Through the journey of creating ”Audio Sketches,” we’re finding that there are so many ways to express and explore the mythology of Howard Glitch... Using soundwaves as a narrative tool to create both ambient and fully-formed songs, to open the window for retelling pivotal moments in the story arc, and literally soundtrack some of the cultures featured in the book, most noticeably Persia.
So the Audio Sketches exist as a preview into some of the styles and soundscapes that will be mastered into the Final E.P. Some of the music will sit in harmony with specific chapters of The Book, and likewise others will retell it with a radically different perception and ultimately create different endings for the story.
However disjoined the Audio Sketches may seem in their diversity, the reality is entirely the opposite… The story is opening with passengers looking into the face of an inescapable mortal threat. Whilst the obvious human reaction is captured in The Book, not all the passengers are sharing that same feeling. The ”Unmoveable Monks,” have no fear or doubt that this event is purposeful, and to further capture more alternative ideologies with music, is what really gives the project a whole new dimension.
Whilst Howard Glitch: [The Book] has formed the skeleton and most defined piece of the project, this has granted the breathing space for the Music & Visual Artwork to be far more abstract and fluid. This was always such a crucial element to the design of the project, because it would also render parts of the story ”incomplete,” so they can be actively re-imagined by yourself.
The making of the E.P. begins with first, a successful funding campaign on Kickstarter. Then a small team of us will fine pick the absolute best Audio Sketches, and re-record them at studio quality in full length. Half of the Glitch Team are trained Audio Engineers, and so part of the E.P. will be recorded and mastered in a pro studio, and other parts will be at least recorded with a super-high-quality condensor microphone in a home studio setup, then mastered with a professional afterwards. We have always found the seed idea for music flows so much better in our own space, and intend to capture that raw unaltered energy.
The choice to create an E.P. as opposed to a full length album was very simple.. When creating such an ambitious project the last thing we would want to do, is have any section of it watered down, or rushed due to time & energy constraints. I can very safely say that the amount of tracks will definitely exceed that of an ordinary E.P. and what we have planned will be really special.
Our audio setup is comprised of both analog, digital, archaic, and cutting edge new equipment. Myself and Jay are guitar-centric musicians, and whilst Jay strays more into raw composing with a steel acoustic guitar and strong melodies, I have a tendancy for noise generating, playing jenga with stacks and stacks of effects-pedals and tube amps. Aside from a personal quest to accurately create "realistic outer-space reverb," I also am experimenting with retro 8-bit computer sounds and lo-fi grit, to give a voice to the lifeless computer terminals and spaceshuttle featured in the story.
The newest members to the Glitch Team are Kai Lena & Freedom Fire. I sincerely could not be more excited getting to collaborate with them both. For anyone not familiar with her unique brand of Pixie-rock, Kai Lena was born with a piano in her arms, and operatic vocal range. You can hear her ethereal vocals and astounding instrumental on the Audio Sketches: ”Exuvia” and ”The w(o)nder.”
Freedom Fire is a one man army of electro beats & powerful rap vocals, and unlike other artists in this genre, he sidesteps all the generic loops and attitude, instead cultivating a very handcrafted sound of alternate rhythms and thought-provoking lyrics. You can hear his signature sound on the Audio Sketch "Jettison the Doubt."
Inspirations for the E.P. are an eclectic mix of Hans Zimmer, Biffy Clyro, Imogen Heap, Incubus, Danny Elfman, Eisley, Bjork, Jack Conte, Jack White, Moby, and the noise that only a ’45 record makes when the needle hit’s the vinyl ;)
The Glitch Team are fully geared up with swollen hard-drives from an exponential level of demo’s being churned out, and where once existed spacious apartments, now has become the parking lot for a tetris-squeeze of growing instruments. To say that we are excited is a grand understatement. We’re surrounded by the paper scrawling of phone numbers for studio producers, and the dates for open slot recordings. All we now need is a little help from Kickstarter, and we’ll be sharing all of this with you...
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