wars, proxy wars and foreign administration policies must involve a bit of psyching up and denial. A sense of false hope blocking out the anchoring fear and guilt of one's destructive policies. "It happened and everything else will eventually be okay." How this country hasn't learnt a thing after Vietnam (other than the fact that our nation is, as a civilian population, quick to heel or hate depending on the hand of fate) still makes the mind reel with anger and confusion. 


Anyway, the lyrics are below. Below that is the tracklist to the album, as well as links to my previous two (the link to the new album is above, directly underneath the song title). I hope you enjoy the song/album. As always, let me know what you think and enjoy. 


Also, feel free to share the album with whoever. It's free for a reason!



"don't get lost
on your way to the park
don't forget the evidence
bury it
under a 
statue of 
a dead president
and move on
cross the border
don't call anyone
don't stop
from here on out
the world you knew was lost"



The tracklist is as follows (to listen to the songs, click on the titles):



  1. From A Mountain [6:12]

  2. Physical [7:12]

  3. Straw Bird (Chrome Casket) [7:10]

  4. New Years (Underground) [2:24]

  5. These Memories Are Fake [6:50]

  6. The Bad Year [5:12]


The Bad Year is, again, the last song off of the album and the one I'll be posting sometime soon (along with the full album). 


My two previous full length albums can be downloaded, for free, here:


Monday, June 13, 2011

From A Mountain: New Song.








"From A Mountain" - Swimmingpool The Band


"From A Mountain" fits into my pieces of structured pop songs. This one, sonically, as well as lyrically, is a bit more personal (maybe even dark, I won't go too heavily into the influences of it) than some of the others. The guitars and key, building around a simple driving beat, are a bit more lyrical and dramatic. They're also more bass heavy, which I think gives the song more of a grip.


Blanket of drone build along the lead guitars and layered vocals in the end. I am incredibly happy with the end result.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Dreamy And Dense: A Breath On The Neck



'A Breath On The Neck' - Swimmingpool The Band






'A Breath On The Neck" is the first off of my collection entitled "Morning Songs". It's a dense, guitar heavy track that features previously recorded drums, five layers of vocals and eight layers (or more) of guitars (+ keys).

The lyrics and voice are simple and are much more instrumental than they are heavily featured piece of a pop-song.

I've been told it's "Dreamy", which is a way I hadn't thought to describe it, but is fitting.

After a lot of writer's block, this song kind of came out of nowhere and manifested itself as a sweet and simple number. I'm ultimately very very happy with it. I hope you enjoy it too.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Sunset Blonde (New Song W/Vocals)








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'Sunset Blonde' - Swimmingpool The Band


In a strange way this new track's unique for me. Set in waltz time, it's a bit slower than my other vocal songs and veers on the fine line of ballad (while not being acoustic, like the others that do the same). 


The lyrics are, surprisingly, somewhat straightforward and not as cryptic. In their simplicity, and transparency, I'll post them and not go too deep into it. 


Before I do, the remaining instrumentation features sampled drums (sampled from my playing), keys and lots of guitars. 


The Lyrics are as follows:



Blonde at night
like it was
in the summer
when I was young
and you still drank wine.

I wouldn't swim
I wouldn't show my legs
Even when the sun set
nobody could see.

Tuck me in
I am
so tired.  


Sunday, May 8, 2011

Easter. Two Songs.








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"Redwing Dakota" - Swimmingpool The Band

In the vein of previous outings like "Telephone" and "Electrica", "Redwing Dakota" is a more "conventional" (in structure) song, featuring rhythmic guitars, keys, drums and even vocals.

The lyrics are hidden in the many layers of guitars and concern rather straightforwardly (not like my previously cryptic lyrics) various events back home. I'll not go into much detail about them as I hope one can pull their own conclusions/feelings out of it.

There's actually a drum part to this one. It's taken from a series of recordings I made in CT with my drum-set to sample when I moved out.

It, like Telephone and Electrica, builds in density and reverb, falling out and collapsing into waves of drone.

I hope you like it (click the title to download).









