[Music] Tapewolf: J.P's music (16/Apr/2017 - 'Numerology')

[Tapewolf]

July 12 2006 : Apocalypse in 4/4.  See below.

July 22 2006 : 'Jakob's Revenge version 8', which is further down the thread

Aug 12 2006 :  Tape flanging

Sep 1 2006 : Shadow over Merthyr

Sep 25 2006 : What did Daniel think he was?

Dec 6 2006 : 'Sheeps'

Dec 31/Jan 1 : 'Operation Wendigo' - from the Foxfire Chronicles

Jan 28 2007 : 'The musings of Jakob Pettersohn upon the time when he was once known as Johan Cross' - first draft

Mar 6 2007 : 'The musings of Jakob Pettersohn upon the time when he was once known as Johan Cross' - first complete version

Apr 14 2007 : 'Abel's Theme - Gothic version'

May 6 2007 : 'Mr. Apocalypse' initial draft

May 28 2007 : 'The death of a thousand splices, or "The authentic sound of sawdust"'

Aug 19 2007 : 'Kidnap 3'

Sep 13 2007 : 'The Dark Price of Eternal Youth'

Nov 12 2007 : 'Three Little Pigs, part II

Jan 12 2008 : 'Three Little Pigs, Part IV - The Next, A Pig On Fire

Mar 11 2008 : 'Three Little Pigs, Part V - The Third Pig's Watery Grave

Apr 07 2008 : 'Three Little Pigs, Part III - The First Pig's Laid In Clay

Aug 03 2008 : 'The Incubus Song'

Sep 04 2008 : 'I'm All Machine'

Oct 08 2008 : 'Professional Suicide'

Nov 19 2008 : 'Fish Sticks', take 3 follows

Jan 19 2009 : 'Tome of Demonography'

April 05 2009 : '...And Daryil Answered'

Sept 01 2009 : 'Super Funk Time'

Nov 09 2009 : 'The Ballad of Daniel LaGrange'

Mar 05 2010 : 'Niall's Song'

Sep 05 2010 : 'Demon Hunter'

Mar 09 2011 : 'Heaven's Army'

Jul 31 2011 : 'Song of Keaton, take 1'

Dec 30 2011 : 'Baklawa Doom, Part 3 - The End of the World'

Apr 15 2012 : 'Sacred Jaguar 2012'

May 13 2012 : 'The New War'

Jul 8 2012: 'The Age of Daryil'

Jul 15 2012: 'Born With Wings'

Aug 29 2012: 'A Fae Story'

Oct 12 2012: 'The Murder Game'

Mar 24 2013: 'Monty on the Run'

May 19 2013 : 'The Man Who Should Be King'

Jun 30 2013 : 'Young Human (2013)'

Aug 26 2013 : 'A Song about Clan Daryil - take 1

Apr 06 2014 : 'A Hundred Years' or, 'The SAIA Song' - take 1

Feb 21 2017 : 'Saludora' - take 1

Apr 16 2017 : 'Numerology' - take 1

..these are links to the thread, not direct links to the music, by the way


Here's some of my weird music - 'Apocalypse in 4/4':

http://www.dougtheeagle.com/stuff/apoc5v.mp3

..it's kind of big, 13MB.  The distortion on the vocals was actually an accident, but I liked the effect and kept it rather than find out which bit was overloading (probably the compressor).

This is a proof-of-concept and thus done on the computer rather than multitrack tape.  Because of this, the mix is god-awful and the vocals are basically done to the minimum acceptable standard.

One final word of warning, dyed-in-the-wool fundies might not like the subject matter.  Personally I don't think it's much more blasphemous than The Prophecy.  Except it's about some evil genius who's amassed an army of Jesus clones.  Whatever.

[Hilary]

I like the lyrics a lot, that's a great concept... Wierdly enough, I was pondering something along those lines the other day. The Aztecs thought Cortes was their god who had returned to them, and this asissted the Spaniards in conquering the unwitting Aztecs. I thought, what if... aliens or such came to Earth in the form of Jesus as a military tactic? 'Twoud be interesting.

Nice surprise ending. ^^ Plot twist in life!

[Lysander]

Yeah, I really like this. Great music, great lyrics. Even though I don't like the distortion, I still couldn't turn it off before it finished. Good stuff.
Off to Meggido, to challenge the armies of the one who used to be known as the Son of the Morning.

[Tapewolf]

This is version 8 of Jakob's Revenge - a song based on the backstory I wrote for Furrae Chronicles.

