Uncut Carrara
- 1Uncut Carrara
- 2A Million and Seven Years
- 3Metropolis
BLLOP004
•
Open edition
unconsciously assembled hypnagogic plunderphonic odysseys
UNCUT CARRARA
Soon after I began working with samples, I developed a process that facilitated chance occurrences for composition inspiration. I recorded collections of samples (primarily from older films) onto the 4 tracks of my Tascam 424 MKIII. After filling the 4 tracks, I listened to them combined, usually pitched down, before importing each track individually to work with digitally. It was often messy, but the moments of brilliance were always worth the effort.
After doing this for a while I started to think more strategically about what to include on the tapes, blindly assembling but still considering what would go well together. By the end of this accumulation process, I recorded one tape that I felt could actually stand on it's own as a piece of music. I tested this by performing it live with only my Tascam Portastudio as a set up, selectively muting certain sections but mostly letting the tape speak for itself. The result was surprisingly positive; despite the non-performative aspect of the set, people were into it.
Unlike my edited compositions, this track completely relies on my personal idiosyncrasies for it's structure. I don't actively consider creating a performance while I'm recording samples, but certain habits like repetition, hard cuts, and texture washes lend themselves to an off kilter fluidity. I picture this piece as a collage with all the frayed edges on display, no scissors, just tearing by hand. I hope that listeners lose themselves in the hypnagogic journey and experience a similar joy of discovery as this unconscious assembly unfolds.
A MILLION AND SEVEN YEARS
Created using the same process as “Uncut Carrara” during the same 2017 summer in NYC. The major difference is that while “Uncut Carrara” was composed entirely on tape in the Tascam 424 MKIII, “A Million and Seven Years” was created in Pro Tools. After importing each of the 4 tracks individually, I lined them up and treated my Pro Tools session like a 4-track; no overdubs and no plug-ins. I made small nudges and trims for listenability, but overall stayed true to the original chance occurrences. It’s not as “pure” as “Uncut Carrara”, but it’s very much in the same vein.
METROPOLIS
Recorded over a weekend in 2019 using two 404-SX samplers, a selection of ideas for an early hour long assembly cut of Simon Liu’s short film “Signal 8”. The 16mm footage of Hong Kong inspired an ominous, industrial, dystopian sci-fi tone, bringing me back to leftover samples I had originally recorded in 2017. Richard McLaughlin stopped by at one point during the recording session to lend some MicroKorg to the mix.
"Grainy stock and black-and-white Hollywood dreams seep into the atmosphere and noir up the joint, the air of melodrama and intrigue thickening as the tape progresses. It’s probably not a stretch to imagine this as a Golden Age motion picture equivalent to Leland Kirby’s daguerreotype turn-of-the-century recordings as the Caretaker, complete with dust and cobwebs to give it character. Truly, Uncut Carrara sounds like Bloop dug up a bunch of old film reels in a Hollywood Hills attic or downtown storage facility. Even when decidedly 1960s-esque guitar and exotica seep through, it remains distinctly of a place and time, a period steeped in nostalgia, nostalgia for history and the then-present, nostalgia for the recreation of that history now. It’s an incredible thing to listen to all the way through."
- Cassette Gods
released November 6, 2020
Produced by Julia Bloop
Album Art by Simon Liu
UNCUT CARRARA
Soon after I began working with samples, I developed a process that facilitated chance occurrences for composition inspiration. I recorded collections of samples (primarily from older films) onto the 4 tracks of my Tascam 424 MKIII. After filling the 4 tracks, I listened to them combined, usually pitched down, before importing each track individually to work with digitally. It was often messy, but the moments of brilliance were always worth the effort.
After doing this for a while I started to think more strategically about what to include on the tapes, blindly assembling but still considering what would go well together. By the end of this accumulation process, I recorded one tape that I felt could actually stand on it's own as a piece of music. I tested this by performing it live with only my Tascam Portastudio as a set up, selectively muting certain sections but mostly letting the tape speak for itself. The result was surprisingly positive; despite the non-performative aspect of the set, people were into it.
Unlike my edited compositions, this track completely relies on my personal idiosyncrasies for it's structure. I don't actively consider creating a performance while I'm recording samples, but certain habits like repetition, hard cuts, and texture washes lend themselves to an off kilter fluidity. I picture this piece as a collage with all the frayed edges on display, no scissors, just tearing by hand. I hope that listeners lose themselves in the hypnagogic journey and experience a similar joy of discovery as this unconscious assembly unfolds.
A MILLION AND SEVEN YEARS
Created using the same process as “Uncut Carrara” during the same 2017 summer in NYC. The major difference is that while “Uncut Carrara” was composed entirely on tape in the Tascam 424 MKIII, “A Million and Seven Years” was created in Pro Tools. After importing each of the 4 tracks individually, I lined them up and treated my Pro Tools session like a 4-track; no overdubs and no plug-ins. I made small nudges and trims for listenability, but overall stayed true to the original chance occurrences. It’s not as “pure” as “Uncut Carrara”, but it’s very much in the same vein.
METROPOLIS
Recorded over a weekend in 2019 using two 404-SX samplers, a selection of ideas for an early hour long assembly cut of Simon Liu’s short film “Signal 8”. The 16mm footage of Hong Kong inspired an ominous, industrial, dystopian sci-fi tone, bringing me back to leftover samples I had originally recorded in 2017. Richard McLaughlin stopped by at one point during the recording session to lend some MicroKorg to the mix.
"Grainy stock and black-and-white Hollywood dreams seep into the atmosphere and noir up the joint, the air of melodrama and intrigue thickening as the tape progresses. It’s probably not a stretch to imagine this as a Golden Age motion picture equivalent to Leland Kirby’s daguerreotype turn-of-the-century recordings as the Caretaker, complete with dust and cobwebs to give it character. Truly, Uncut Carrara sounds like Bloop dug up a bunch of old film reels in a Hollywood Hills attic or downtown storage facility. Even when decidedly 1960s-esque guitar and exotica seep through, it remains distinctly of a place and time, a period steeped in nostalgia, nostalgia for history and the then-present, nostalgia for the recreation of that history now. It’s an incredible thing to listen to all the way through."
- Cassette Gods
released November 6, 2020
Produced by Julia Bloop
Album Art by Simon Liu