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'India, November, Romeo, India' - Swimmingpool The Band

"India, November, Romeo, India" is the first song off of "Easter". Both titles invoke religious imagery that comes as mostly titular and personal. The actual song itself contains nothing out and out (or alienating in concept) religious.

The Observant listener would notice that the title uses the fascinating NATO phonetic alphabet to spell out I.N.R.I. The literal translation of I.N.R.I. is meant to mock the crucified christ (here is jesus, king of the jews), but has deeper, and even less specifically christian, meanings.

The most famous of which is the rosicrucian translation of the mysterious letters.

IGNE NATURA RENOVATUR INTEGRA

Which means "By fire, nature is restored and made new".

I came to the idea of the title through the found sounds that you'll hear between the dense layers of feedack, keys and clarinet. I used clips of Spy/Numbers station (found largely at the CONET PROJECT) to break up/add atmosphere to the song itself.

This system of coding is somewhat similar to the Rosicrucian (and sometimes Masonic) search for symbolic meaning/representation in what can seemingly be so superficially strange or simple.

I.N.R.I.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Perfect Dogs: Two new songs from the collection "Perfect Bijon"







There's not much to go into about the title here. Phonetically and visually, the concept of the perfect Bijon is a docile, if not pleasant one. It's warm, personable and all together pleasing as I hope the song will be.

The song is another textured and flickering wash of guitars, keys, production and clarinet. It's the title track of my 169th collection of songs (album, ep, mini-album or whatever).

There's a softness to this one that's been absent from the previous few postings. I hope you enjoy it.

As always, feel free to download or reblogg it. All of my music is/always will be (unless someone commissions something like an OST, but you get what I'm saying)!






"Perfect Dachshund" is the second song off of 'Perfect Bijon'. It is, in a way, warmer, more textured and far more rhythmic than the previous track. It features an anchoring rhythm which started as a manually played electric piano part that I played for two measures and looped (subsequently processing and editing throughout the duration of the song).

Backing this is a repetitive (slowly building) clarinet part (three or four in all) and a processed guitar improv. The song, in an aesthetic way similar to the previous one, attempts to find a warm and pleasant, all the while still emotionally engaging, atmosphere. Nostalgic escapism. Or just a smile.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Vita Evanui Amo Ferrum (also from Umbra)








'Vita Evanui Amo Ferrum' - Swimmingpool The Band

In ''Vita Evanui Amo Ferrum' I continue in a similar vein to the previous three songs posted. Here, crackling and disconnected whisper through blankets of keys and faint melodies. Even farther in the background are heavily processed guitars and a return to (albeit almost unrecognizably so) the violin.

The voices here are similarly found sounds, many of which were inaudible even before they were processed.

The piano part was initially more cohesive. In light of the feedback and chopped voices, I decided to break up the once steady piano part (much to my liking).

I'm happy with the end results and I really hope you like it too. The Title is latin for "Life Disappears Like Horses", a play on the title of the poem that inspired my long work of diary-esq songs (Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills by Charles Bukowski).

Monday, March 7, 2011

MEMOR NOS: FROM UMBRAS










“Memor Nos” - Swimmingpool The Band

‘Memor Nos’ is the first song off of ‘Umbra’ and is texturally and dramatically quite similar to Sea Of Trees. This, however, was not necessarily intentional as I had hoped to stray elsewhere on my new collection. As fate has it this number comes off almost as a sister song to ‘Trees’.

It is, in a way, sadder and less creepy than the found-sound layered brother track. Similarly, it’s based off of an initial improvised clarinet part, followed by densely distorted/manipulated guitars. It’s also similar in how it’s touched off with a flickering piano part that is in many ways just as somber as the other.

Umbras, the name of the record, is latin for Shadows. It comes from one of my favorite phrases often associated with suicide:

“Vita fugit, sicut umbra”
(Life passes like the shadow.)

The title of the song is also latin for “Remember Us”.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Two Songs from Cathedral (Ourang Medan & Sea of Trees)


Two new drone heavy (as well as being bass heavy) songs for you. Use headphones if you have them.



