Thought I’d experiment with noise + structure + voice. I made a feedback loop using my Alesis Bitrman (anybody remember those things?) and recorded about 2:40 of noise as I tweaked the knobs.
Then I jotted down a quick set of lyrics that included “cucumber cuneiform,” which is a phrase that came to me after a Nyquil-induced doze. I really emphasized the rhythm of the words and at times the melody may come through, so maybe that will give a sense of structure. The words ended up being something about aphasia and the isolation of not being understood (on different levels).
I improvised a bit with the melody and came up with something I like, and then slapped a Vocoder on it that drew on the noise track, so the noise would be shaped into intelligible words…in theory!
In practice it’s not perfect, but since this is an experiment with noise, some unintelligible moments are ok. At least I learned more about Ableton’s vocoder.
Lyrics:
Sandpaper sandwiches
Cucumber cuneiform
Indeed I isolate
All wrapped in wariness
My quirky scariness
when some words come out wrong
Some mystic headlines say
strange news from yesterday times
ten New York tenor tore
Terrible tetravores
View voters as vegetables
And only automatic
When words get in the way
Mangled meanings tangle seemingly
simple tasks smash like broken glass
When words get in the way
meanings mysteriously dematerialize
and I’m left nothing new
Warily waking, I
disease dozens daily, I
lie lightly living lies
a bashful bashing, a
soporific solo, a
subliminal sashay
When words get in the way
Mangled meanings tangle seemingly
simple tasks smash like broken glass
When words get in the way
meanings mysteriously dematerialize
and I’m left nothing new