The last version I posted on The Nice was like version 5 or something, with a few clips from the end of v7.

http://www.jpmorris.force9.co.uk/music/test/jakob8.mp3

I'm still not completely happy with the vocals, and it loses it near the end - the Revox has taken to changing speed at the end of 5" reels.  If it's not something simple like the pinch roller or backtension, or simply that it's too damn hot, I'll have to get it serviced.

[Xss]

Jackob's revenge is not bad! 

[Moekii]

the melody sounds like it should be a battle theme for an epic RPG. thus with the lyrics its sounds like thats what it is and you remixed it

someone should make a flash of this with jesus clones fighting everything

[Tapewolf]

the melody sounds like it should be a battle theme for an epic RPG. thus with the lyrics its sounds like thats what it is and you remixed it
someone should make a flash of this with jesus clones fighting everything

That really confused me before I realised your were talking about the first song and not the new one   I've edited the first post, it should be clearer now.

And yeah, the horns are the same ones Bal-Sagoth use, from the Roland Orchestral ROM.  A lot of ideas on this song came from Bal-Sagoth (musically - not lyrically).

[Lysander]

The new version of Jacob's Revenge definitely sounds much better than the last full version I've heard. The "I'm coming you get you!" sounds much more threatening than before, very nice. Don't really like how you would sing "thugs to do my will" and "before my knighted throan" but that's just me.

[Moekii]

wow the new one sounds like the Evil Dude's themesong for some Disney movie :D gj

[Hilary]

I agree with Lysander about the "I'm coming to get you!" They seem better timed, making them more intimidating. I actually like the 'will' and 'throne,' it sounds more determined and ticked off, IMHO. The "If I don't get them, no one will" startled me, since I was wearing headphones, it was right at my ear and made me jump. That was really cool.

Crime lords, woot!

[Lysander]

Ah yeah. That's what I get for not thinking and tring to listen to something carefully in a hurry.

[James StarRunner]

Ah yes, the timing is excellent in the latest Jakob's Revenge!

[Tapewolf]

Not so much a song as an experiment.  After listening to 'Valentyne Suite' by Colosseum, I decided it was time to try my hand at some good old-fashioned tape phasing or 'flanging' as it is sometimes known.

http://www.jpmorris.force9.co.uk/music/flanging.wav.mp3

..it's not quite up-to-scratch but hopefully you can hear the effect.  It is achieved by running two tape recorders with the same recording, and by varying the speed on one machine, bringing them in and out of sync (which results in signal cancellation).
One of the most famous songs to do this is 'Itchycoo Park' by the Small Faces.

[Leafar]

meh sounds cool...
you should use less bass though....

[Rowne]

I'm going to try and start watching this thread now, too.  I needed to get into the art subforum more, I've never been sure I have that much to add though beyond support.

Anyway, I like the latest Jakob, mostly because the track makes me feel nostalgic, I'm not sure what that is but it reminds me of certain British bands I used to listen to long ago.  That might just be because of your voice and accent though, Tape.  I'd say they're definitely a keen asset to your creative works, it helps to give the music a slightly more rough, thrashy feel to it.

I'm not sure if that's what you had intended, though.

Anyway, I'll be listening to new pieces as they arrive in the thread.

[Tapewolf]

Got it!

http://www.jpmorris.force9.co.uk/music/flanging2.wav.mp3

There is something bad going on at the zero crossing point though, but it only seems to be especially audible if both channels are present.  In mono it doesn't seem to be such a problem.

This one is using a slightly different technique where you set both machines up as tape delays and vary the speed until they match and cause phase cancellation.  It's a lot easier than trying to match up two prerecorded bits.

I'm going to try and start watching this thread now, too.  I needed to get into the art subforum more, I've never been sure I have that much to add though beyond support.

Oh, that's always welcome - it helps you know if you're on the right track.  I wasn't sure about the carnival music in the SAIA#3 demo for example, but people seemed to like it so it stayed.  Otherwise I would have tried to write something else.

Anyway, I like the latest Jakob, mostly because the track makes me feel nostalgic, I'm not sure what that is but it reminds me of certain British bands I used to listen to long ago.

I think the tape delay on the lead vocals worked nicely - I feel it gives an early 1970s touch to it.  (Possibly because the delay unit is older than me.)  One of the other vintage effects I was trying to replicate in that song was the weird organ bassline from 'Killer' by Van Der Graaf Generator.  I applied (guitar pedal) phasing, an enormous amount of delay and actually bounced it back onto the master at half-speed (which proved almost impossible to sync), but it doesn't come close.  Hugh must have modified the tone generator or something.  If you're curious, listen to the bass around the point where James comes in.  It might be more prominent it some of the earlier mixes, though.