Click here for "SEA OF TREES"




“See of Trees” is a dense, moody and honestly fairly heavy track off of “Cathedral”. It’s based around an initial improvised series of parts all in the same key (one guitar, one clarinet, one keyboard). Following this, layered over that, is a piano part and found sounds.

The Found sounds consist of Audio taken from people’s voice mails (one’s posted online, all of them your average “creepy-wrong number” kind of call). The ultimate effect has become something long, drone-heavy, dark and somewhat cinematic. I play the guitar, clarinet and keys on this one.

The title comes from the english translation for Aokigahara. For those unfamiliar with Aokigahara, it’s a woods frequented by those seeking to commit suicide in Japan. It’s incredibly tragic and haunting and has resonated with me since I first heard about it.






I love ghost stories. Anyone who knows me knows this. Of the stories I’ve heard, one of the only one’s that stuck with me has been that of the Ourang Medan. In his densely atmospheric (and bass heavy, so use headphones if you can) track, I feel I’ve captured, in a way, that fog heavy ghost-ship song that lingers around the telling of any good scary story. One that, though haunting, is unthreatening and almost exciting in its own churning way.

For those who haven’t heard the story, I’ve posted a brief summary from the excellent list of “top ten ghost-ships” from listverse:




In June, 1947, frantic Morse Code messages were received from the Dutch freighter Ourang Medan. The message was received by many ships and several responded. The message reported ‘All officers including captain are dead lying in chartroom and bridge. Possibly whole crew dead.’ A second message was received shortly after, this time a voice over the radio simply stating ‘I die’. Dutch and British listening posts were able to triangulate the position and vector a rescue attempt to the Ourang Medan. After several hours the Silver Star the arrived on scene. After failed attempts to hail the vessel using whistle signals and flashing lights. they assembled a small team and boarded the apparently undamaged Ourang Medan. They first ventured to the bridge where a radio was playing, several members of the Ships’ Company, including the Captain, were found dead, more corpses were discovered on the Cargo Deck including a dog standing on all four legs, frozen and snarling into thin air.

No survivors were found on board, but what was most disturbing was the nature of the bodies, all frozen in place looking up towards the sun, their arms outstretched, mouths gaping, and a look of immense horror on all their faces. A trip to the communications room revealed the author of the SOS messages, also dead, his hand still on the Morse sending key, eyes wide open and teeth bared. Strangely, there was no sign of wounds or injuries on any of the bodies. The crew of the Silver Star attempted to enter the Cargo Bay but a small explosion from an unknown source soon resulted in an uncontrollable inferno. Beaten back, they were forced to abandon the vessel and return to the safety of the Silver Star. Within minutes the vessel sank to the depths of the ocean floor.

Although there are no clear records of a ship by the name Ourang Medan existing, many conspiracy theorists believe the vessel was acting under a false name and was transporting something that ‘officially’ did not exist.

The fate of the Ourang Medan and her crew remain a mystery. Speculation has been made that pirates killed the crew and sabotaged the ship, although this doesn’t explain the peculiar grimaces and lack of injuries on the corpses. Others have claimed that clouds of methane or other noxious natural gases could have bubbled up from fissures on the sea bed and engulfed the ship. Even more fantastical theories involving aliens and ghosts abound.


Anyway, I hope you like it. It’s a slower, albeit in my view, almost more dramatic for it, number and I’m incredibly proud of it.


Saturday, February 12, 2011

Hand From Coffin











‘Hand From Coffin’ - Swimmingpool The Band

More flickering melodies flushed out with feedback and keys. “Hand From Coffin” is named after the single creepiest term of “mutual destruction” ever thought of by the soviets during the cold war. It’s one of the alternate names for their Dead Hand system (which may still be in place).

“Dead Hand (Russian: Система Периметр, Systema Perimetr) (known also as Perimeter, and Hand from Coffin) is purportedly a Cold-War-era nuclear-control system used by the Soviet Union and in use in Russia. An example of fail-deadly deterrence, it purportedly can automatically trigger the launch of the Russian ICBMs if a nuclear strike is detected by seismic, light, radioactivity and overpressure sensors. By most accounts, it is normally switched off and is supposed to be activated during dangerous crises only. “

The song itself is textural, and though moody, not nearly as doom ridden as the title may imply. It’s a play on nostalgic fuzz, growing up right at the end of the cold war and loving halloween (were I younger, I’d find that term not terrifying, but I’d ignore the ramifications and think it was totally spooky and awesome).

