All Is Quiet On The Western Front...

Man, it’s been a long time since I had a whole weekend go by without finding anything new and/or interesting for Monday morning posting purposes. I guess I should point out that I had a lot to do this weekend, and thus wasn’t the normal Surfin’ Foole that can dredge up the usual oddities. So I’ll opine on my current goings-on.

I’ve been working on this new Scanalyzer record (named “On The One And The Zero,”) with Wade Alin for the last couple months, and it’s the first time I’ve co-wrote an album with someone where the co-writer is a couple thousand miles away. Wade lives in Chicago, while I am, of course, high in the Cascade Mountains in Western Oregon. Through the miracle of the Interwebs, we maintain a constant dialog and flip Nuendo folders back and forth. (Wade, like all smart producers, uses Nuendo on PC, just like me, which is convenient for this sort of work.)

The record itself is IDM/Noise/DubDustrial, so it’s not a terribly complicated process, I’ll grant, but it’s still the first time I’ve done anything like this, and it can lead to some interesting thoughts about the creative process itself. Will all electronic musicians turn in to pasty agorophobes by the advent of cheap broadband? Wait! They’re pasty agorophobes already! I personally can’t really see this sort of situation working in the context of rock music, except for remixes, I don’t think. But for “electronica,” it is a viable way to record an album.

How we do it is thus: either Wade or I will come up with, say, 32 measures of a song idea, figure six to ten tracks of drums and synth. Then the other will add and edit ’til it exhibits some song-like tendencies, then flip it back for completion. The album is approaching “done” status in fits and starts; we’ve been working on it on and off since early last year. But both Wade and I have our Main Things to work on as well, so that’s no surprise. Back when I was rich and famous, I would think nothing of locking out a recording studio for a month or two just to write, but with having a home studio, the time pressure isn’t there, and I tend to not work as fast, or without the same Sword Of Damocles provided by the financial department of the Label hanging over my head. (“Yes,” said Dionysius, “I know there is a sword above your head, and that it may fall at any moment. But why should that trouble you?)

Actually, in thinking about it, that’s not entirely true. I was signed, first to Wax Trax!, and then to TVT, for a total of 6 years, during which I released four albums. My contract ended in 1997, and since then I’ve released nine albums. So I guess that technically speaking, I’m _more_ productive without the Sword. That’s an interesting line of reasoning…

But I digress. The point is that while it is nice to be in a room with someone when you’re writing/producing, it is no longer necessary. I think you’re also more likely to try wacky shit, because no one hears it but you; there’s no danger of creative embarassment. But I don’t think it would work with every kind of music. Thoughts?