[Hilary]

This is when I am frustrated with not being more knowledgeable about all this stuff (I am young. Give me time).
Pretty much all I can say is that I like the way it sounds very much and that it sent me into a state of semi-hypnosis (though I think that has to do with the fact that I have not slept in a very, very long time. Yeah, that's probably it).
*feels useless, not being able to offer constructive criticism or even intelligent comments* ><

[Lysander]

I like how the voice is on flanging. I know I've heard that kind of voice alteration before, but I don't know if it was in a song. The tune that plays through is good too. It's subtle and soothing like stuff on a certain radio station I listen to.

[Tapewolf]

I like how the voice is on flanging. I know I've heard that kind of voice alteration before, but I don't know if it was in a song. The tune that plays through is good too. It's subtle and soothing like stuff on a certain radio station I listen to.

Yes.  This song has two choruses, the first one of which is not given because it has digital phasing on it - the same effect I use for the warp-aci, in fact, I originally designed it for use in this song.
Now that I've managed to achieve true electromechanical flanging, I will probably rerecord that chorus and use this effect on it instead.

This song (vampires in reverse) was originally intended for my first album, but I caught a cold and couldn't record the vocals in time.
Then it was going to go on the second album, but I came up with 'One Less Hero' at the last minute so it got kicked off that one too.  Fingers cross, it should be going on the third one.

[Lysander]

Sounds good to me. I remember seeing a few DOUG the Eagle songs in BillBuckner's list of recently played songs that I haven't seen before.
When I get back I'm going to want to know how I can get a hold of the albums.

[Tapewolf]

Sounds good to me. I remember seeing a few DOUG the Eagle songs in BillBuckner's list of recently played songs that I haven't seen before.
When I get back I'm going to want to know how I can get a hold of the albums.

It's rather funny, actually.  I've got three albums worth of material and none of them are totally complete.

The first album (A Day At The People Factory) is all there except for the new cover which James was designing - you may remember the thread on The Nice where it got panned by the critics after I fed him a collection of apparently deformed jaguars as the reference pics.  He's working on a new cover with the Aztec temple that Tezkat suggested but I haven't seen anything of it yet.

So the first album is all done but has no cover.

For the second album I was going to do this : http://www.dougtheeagle.com/lodt/lodt.pdf - After three months I managed to get Amber to reply, and she said 'No' 
So I renamed it 'Songs for the Wild at Heart' and commissioned Zina to do a new cover (they say she's one of the best, you see) and she has almost finished - but the recording itself hasn't come back from the mastering engineer yet   (I've got a draft, but I'd like a few things changed for the final version.)
Oh yeah - if anyone is good at drawing feathers, let me know.  I need some for the inside to replace Dan.

The third album is down in rough form, but I'm not happy with 'Project Dragonsong' - I'm going to try and lock a pair of a TSR-8s together and record it 14-track since the song is too complicated to do properly in only 7 tracks.
I have designed the cover conceptually, although since I was hoping to feature Kitome Feathertail on the cover - as an A-1 example of a 'taur - that's going to be a little tricky, especially since he's disappeared.  Anyone got a contact for him?

Now as for getting them - I haven't found a distributor so far.  I was hoping to sell them on Magnatune, but they appear to have rejected ADATPF.
I have actually uploaded ADATPF to LastFM now, with the pre-James cover, and I'll do the same for SFTWAH when that is finished.  I'd like to keep the rights to the music so my choice of potential labels is rather limited.

The 'band' homepage is at http://www.dougtheeagle.com
..but isn't very complete.  I feel like a charlatan when I try to write a description of it

[Rowne]

I really like that flanging effect, I can't exactly pin stuff because my memory isn't that good but back in the early 90's, I used to listen to a lot of radio and that effect (or roughly thereabouts) seemed to be banded about a lot, then.  The actual air of the music though seems to come across as older than that, as I'd said before.  This makes it all a bit anachronistic and it fascinates me.

This is why I like listening to your stuff, Tape.  I'll snag the file, listen and think "Now there's something I haven't heard in a while."

[Tapewolf]

I really like that flanging effect, I can't exactly pin stuff because my memory isn't that good but back in the early 90's, I used to listen to a lot of radio and that effect (or roughly thereabouts) seemed to be banded about a lot, then.  The actual air of the music though seems to come across as older than that, as I'd said before.  This makes it all a bit anachronistic and it fascinates me.

It was all the rage in the late 60's.  I actually got the idea to finally try it after listening to the 'Valentyne Suite' by Colosseum (1969), but this kind of studio effect has always fascinated me.  'Itchycoo Park' is the classic one, though - apparently it's the first song where anyone applied the effect to vocals instead of drums.