Anyway, lots of heavily produced whooshing feedback, guitars and keys. I hope you like it, I really do!

Monday, February 7, 2011

New Songs/Album (CABLETOW)



So it seemed that many of you had really liked my previously posted ‘vocal’ or ‘rock’ songs, which, to be honest, very much surprised me. As such, I’ve decided to compile the most recent of these into one full, and easier to access, album. It’s called “Cabletow”, a term that my masonic tumblr brethren will understand the heavy importance of. It’s ten songs long and over an hour in running time. The album art is the image above.

To download the album, click here: http://www.mediafire.com/?aqyonv59xkcvx7i

I’ll likely repost this a few times over the week incase people miss it. As always, it’s totally free and all for you, so enjoy (I hope).

  1. Electrica (Track 1 off of Electrica)
  2. Water, Blood & Lead (Track 2 off of Tears)
  3. Cabletow (Track 1 off of Holidays)
  4. Croix (Track 3 off of Holidays)
  5. Marrow Diamonds INRJ (Track 3 off of Protection)
  6. Part Two (Track 3 off of Electrica)
  7. Telephone (Track 4 off of Malibu)
  8. Everglades (Track 3 off of Malibu)
  9. Ash Palet (Track 1 off of Mewtwo)
  10. Memory No. 2 (Track 2 off of Cardigans)

I play all of the instruments on the album, as well as the vocals.


Here are some songs from it (and other albums from which it was compiled):








‘Telephone’ - Swimmingpool The Band

This is the final track off of Malibu. Like Everglades and Electrica before it, it’s another example of my experiments in the realm of more structured, near rock (or, post-rock a la appleseed cast) and I like this one even more than Everglades. There’s a subtle drum beat that crescendos with the rest of the song. Layers of guitars and keys are dumped over each other and it builds into a dénouement of drone and ambience.

I really hope you like it. This one kind of came out of the blue. Some of the touches towards the end with the more ethereal vocals dug into the far background make me quite proud of it.













“Everglades (Swamp Light)” - Swimmingpool The Band

This is similar in a way to the recently posted Electrica (and Part Two) in that it has, at times, clear guitars, structure and vocals. It is, however, denser, and as a result of this, it ultimately makes it sound cloudier at times. It flushes and, I guess, flexes as a large and heavy song (not deep heavy, but if you wanna take it that way, be my guest, I just wont tout it as one).

There are only two vocal tracks that loop over each other as if to imply a larger chorus of voices. The rest is guitars, keys and a small bit of heavily processed violin. The vocals took a while to perfect (I kept missing cues and going out of rhythms or tune).


Saturday, January 22, 2011

Electrica. Two songs + remember, gang, I now work a fulltime job so that means, while I'm recording as many, if not more, songs, I just don't

……get around to posting them as much. Pictured above is the artwork for Electrica. 161.





okay, so this one here is almost a throwback to my earlier non-ambient days. The song is not only rhythmic and structured, but based around predominantly non-reverb drenched guitars.
And I mean a lot of guitars layered over a lot of guitars. It’s the closest thing to a ‘rock’ song you’ll likely hear me put out. My fingers hurt. I need to keep on my guitar playing to keep this from happening.
Anyway, I guess I’ll call this one another bold little shot in the dark. It’s builds and builds and layers and layers with voice, keys and guitar (on guitar on guitar). It’s the title track off of album 161 and I hope you like it.






‘Part Two’ is very much what it literally sounds like. It’s the continuation of the title track of my 161st album “Electrica”. It has more vocals and reverb, building similarly (with structure) to Electrica, but without the guitars, without the density of that one (replaced by a different density).
It’s actually track three off of the album. I don’t mean to build it up since, well, Electrica’s proven to have some of the best feedback that I’ve ever gotten. I do love it, as it’s own piece but works well in the idea of Electrica

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