'Pictures of Matchstick Men' by Status Quo is another good one.  (And curses, I almost got a compilation master tape of that one, but some b***** outbid me on e-bay    Too bad I was skint at the time. )

Now, sometime in the early '90s my Dad got a 60s compilation CD which (to our disgust) had a number of remakes on it instead of the original recordings.  At the time we assumed they'd done the phasing digitally, but apparently people still haven't managed to replicate it properly, so it must have been done with two tape recorders

[tkg]

Although I'm not a very big fan of the flanging effect, the one you've got there is pretty cool. Perhaps it's just that I'm mostly accustomed to the Fruity Loops one, which I assume isn't much to speak of, heh...

By the way, I noticed those pics of your studio at you know where - pretty decent stuff, to say the least... must've cost a fortune or two, I guess

[Lysander]

It's rather funny, actually.  I've got three albums worth of material and none of them are totally complete.

The first album (A Day At The People Factory) is all there except for the new cover which James was designing - you may remember the thread on The Nice where it got panned by the critics after I fed him a collection of apparently deformed jaguars as the reference pics.  He's working on a new cover with the Aztec temple that Tezkat suggested but I haven't seen anything of it yet.

So the first album is all done but has no cover.

That's a lot of music for just one or or few guys to make. Also much more than I knew there was in the making.
I'm now downloading the 1st cd. Seems like it may be a good idea to leave the one available for download even after it and the others are ready for sale. Gives people outside of this place a chance to get to know your music...or something.

[Tapewolf]

By the way, I noticed those pics of your studio at you know where - pretty decent stuff, to say the least... must've cost a fortune or two, I guess

The more recent ones are here:  http://www.dougtheeagle.com/equip.htm
..they have the Revox and a photo taken during the mixdown of 'Legend of Daniel Ti'Fiona'.  The flanging was done by taking the Tascam 32 back out of the cupboard and running it alongside the Revox.  Virtually all the equipment was got on ebay - the most expensive item so far was the Hammond module (£450 plus £150 for the Rotosphere pedal).
The multitrack was only £175, and let that be a lesson to you - never, ever sell valuable equipment on ebay as a 1-day auction on a Sunday with no reserve price, and I'm probably going to end up spending twice that to get its twin.  (Maybe I should actually sell the autotune.)

That's a lot of music for just one or or few guys to make. Also much more than I knew there was in the making.
I'm now downloading the 1st cd. Seems like it may be a good idea to leave the one available for download even after it and the others are ready for sale. Gives people outside of this place a chance to get to know your music...or something.

As I say, I still haven't decided what to do with it.  CDs would be nice, but selling them myself would be a pain in the butt.  After the Magnatune rejection I'm a little nervous about submitting it to anyone else, truth be told.  I'm going to watch Moekii though and see if he has much success by himself.

Having said all that, I have been tooling up for short CD runs - primarily the Laserjet 2605 which I'm using for CD cover proofing, short runs for family & friends, and printing out DMFA strips :twisted

**EDIT**

Eep!  I forgot the most important piece of equipment in the studio!

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Hmm. You mean a multitrack like this or this ?

Yeah. Those look likely to go up significantly. :-/

Nice kit, though. :-)

[Tapewolf]

Hmm. You mean a multitrack like this ?

Yeah. Those look likely to go up significantly. :-/

Yup, the TSR-8.  Something went wrong [with the sale] the first time he sold it, I'm hoping not to have it slip through my fingers this time 

'Course I'd really like this one, but it would be amazingly expensive to run and I'm also looking for a house as well.  Maybe it will have shed a few more grand after I've moved.  Who needs a car? :twisted

**EDIT**
If it really is a 1984-vintage machine, that's quite clever.  They were introduced in 1990.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Perhaps you should keep the car to carry the tapedeck in?

Maybe that's just me thinking wrongly again...

[Tapewolf]

Perhaps you should keep the car to carry the tapedeck in?
Maybe that's just me thinking wrongly again...

The logic is sound, but the premise is wrong.
I can't actually drive, because after three years of learning I was still appallingly bad at it, having traded driving skills for computer excellence.  In part, not having to care for and feed a car is what's allowed me to buy most of this stuff, although it limits my choices in acquisition to things which the seller will post (which they most assuredly will NOT do on the A827)

After the move is done, I'm hoping to have enough money left over to get a car and start learning again.  Although it would be rather useful, I truly hate the idea and it's pretty clear by now that I'll never be a very confident driver.